Andrew Wurster – Networking Consulting Engineer at Cisco’s Cyberarrange – Is In theCUBE During Splunk.conf 2014

The team up between Splunk Inc. and Cisco Systems, Inc meets the gap in many products by taking “bits of info from disparate systems” and then putting it all together in one cohesive overview, explained Andrew Wurster. The Networking Consulting Engineer at Cisco’s Cyberarrange recalled his company’s earlier experience reviewing security events from its customers, as they requested help from Cisco. Aiding the networking firm in its response tactics to customer requests was Splunk.

In a live interview with theCUBE at Splunk’s annual conference, Wurster detailed the evolution of attackers’ infiltration techniques: they begin by “getting into one system and then invading others.” Furthermore, Wurster pointed out, “customers are actually scared.” Security breaches are occurring often and can become big news, but companies have smaller budgets with which to combat these threats. “It’s the problem of our time,” he said.

Although Splunk doesn’t market itself as a security company, its platform lends itself to security systems extremely well, as it begins at an affordable price point and is ideal for monitoring many systems at once.

Cisco and Splunk now need to figure out how to balance customer experience with strenuous security. A big factor, Wurster said, is being “smarter about where the data is living.” Wurster proposed that to balance between experience and security, companies could consider giving their customers a “kill switch,” which can wipe a mobile device or laptop they think has been compromised.

See Wurster’s entire segment below.

.