What does cybersecurity tool sprawl look like today?

Cybersecurity has become an increasingly important concern in the business world. After all, reports have found that 41 percent of businesses fell victim to a cyberattack in 2023. As the technology cyber attackers use to conduct their nefarious activities becomes more complex, so is the technology that IT professionals use to protect organizations and their data. However, with this also comes a unique new challenge: tool sprawl.

Tool sprawl occurs when a company utilizes an unnecessary number of IT tools, usually because it implements separate solutions for each use case. Although it may seem most efficient to address needs as they arise or present themselves, adopting a comprehensive approach is often more efficient -- particularly in a case where proactivity is vital, such as cybersecurity.

The consequences of cybersecurity tool sprawl

While employing multiple cybersecurity tools does, on paper, offer robust protection for businesses and their digital assets, there are consequences to this type of tool sprawl. For one, there could be negative impacts on efficiency and visibility, as employees are weighed down by using multiple systems. Using numerous programs could also pose a security concern in and of itself, as this could create gaps where systems are left vulnerable because they aren’t covered by one of the individual programs.

On a technical note, among the costliest mistakes often observed in cloud transitions is considering container workloads with the same imposed security model as virtual machines. Static IPs and licensed agents must not be assigned to containers as they were virtual machines on-premise. It is a serious antipattern preventing automatic container scaling with gigantic cost overruns. Adopting open-source container-native solutions, such as Falco and Falco Talon, would be not only way more cost-efficient but a much better operational security model.

Some additional challenges that companies may experience if they suffer from tool sprawl in cybersecurity include:

• Poor integration: Getting different tools to work together smoothly can feel impossible, especially if they have similar purposes or functions. Manual workarounds may help overcome these challenges but also increase the risk of errors and security gaps.

• Data siloing: One of the more common consequences of tool sprawl is data siloing, as using multiple separate tools can cause data to become trapped within individual tools. This situation can make it challenging to get a comprehensive understanding of your security posture, making you vulnerable to threats you can’t even see.

• Licensing: If you use separate tools in your technology stack, each requires a separate license. Keeping track of these licenses across different environments, including on-premises, cloud, and hybrid environments, can be complex and costly.

• Creation of a skills gap: When your tech stack includes multiple technologies, users must understand how to use each separately. It also requires a special set of skills to manage a sprawling tech stack, and the people qualified for these positions are in high demand and low supply.

Avoiding cybersecurity tool sprawl

That being said, there are cybersecurity solutions that allow businesses to address their needs without adopting multiple individual technologies. It is important for business leaders to carefully consider their options and determine what platform (or combination of platforms) will offer them the best security without compromising price or efficiency.

Of course, consolidation is the most obvious solution to the challenges of tool sprawl. Rather than purchasing several individual tools to address each need separately, companies should purchase fewer, more comprehensive solutions that address these needs together to better streamline their operations and simplify management.

In the age of automation, these technologies can be valuable tools for consolidating and streamlining operations. For example, by automating tasks like data collection and reporting, businesses can free up their security teams to focus on strategic work. Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response (SOAR) platforms are also emerging as valuable tools, enabling smoother workflows and faster incident response.

One solution that has shown great potential in streamlining technology stacks is the cloud. Cloud-based security solutions offer scalability, simplified management, and easier integration across environments. However, the significant downside to cloud-based solutions is that they can be costlier over time.

For example, while many individual softwares allow users to purchase lifetime licenses, cloud-based solutions are typically paid for through recurring fees. As such, businesses will never “own” the technology they use.

That being said, there are still ways for a business to standardize its technology stack, reducing the complexity of operations and eliminating licensing headaches. Many companies are beginning to use containers on the Kubernetes platform over functions as a service from cloud providers due to the platform’s cost-effectiveness for private networking and security models.

Yet, perhaps the most powerful solution to tool sprawl in cybersecurity is emphasizing security from the development process, which is increasingly being addressed with a new keyword: “Platform Engineering.” When security is a fundamental part of the programs a business uses -- down to the code -- it reduces the need for separate security tools. This ensures consistency across systems and environments, which is why security is becoming an increasingly prevalent concern for developers.

With the plethora of cybersecurity tools available on the market, it is understandable that business leaders are beginning to become overwhelmed by the options, but they must still be deliberate in choosing what cybersecurity tools they will implement. Although using as many advanced tools as possible can be tempting, this tool sprawl can cause more harm than good. Thus, adopting a cohesive cybersecurity solution is often the best practice.

Image credit: mikkolem/depositphotos.com

Ashley Manraj is Chief Technology Officer, Pvotal Technologies.