New IBM Security Platform Connects Data, Tools From Several Vendors
18.10.2018 securityweek Safety

IBM Security on Monday unveiled a new cloud-based platform that combines the company's own capabilities with data, applications and tools from more than a dozen other vendors.

IBM Security Connect, expected to become available in the first quarter of 2019, has been described by IBM as an AI-powered community platform for security applications.

An analysis conducted by the company showed that, on average, cybersecurity teams are using more than 80 cybersecurity tools from 40 different vendors. IBM found not only that many of the capabilities provided by these tools are not used, but also that integration problems can pose a challenge.

IBM Security Connect aims to solve this with a single platform that integrates IBM's own products with data and capabilities provided by 16 other vendors. The list of vendors includes Cisco, Capgemini, Check Point, Carbon Black, CrowdStrike, EY, ForeScout, Forcepoint, Fortinet, McAfee, Qualys, Smarttech, Symantec, Tenable, Trend Micro, and VMware.

IBM and its partners have already created hundreds of apps that are available through the IBM Security App Exchange, but the aforementioned firms have promised to contribute to the development of other integrated applications on the new platform. It's worth noting that the Security App Exchange and other IBM security applications will be housed by the new platform.

IBM says the new platform will be open with an open development community.

IBM Security Connect will initially allow organizations to connect multiple security products and data repositories and automatically federate data in order to allow security teams to prioritize threats and respond.

Additionally, IBM Security Connect will feature expertise from the company's more than 4,000 global security practitioners, and 50 IBM developers will focus on the growth of the community.

“The growth of cybersecurity technology and data combined with a growing skills shortage is creating an unexpected level of complexity for security teams,” said Marc van Zadelhoff, General Manager at IBM Security. “Leveraging the power of the cloud, we can now bring together tools, data and people without expensive customization and integration projects. Data federation through IBM Security Connect helps give security professionals increased security visibility and efficiency without the hassle of migrating data or overly complicated product integrations.”