Category Archives: Internet Security

Researchers Uncover New BGP Flaws in Popular Internet Routing … – The Hacker News

May 02, 2023Ravie LakshmananNetwork Security / Vulnerability

Cybersecurity researchers have uncovered weaknesses in a software implementation of the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) that could be weaponized to achieve a denial-of-service (DoS) condition on vulnerable BGP peers.

The three vulnerabilities reside in version 8.4 of FRRouting, a popular open source internet routing protocol suite for Linux and Unix platforms. It's currently used by several vendors like NVIDIA Cumulus, DENT, and SONiC, posing supply chain risks.

The discovery is the result of an analysis of seven different implementations of BGP carried out by Forescout Vedere Labs: FRRouting, BIRD, OpenBGPd, Mikrotik RouterOS, Juniper JunOS, Cisco IOS, and Arista EOS.

BGP is a gateway protocol that's designed to exchange routing and reachability information between autonomous systems. It's used to find the most efficient routes for delivering internet traffic.

The list of three flaws is as follows -

The issues "could be exploited by attackers to achieve a DoS condition on vulnerable BGP peers, thus dropping all BGP sessions and routing tables and rendering the peer unresponsive," the company said in a report shared with The Hacker News.

"The DoS condition may be prolonged indefinitely by repeatedly sending malformed packets. The main root cause is the same vulnerable code pattern copied into several functions related to different stages of parsing OPEN messages."

A threat actor could spoof a valid IP address of a trusted BGP peer or exploit other flaws and misconfigurations to compromise a legitimate peer and then issue a specially-crafted unsolicited BGP OPEN message.

This is achieved by taking advantage of the fact that "FRRouting begins to process OPEN messages (e.g., decapsulating optional parameters) before it gets a chance to verify the BGP Identifier and ASN fields of the originating router."

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Forescout has also made available a Python-based open source BGP Fuzzer tool that allows organizations to test the security of the BGP suites used internally as well as find new flaws in BGP implementations.

"Modern BGP implementations still have low-hanging fruits that can be abused by attackers," Forescout said. "To mitigate the risk of vulnerable BGP implementations, [...] the best recommendation is to patch network infrastructure devices as often as possible."

The findings come weeks after ESET found that secondhand routers previously used in business networking environments harbored sensitive data, including corporate credentials, VPN details, cryptographic keys, and other vital customer information.

"In the wrong hands, the data gleaned from the devices including customer data, router-to-router authentication keys, application lists, and much more is enough to launch a cyberattack," the Slovak cybersecurity firm said.

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Researchers Uncover New BGP Flaws in Popular Internet Routing ... - The Hacker News

How to Strengthen Your Web Security Your Way – Government Technology

CIS then provides reporting of log information for all blocked requests, among other data. CIS will also assist in remediation if needed.

In 2022, the cyber threat intelligence (CTI) team at the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC) witnessed cyber threat actors (CTAs) step up their attack attempts against U.S. state, local, tribal and territorial (SLTT) government organizations. The MS-ISAC's Malicious Domain Blocking and Reporting (MDBR) service registered 908 billion DNS requests for SLTTs over the course of the year, for instance. Of that activity, the service blocked 7.8 billion requests.

SLTTs and private hospitals need a way to strengthen their defenses against a very active cyber threat. Thats why we at the Center for Internet Security (CIS) have released Malicious Domain Blocking and Reporting Plus (MDBR+).

BETTER VISUALIZE POTENTIAL THREATS ON YOUR NETWORK

Made available by CIS and industry leader Akamai to SLTTs and private hospitals, MDBR+ is a quick-to-configure and easy-to-deploy cloud-based secure web gateway service. It proactively identifies and blocks network traffic from your organization to known malicious websites.

Once you point your organization's domain name system (DNS) requests to the Akamais DNS server IP addresses, MDBR+ compares every DNS lookup against a list of known and suspected malicious domains. The service blocks and logs attempts to access known malicious domains such as those associated with malware, phishing and ransomware, among other threats, thereby increasing your organization's web security.

Akamai provides all logged data, including both successful and blocked DNS requests, to the CIS 24x7x365 Security Operations Center (SOC). SOC analysts use this data to perform detailed analysis and reporting for the betterment of the SLTT community and for reporting that's specific to your organization.

CIS then provides reporting of log information for all blocked requests, among other data. CIS will also assist in remediation if needed.

In addition to keeping your SLTT organization or private hospital safe against common threats, MDBR+ comes with six features that make staying secure even easier.

