Insights on Cybersecurity and Compliance with Identity-Aware Segmentation

Anyway… So third coffee is starting to take effect and I’m still processing the latest buzzing from the DefCon hardware hacking village (more on that later). I’ve been playing the cybersecurity game since the early 2000s; though my roots are old— started out as Network admin in 1993. Remember that juggling act of voice and data multiplexing over PSTN? Yeah, ancient tech by today’s standards, but these days taught me how fragile (and important) networking infrastructure is. And then the Slammer worm struck, fast and furious. Modelling from those early experiences still impacts how I think about security today, particularly around compliance.

Today, I operate P J Networks, specializing in cybersecurity consulting services, servers, firewalls and routers, aiding companies in fortifying defenses and achieving compliance without the hassle. I recently assisted three banks to reinvent their zero-trust architecture — and a key driver was to converge identity-aware segmentation to shortcut PCI-DSS and ISO 27001 compliance. This is what I’ve come to learn — and wish I had known many years ago.

Compliance Mandates

PCI-DSS and ISO 27001 aren’t buzzwords— they’re the ecology. The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard for payment card security, and ISO 27001 for that bird’s eye view info-sec management system. Compliance can be a beast: reams of docs, controls, audits. But one has to be careful challenging that, because the tech you are in the process of deploying should map 1:1 to controls mandated by those frameworks.

Early in the 2000s, compliance essentially became a paperwork marathon: you’d stand up something, and then you’d scramble to map controls and prove it in your use of it in the audits. With identity-aware segmentation, now you get to kill two birds with one stone: enforce zero-trust and check compliance boxes.

Identity Segmentation

And what in the world is identity-aware segmentation? Forget the traditional network segmentation that’s mostly IP-based—it’s old school, like my first (home) router setup with static ACLs. Now, segmentation is smarter—it understands user identity, device posture, and can even consider session context before it grants access.

If you think of your network as a 6 lane highway. With traditional segmentation, you’re throwing up barriers and walls based on location, but identity-aware segmentation is like adding toll booths to your network, checking to see who is driving, where you are going, what kind of car you are driving, and if you’ve paid to get on the highway. Someone unauthorized? Access Denied or Re-routed to a sandbox.

This level of nuance will be a game-changer for compliance:

• Meets segmentation requirements and deter a security breach and prevent these threats from spreading to the cardholder data environment with a Virus or Malware.
• Enables ISO 27001 mapping of controls for access management and risk treatment
• Minimizes direction of blast in event of a breach — limits damage

This is where using the right firewall and identity services pays for itself in spades. And we incorporate identity-centric policies right into the firewall layer —with users no longer receiving mere IP filters, access policies move with them and their identity. No one-size-fits-all anymore.

Audit-Ready Reports

You want to get through an audit and sleep well that night? Documentation and evidence control is your friend.

Now, audit logs and reports can be auto-generated by technology. But we all know that many solutions come up short, resulting in raw data dumps that auditors or management can barely stomach.

Our approach — developed over many years and multiple audits that have included those more recent bank projects — is to provide audit-ready reports that map tech controls directly to compliance requirements.

We have a monitored evidence portal here at P J Networks which:

• Audit logs are associated and timed
• Access events are associated with policies and identity attributes
• Compliance variances are reported far in advance with actionable intelligence

This is not simply a matter of compliance theater. It’s about making sure that real, demonstrable security is possible.

And yeah, as a seasoned who has fielded so many password policy rants, vulnerabilities and sloppy configs, I’ll admit it—automation in reporting got me out of the woods on more than I care to admit.

Implementation Roadmap

I mean, after all, you could while away months trying to grapple with compliance frameworks by reading mountains of dry standards! Or you cut to the chase with identity-aware segmentation that blends with what you already have. Here’s the road I recommend, as of this moment:

• Evaluate your sensitive data and regulatory exposure (PCI-DSS areas, ISO 27001 elements)
• Map identity sources: are you using Active Directory, using APA if using LDAP, or cloud identity providers?
• Create segmentation policies based user roles, device health, time, and location
• Implement Third Party Code and Software Analysis
• Implement Identity-Aware Firewalls and Micro-segmentation Tools
• Feed logs into a central evidence management and reporting system
• Consider running trial audits to spot gaps early, and adapting policies accordingly

But no magic bullet here. It’s iterative, and — you guessed it — not some fuzzy ‘AI-powered’ black box solution I’m leery of (don’t get me started).

PJ Networks Audit Help

Now here’s where I get a little self-promotional, but whatever—after 20 years of blood, sweat and a few embarrassing ops mistakes (yes, there were some misconfigured VLANs and firewall rules blocking the good ol’ SMTP ports, I admit it), You get the sense P J Networks does what many promise and few actually deliver:

• Comprehensive audit reports specifically for PCI-DSS and ISO 27001.
• Tailored mapping of security controls to technology deployments
• Evidence Portal: mangement evidence portal with secure access for auditors and stakeholders
• Real-time help of the incumbent in your auditnotices, less stress and shocks

We just worked with those three banks to stage their zero-trust upgrades — they had complicated legacy networks and aggressive compliance deadlines. With identity-aware segmentation combined with targeted firewall policies and audit reporting that’s strong enough to stand up to scrutiny, they locked a few months (if not years) of compliance work in place in just a few short weeks.

Here’s an analogy that I like to use a lot: It’s the equivalent of tuning an old school carburetor engine with modern fuel injection — you can have the reliability and speed of old tech but the efficiency and control of today’s standards.

Password Policies and User Experience

A bit of last thing before I go too—on password policies. OK, so I understand there’s a split within this community about complexity vs. user-friendliness, but let me just say:

If your password policy makes your users despise security, they’ll make you -want-to push multi-factor out even faster.

That’s why identity-aware segmentation is more effective — it diminishes the reliance purely on passwords based on context in access decisions.

Anyway—time for a refill. But, if you’d like to reduce the length of the compliance sprint without letting your guard down, start by thinking identity first, segment second, and report like my coffee machine’s on a timer.

Reach out — I’m always happy to swap a story from the trenches or help you map your tech to compliance really super quick.

Stay safe (and caffeinated),

Sanjay Seth
P J Networks Pvt Ltd
Cybersecurity&Networking Specialist 1993-2021