Guide to using digital twins for cybersecurity testing

<p>Digital twins are virtual duplicates of existing systems, infrastructure and processes designed to help security staff perform advanced monitoring and threat modeling in a simulated environment. Cybersecurity testing with digital twins enables organizations to mirror real-world deployments, using what-if scenarios that are dynamic, realistic and comprehensive. Operations and security teams use digital twins to monitor compliance, assess risks and conduct security exercises.</p>
<p>The digital twin market is rapidly expanding, fueled in part by business adoption of <a href=”https://www.techtarget.com/searcherp/definition/Industry-40″>Industry 4.0</a> standards. A study by Research Nester projected the digital twin market will <a target=”_blank” href=”https://www.researchnester.com/reports/digital-twin-market/4226″ rel=”noopener”>grow</a> from $23.6 billion in 2025 to $626 billion by 2035. BCC Research reported the market will <a target=”_blank” href=”https://www.bccresearch.com/market-research/engineering/digital-twin-market.html” rel=”noopener”>record</a> a compound annual growth rate of 45.7% from 2024 through 2029.</p>
<p>Let’s examine how security teams can use these virtual copies in their organization.</p>
<section class=”section main-article-chapter” data-menu-title=”Before deploying a digital twin”>
<h2 class=”section-title”><i class=”icon” data-icon=”1″></i>Before deploying a digital twin</h2>
<p>Constructing accurate digital twin environments requires significant investment and planning. To be accurate, the virtual duplicates must rely on information drawn from multiple and diverse data sources. The data must then be normalized to make it useful to digital twin architectures.</p>
<p>Data sources include the following:</p>
<ul class=”default-list”>
<li>Hardware and software asset inventories across on-premises, cloud and hybrid deployments.</li>
<li>Security controls, including SIEM, endpoint detection and response, web application firewalls, <a href=”https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/feature/Top-benefits-of-SOAR-tools-plus-potential-pitfalls-to-consider”>security orchestration, automation, and response</a> and next-generation firewalls. This defines the defensive capabilities of the production environment.</li>
<li>Vulnerability and <a href=”ht

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