01732 759725 magazine 33 Digital Twins, virtual replicas of physical objects, systems or processes, have been steadily gaining traction in the technology sector, particularly in networking and security. These sophisticated models have the potential to revolutionise network management and cybersecurity by offering a real-time, dynamic approach to managing, optimising and securing complex systems. The intrinsic value of Digital Twins lies in their ability to provide a real-time copy of an environment, enabling security and networking teams to test new tools, technologies and scenarios and assess their impact on an environment without compromising operational resilience. The recent incorporation of Generative AI (GenAI) into these tools means that even teams without specific network or security expertise can now query models. Key benefits include: Network scenario planning and testing: Digital Twins that emulate live production environments allow organisations to test changes in a controlled manner, which is often impractical on live networks. For example, a company might use a Digital Twin to simulate the impact of a new firewall rule on network traffic, enabling them to identify potential bottlenecks or vulnerabilities before implementing the change in the live environment. Security and compliance: From a security perspective, Digital Twins offer several benefits. As well as ensuring compliance with security policies by validating planned changes against such policies, they enable network and security teams to analyse the blast radius of a potential breach or compromised nodes. Running simulations to understand the impact on connectivity and interactions between nodes will help identify paths vulnerable to bad actors and help reduce the impact of breaches. Minimising disruption in DevOps: In DevOps environments, developers continuously make changes that can jeopardise network stability and security. Digital Twins give developers the benefits of automated testing and change management while maintaining network integrity and security. By flagging potential issues, such as configuration or security policy problems, Digital Twins prevent deployments that could compromise the network, reducing network outages by up to 50%, according to Forward Networks. Centralised change management in DevOps: Implementing Digital Twins for centralised change management through DevOps pipelines significantly reduces the risk of unauthorised network access by ensuring all changes follow a controlled process. This mitigates the likelihood of inadvertent changes disrupting the network and ensures changes are tested and validated before deployment. Real-time insights and predictive analytics: The ability of Digital Twins to provide real-time insights and predictive analytics for different systems and processes can accelerate the diagnosis and resolution of issues, such as network outages or security breaches, enabling prompt intervention, root cause analysis and effective solution implementation. This, says Forward Networks, can reduce Mean Time to Resolution (MTTR) by as much as 80%. Potential use cases The adoption of Digital Twin technologies in networks and security systems has potential use cases across multiple sectors: A retail company might use a Digital Twin to simulate the impact of a new e-commerce platform on its network. By leveraging Generative AI, its IT team can quickly identify potential issues and optimise the platform’s performance without requiring extensive network expertise. A healthcare provider might use a Digital Twin to monitor its network for potential security threats, analysing real-time data and running simulations to quickly identify and address vulnerabilities, ensuring patient data remains secure and the network remains operational. A financial institution might use a Digital Twin to test the impact of a new trading algorithm on their network. By simulating the algorithm’s behaviour in a controlled environment, it can make sure it doesn’t introduce any vulnerabilities or performance issues. A transformative shift The strategic integration of Digital Twins into network management and cybersecurity represents a transformative shift that can enhance operational efficiency, resilience, security and compliance. The risk-free testing environment provided by these virtual replicas speeds up product development, minimises the risk of buggy code and network disruptions and provides a controlled environment in which to test changes and ensure modifications and innovations can be seamlessly integrated into the network without compromising integrity or security. In addition to their benefits for DevOps, Digital Twins are revolutionising network management and cybersecurity through their ability to simulate real-world environments. As these technologies continue to evolve, for example with the integration of Generative AI, they will play a vital role in shaping the future of network management and cybersecurity and helping businesses to enhance their operational resilience, efficiency and security compliance. https://xalient.com The recent opening of the UK Digital Twin Centre in Belfast (see page 5) highlights the importance of digital twin technology for UK industry. Here, Dave McGrail, Head of Business Consultancy at Xalient, explains how virtual replicas of physical systems are also being used to improve cybersecurity and network management Digital Twins: a revolution in cybersecurity and network management OPINION Dave McGrail
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