"You can't protect what you can't see." It's a foundational idea in cybersecurity.
But today, visibility alone isn't enough.
In modern cloud and hybrid environments, organizations need to understand the why behind what they're seeing. What's normal? What's suspicious? What actually poses a threat?
That's the promise of observability. And it's why we're introducing Illumio Insights.
A smarter, AI-powered approach to CDR
Insights is the first cloud detection and response (CDR) solution built on an AI security graph. It continuously monitors workloads and resources across hybrid and multi-cloud environments, uncovering patterns, surfacing risks, and detecting active attacks in real time.
What makes it different? Insights doesn't just present raw data - it connects the dots. It shows you where lateral movement could occur, highlights abnormal behavior, and empowers you to stop threats instantly with one click.
In short, it brings clarity to the chaos.
Why visibility falls short
Visibility tools have been the standard for years. They tell you what is happening: who's talking to who, over what port and protocol, at what time.
But visibility is static. It collects data without context. It leaves you with snapshots of activity but little insight into behavior or intent.
Observability changes that. It helps you understand why something is happening and what it means. It gives you real-time perspective, enabling faster decisions and more effective responses.
Think of it this way. Visibility is like reviewing hours of surveillance footage. Observability is like having a detective interpret that footage and explain what's going on - and why it matters.
Why observability has been so elusive
The concept isn't new. But achieving real observability in security has been notoriously difficult.
The problem isn't that there's not enough data - there's too much. Security teams are overwhelmed with telemetry from endpoints, cloud platforms, agents, and third-party tools. That flood of information creates noise, not insight.
Most of that data is disjointed, redundant, or lacks context. Analysts spend hours jumping between dashboards trying to figure out what's important and what's not. Meanwhile, false positives and alert fatigue continue to grow.
The result? Teams stay stuck in reactive mode, constantly putting out fires instead of proactively reducing risk.
Why observability matters more than ever
Today's threat environment demands more from security teams.
Adversaries are faster and more sophisticated. With the help of AI, attackers can tailor their methods to exploit your organization's unique vulnerabilities. And most infrastructures are now a patchwork of on-premises systems, cloud providers, and containerized workloads, each with its own set of risks.
Legacy tools weren't built for this level of complexity. And no matter how much you've invested in security, the reality is that breaches are inevitable.
Observability helps you prepare for that inevitability. It gives you the tools to limit the blast radius and recover faster.
The value of observability
So what does real observability deliver in practice?
· Clarity in the chaos. According to Illumio's Global Cost of Ransomware Study, nearly half of organizations struggle to respond quickly to ransomware attacks. Observability helps teams cut through noise and focus on what truly matters.
· Faster investigations. Instead of sifting through disconnected logs, teams get clear timelines, root cause analysis, and actionable next steps - drastically speeding up response.
· Smarter operations. With behavior-based insights, teams can automate response workflows based on real risk - not just static policy.
· Stronger compliance. Regulations like NIS2, DORA, and the UK's proposed Cyber Security and Resilience Bill demand faster, more transparent incident response. Observability helps meet these mandates.
Most importantly, observability allows security to align with business priorities. CISOs and CIOs gain a clearer understanding of what's truly at risk and where to focus security investment to reduce exposure.
What makes Illumio Insights different?
At Illumio, we believe observability is fundamental to both cyber resilience and Zero Trust. That's why we built Insights using a new model, one that combines AI and graph-based security.
· AI-powered analysis allows us to examine massive volumes of telemetry across data centers, clouds, and endpoints and surface only what's relevant. You see risk in real time, prioritized based on behavior and exposure.
· Graph-based modeling adds essential context. It maps relationships and dependencies, showing how workloads interact, what's expected, and where anomalies occur.
This means you don't just see that two systems communicated. You know if that communication violated policy, introduced risk, or signaled a larger attack chain.
Insights shifts you from an alert-driven model to one powered by intelligence. And when you pair it with segmentation, you're not just identifying threats - you're stopping them from spreading.
Ready to see it in action? Register today for our webinar, Introducing Illumio Insights: AI Cloud Detection and Response.
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Mindy Semling
Sr. Executive Communications and Marketing Manager
Illumio
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