How having a Unified Identity, Data and Network analytics platform Aligns with NIST CSF 2.0?
Beyond individual modules or point products, LinkShadow functions as a unified platform – the “Unified Identity, Data,
and Network Analytics Platform” powered by a Cyber Mesh Architecture. This platform approach means that LinkShadow
provides integrated security across domains, with centralized visibility and control. Such a platform-wide perspective
supports not only technical controls but also higher-level governance and resilience objectives of the CSF. Here’s how the
LinkShadow platform as a whole aligns with each CSF 2.0 Function:Govern (GV): The LinkShadow platform offers strong support for governance by providing centralized security oversight
and metrics. Through its Insights dashboards and reports, LinkShadow gives organizations a clear view of their security
posture and the effectiveness of controls. This directly aids Govern – Oversight (GV. OV) and Risk Management Strategy
(GV.RM) outcomes, as leadership can monitor cybersecurity risk in real time (e.g. tracking risk scores, incident trends) and
ensure that risk management decisions are data-driven. LinkShadow also helps monitor adherence to cybersecurity
policies – for instance, compliance dashboards show whether critical data is properly protected and highlight if user access
patterns deviate from expected policies, informing Govern – Policy (GV.PO) outcomes. While LinkShadow does not enforce
policy adherence directly (e.g., it cannot block a user or revoke access on its own), it provides the visibility and insights
necessary for organizations to identify gaps, assess compliance, and take corrective actions with their existing security
controls.Identify (ID): As a unified platform, LinkShadow excels at the Identify function by breaking down silos and ensuring
comprehensive asset visibility. It correlates data from its modules (ITDR, DSPM, NDR, etc.) to maintain an up-to-date
inventory of all enterprise assets: devices and network nodes (from NDR’s asset discovery), sensitive data repositories
(from DSPM’s data discovery), and user/administrator accounts (from ITDR’s identity store integration). This holistic
inventory fulfils CSF Asset Management (ID.AM) outcomes – not just listing assets but also mapping the relationships
between them
(e.g. which user accounts access which data on which systems). LinkShadow’s Cyber Mesh Architecture further enhances
identification by integrating across on-premises, cloud, and hybrid environments. It ensures there are “no gaps, no blind
spots” in asset awareness across multi-cloud infrastructure, addressing the challenge of ID.AM when infrastructure spans
many platforms. Additionally, the platform’s risk scoring and analytics contribute to Identify – Risk Assessment (ID.RA):
it identifies which assets and vulnerabilities pose the highest risk so they can be prioritized. Even improvement-focused
outcomes (ID.IM) benefit from the unified platform – by analyzing security events and response effectiveness across all
domains, LinkShadow helps organizations pinpoint where processes need strengthening (for example, repeated incidents
in one area might indicate a need for better training or controls in that area). In summary, LinkShadow as a platform gives
organizations a 360-degree view of “what needs to be protected”, which is the essence of the Identify function.Protect (PR): Link Shadow’s platform integrates multiple protective capabilities that guard identities, data, and networks in a
coordinated way. Through identity protection and access governance, the platform supports PR. AA (Identity
Management & Access Control) – ensuring that only authorized users and devices have access to resources and flagging any
deviations. For example, a unified policy can be set such that if an identity or device is deemed high-risk by LinkShadow’s
analytics, its access can be restricted across the board (network segmentation, data access, and account privileges
simultaneously). The platform’s data protection controls (encryption and masking recommendations, misconfiguration
detection) reinforce PR.DS (Data Security) by safeguarding data at rest and in transit. LinkShadow also contributes to PR.PS
(Platform Security) by continuously assessing the security posture of systems – e.g.. detecting insecure protocols in use – so
that these issues can be fixed proactively. While LinkShadow is not an endpoint hardening tool, the insights it provides
(like an endpoint missing antivirus, noted during asset discovery) allow IT teams to implement protective measures, thus
indirectly covering PR.PS subcategories. Furthermore, because the platform connects with existing security infrastructure
(Cybersecurity Mesh integration), it can orchestrate protective actions across different controls, effectively creating a mesh
of defenses. For instance, if LinkShadow detects a malware outbreak, it can signal endpoint protection to update or isolate
assets, contributing to PR.IR (Technology Infrastructure Resilience) by containing damage and keeping critical services
running. Finally, although security Awareness and Training (PR.AT) is beyond the tool’s scope, the platform’s
comprehensive visibility can highlight areas where human errors recur (for example, many phishing clicks by users), which
organizations can use to target training efforts. Overall, LinkShadow as a platform ensures that protective safeguards are
consistently applied and monitored across identities, data, and networks, as required by the Protect function.Detect (DE): Detection is arguably the strongest aspect of the LinkShadow platform. By unifying network, endpoint, identity,
