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Natural Resources
Data-Centric Security solutions with the fastest time-to-value and superior user experience
Natural resources companies such as oil and gas, mining, minerals, and energy hold decades of valuable intellectual property. However, their legacy systems often lack robust security and prove inadequate in the face of rising incidents of ransomware, malware, and hackers. Their growing dependence on remotely connected operational technology also heightens their susceptibility to cyberattacks. To safeguard against data loss and stay competitive in the business landscape, natural resources enterprises must take a proactive approach to securing their sensitive data. Â
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Challenges
Critical Infrastructure Information
Natural resources companies must manage vast amounts of critical infrastructural data across multiple stakeholders, such as information on energy production and water resources. Unauthorized access to this data could destabilize national security and disrupt the economy.
Data Sharing in Joint Ventures
Natural resource assets are typically state-owned, and companies frequently enter joint ventures that involve sensitive contracts, such as the granting of operational rights in resource-rich regions. Companies need to share data while securing non-public, business-critical information. Leakage of such data could impact acquisition strategies and costs, especially with potential competitors.
Contracted Workforces Risks
A notable aspect of this industry is the heavy reliance on contracted employees, who are mostly globally dispersed. This reliance introduces a heightened insider risk, where incidents can range from accidental exposure of data to IP theft.
EH&S and Other Critical Regulations
Subject to strict Environmental, Health, and Safety (EH&S) and financial regulations, natural resources companies need to strictly monitor and manage environmental, health, and financial data. However, manual audits are time-consuming and error-prone, making the development of effective internal controls extremely resource-intensive for companies in this sector.
Safeguard Critical Infrastructure through Policies
To protect critical infrastructure information, secure data sharing in joint ventures (JVs), safeguard against insider risks, and maintain compliance, organizations must adopt a policy-based approach that automates security, compliance, and data governance controls.Â
- Centralized Policy Platform​
A centralized policy platform ensures the consistent application of security and compliance policies across the organization, controlling access to and safeguarding critical infrastructure information and EH&S data. The platform must also support a tightly governed policy approval workflow to meet the high data governance standards demanded in the critical infrastructure sector.Â
- Data-Centric Security Controls ​
Centrally managed policies are enforced to enable data-centric security controls, such as Attribute-Based Access Control (ABAC), data segregation and data masking. In a sector where JVs and sensitive contracts are commonplace, these controls are key in maintaining data confidentiality and safeguarding acquisition strategies from competitive risks. Â
- Automate and Prevent ​
To streamline complex compliance procedures, organizations should automate security and internal controls through policy enforcement. Automation not only reduces the need for manual audits but also actively prevents breaches, fraud, and insider risks by efficiently implementing Segregation of Duties (SoD). Additionally, in environments with high turnover rates from contracted workforces, automated change management processes facilitate quick adjustments to permissions, thus simplifying the onboarding and offboarding of employees.Â
- Real-time Logging and Compliance Reporting ​
Given how natural resources companies operate across geographically spread and remote sites, it is essential to implement real-time logging of data access activities across various users, applications, and systems. By providing visibility into data access activity across the organization, this approach helps to mitigate the heightened insider risk inherent in complex operational environments. Real-time visibility also aids in compliance reporting, reducing costs and streamlining internal audit processes. Â
NextLabs Solution
CloudAz Centralized Policy Platform
Nextlabs’ policy management platform CloudAz, allows companies to create and implement data security policies. These policies can be enforced to apply data security controls applicable to the user, data, and environment in real-time, protecting critical infrastructural data across multiple stakeholders. CloudAz features advanced policy administration, lifecycle management, and auditing capabilities, which makes it easier for companies to manage compliance without the burden of manual audits and the associated risks of errors.Â
CloudAz Dynamic Authorization Policy Engine
When a user requests access to such information, the policy engine evaluates security policies and real-time attributes to determine authorization. It can process authorization requests from anywhere in the world in real-time. This capability is crucial for industries reliant on contracted and globally spread workforces, helping to mitigate insider threats by ensuring that only authorized personnel access critical data.Â
CloudAz Dynamic Authorization Policy Engine
When a user requests access to such information, the policy engine evaluates security policies and real-time attributes to determine authorization. It can process authorization requests from anywhere in the world in real-time. This capability is crucial for industries reliant on contracted and globally spread workforces, helping to mitigate insider threats by ensuring that only authorized personnel access critical data.Â
CloudAz Report Server
CloudAz offers centralized auditing and reporting capabilities that enable companies to demonstrate compliance with EH&S and financial regulations, ensuring the integrity of their data security policies. These compliance reports can detail data access, data handling, policy enforcement, and provide insights into access activities.Â
Data Access Enforcer (DAE)
DAEÂ enables organizations to utilize centrally managed policies to define masking patterns and rules, specifying who, what, when, where, and why fields should be masked in real-time. This is vital for securely sharing data in joint ventures and safeguarding against accidental exposure and data leakage, particularly important in sectors like natural resources where companies frequently engage in sensitive contracts.Â
Application Enforcer
Application Enforcer uses Attribute-Based Access Control (ABAC) to enforce the principle of least privilege, ensuring only authorized entities can access sensitive data. Additionally, it discerns and collects relevant data to facilitate centralized correlation and detection of anomalous activities, effectively protecting against insider risks to critical infrastructure information.Â
Application Enforcer
Application Enforcer uses Attribute-Based Access Control (ABAC) to enforce the principle of least privilege, ensuring only authorized entities can access sensitive data. Additionally, it discerns and collects relevant data to facilitate centralized correlation and detection of anomalous activities, effectively protecting against insider risks to critical infrastructure information.Â