and cloud telemetry, LinkShadow enables continuous monitoring (DE.CM) across the entire enterprise. The platform’s
AI-driven analytics and machine learning threat models comb through vast amounts of data (LinkShadow monitors 9+ TB
of network traffic per day on average, as well as Tens of millions of user events and data transactions) to spot indicators of
compromise in real time. Importantly, the unified platform correlates events across domains: for example, an alert from the
network layer (suspicious traffic) can be tied to a specific user identity and a specific data store access, giving rich context to
the detection. This cross-domain correlation means fewer false positives and more precise detection of complex attack
patterns that single point tools might miss. The platform addresses Detect – Adverse Events (DE.AE) by using behavioural
baselines and anomaly detection everywhere – any deviation from normal patterns in user behaviour, network flows, or
data usage triggers an alert. LinkShadow’s detection capabilities have been recognized in industry (e.g. named a
Representative Vendor in Gartner’s 2024 Market Guide for NDR), underscoring its effectiveness. In terms of CSF outcomes,
an example would be fulfilling “malicious activity is detected in organizational systems” – LinkShadow’s AI/ML Threat
Detection engine is explicitly designed to detect threats faster than traditional methods, ensuring that anything from a
malware infection to an insider data theft is caught as an adverse event. The unified platform ensures no siloed blind spots:
whether the threat originates from a compromised user, an unsecured S3 bucket, or an IoT device on the network,
LinkShadow’s mesh of detection sensors will raise the alarm. Thus, the platform operationalizes a robust detect function
across all infrastructure.Respond (RS): LinkShadow as a platform emphasizes real-time response. The integration of its modules allows for
orchestrated response actions that span multiple layers of security. For instance, upon detecting a threat, LinkShadow can
simultaneously disable a user account (via ITDR), quarantine a device or block an IP (via NDR integrations), and restrict access
to sensitive files (via DSPM) – a comprehensive containment strategy. This ability to “neutralize threats in real time” maps
directly to RS.MI (Incident Mitigation) outcomes – threats are rapidly contained before they escalate.The platform also aids Incident Management (RS.MA) by providing a centralized incident dashboard. Security operations
teams (or LinkShadow’s Managed Detection & Response service, if utilized) can track incidents from detection through
remediation in one system, ensuring nothing falls through the cracks.LinkShadow’s automated workflows and ShadowGPT AI assistant (for triaging alerts) further streamline incident handling,
reducing the mean-time-to-respond (MTTR). For RS.AN (Analysis) and RS.CO (Communications), the unified platform shines in
its reporting capabilities: it automatically documents every step of detection and response, creating an evidence trail.The Dashboarding and Reporting module not only helps demonstrate compliance but also provides incident reports that
can be shared with executives or used in post-incident reviews. These reports cover the “who/what/when/how” of an
incident, satisfying the need for thorough analysis and effective communication during response.In summary, LinkShadow’s platform shortens response times and improves coordination, fulfilling the CSF’s respond
objectives by ensuring the organization can quickly contain incidents and inform all stakeholders (from IT responders to
management and regulators) with accurate, real-time information.Recover (RC): Although recovery (restoring systems/data and resuming normal operations) is largely a manual/BCP domain,
LinkShadow’s platform contributes to recovery in meaningful ways. First, by limiting the scope of incidents through fast
detection and response, LinkShadow ensures that recovery efforts are minimized – for example, instead of rebuilding an
entire network segment, perhaps only one server needs restoration because the attack was isolated swiftly. This directly
supports RC.RP (Recovery Plan Execution) in that the plan can be executed more smoothly when fewer systems are
impacted. Second, LinkShadow’s cross-domain visibility aids in verifying that recovery is complete – after an incident, the
platform can be used to monitor that no further malicious activity is occurring and that all affected accounts, devices, or data
stores have been secured. This is important for confirming that the organization has fully recovered. Third, LinkShadow
generates lessons-learned data that feed back into improving recovery strategies (an aspect of continuous improvement
tied to both RC and GV functions). For instance, if analysis of incidents shows a pattern of slow patching contributing to
events, the organization might update its recovery and contingency plans to include faster emergency patching procedures.
Finally, regarding RC.CO (Recovery Communication), the platform’s comprehensive logs and timeline of the incident serve as
a factual basis for communicating with external parties’ post-incident. Whether it’s notifying customers of a data breach or
reporting to regulators, LinkShadow provides evidence of what was affected and how the incident was handled, which is
crucial for transparent communication during recovery.In summary, while LinkShadow doesn’t perform system restoration, it strengthens the recovery process by reducing
damage and providing clarity. A well-handled incident (with LinkShadow’s help) means the business can return to normal
operations faster and with greater confidence.