The purpose of MDBR+ is to strengthen your web security and keep you safe from known malicious domains using processes and policies that work for you. Register now to see what changes tailored threat protection brings to your business.

About CIS

The Center for Internet Security, Inc. (CIS) makes the connected world a safer place for people, businesses and governments through our core competencies of collaboration and innovation.

We are a community-driven nonprofit, responsible for the CIS Controls and CIS Benchmarks, globally recognized best practices for securing IT systems and data. We lead a global community of IT professionals to continuously evolve these standards and provide products and services to proactively safeguard against emerging threats. Our CIS Hardened Images provide secure, on-demand, scalable computing environments in the cloud.

CIS is home to the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC), the trusted resource for cyber threat prevention, protection, response and recovery for U.S. state, local, tribal and territorial government entities, and the Elections Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EI-ISAC), which supports the rapidly changing cybersecurity needs of U.S. elections offices.

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How to Strengthen Your Web Security Your Way - Government Technology

Dept. of Justice: WSIC delivers physical and cyber security for … – WisPolitics.com

MADISON, Wis. Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul today held a briefing to educate the public on the critical public safety work conducted by special agents and analysts at one of Wisconsins two fusion centers, the Wisconsin Statewide Intelligence Center (WSIC). Operated by the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI), WSIC serves as the primary focal point for threat information sharing among federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement, emergency management, fire service, public health, corrections, military, and private sector partners for the state.

By ensuring that information about potential threats to public safety is shared across agencies, the Wisconsin Statewide Intelligence Center helps law enforcement agencies keep their communities safe, said Attorney General Kaul. Thank you to the members of the team at WSIC for the outstanding work they do to protect Wisconsinites.

State and regional fusion centers enable local, state, and tribal governments to gather, process, analyze and share information and intelligence relating to all crimes and all hazards. Fusion centers communicate, cooperate, and coordinate with each other and with the federal government. These centers:

About the Wisconsin Statewide Intelligence Center

In the aftermath of September 11, 2001, improving information sharing between law enforcement agencies on the local, state, and federal levels became a priority. A national network of fusion centers grew, including the Wisconsin Statewide Intelligence Center in Madison, Wisconsin.

In order to deter, prevent and mitigate criminal or terrorist threats while protecting the privacy and civil liberties of U.S. citizens, WSIC accomplishes the following mission-essential tasks:

WSIC works in partnership with the Southeastern Wisconsin Threat Analysis Center (STAC). The STAC is a fusion center that serves the eight counties of Milwaukee, Racine, Washington, Waukesha, Ozaukee, Kenosha, Walworth and Jefferson. The WSIC covers all other portions of the state.

About the Division of Criminal Investigation

DCI is responsible for investigating crimes that are statewide in nature or importance. DCI special agents and analysts work closely with local, county, tribal, state and federal officials to investigate and prosecute crimes involving homicide, arson, financial crimes, illegal gaming, multi-jurisdictional crimes, drug trafficking, computer crimes, homeland security, public integrity and government corruption as well as crimes against children. The division also performs special investigations requested by the Governor or the Legislature and provides extensive training to local, state and federal officers on current issues in law enforcement.

DCI has a long history of protecting the public and ensuring justice is done. While the incredible work of DCI agents often goes unsung, a few recent cases where DCI was the lead agency, or a significant contributor, include:

To assist in investigating crime, Wisconsin DOJ requests adding 19 special agent and criminal analyst positions in the next biennial budget, to bolster the services DCI provides. These agents will focus on many of DCIs investigative priorities, including homicide, narcotics, internet crimes against children, drug and human trafficking, arson, unresolved cases, white collar crime, elder financial abuse and more. Wisconsin DOJs full request can be foundhere.

Find this press release on the Wisconsin DOJ websitehere.

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Dept. of Justice: WSIC delivers physical and cyber security for ... - WisPolitics.com

Does macOS need third-party antivirus in the enterprise? – TechTarget

Cybersecurity threats require organizations to employ comprehensive data protection tactics and software such as antivirus, but Apple administrators may see Apple devices as sufficiently protected by the native security features.

Apple devices historically have a reputation for strong security, and macOS has a built-in antivirus tool, XProtect, so third-party antivirus might seem unnecessary to some Mac administrators. However, that reputation isn't necessarily accurate today, and malware such as viruses can cause serious issues if they're able to slip through the cracks. Additional antivirus protection is one important part of an effective cybersecurity strategy for Mac devices in the enterprise.

There are a few reasons why Macs have been seen as especially secure devices over the years. In the past, Apple had a much smaller share of the business computing market compared to Windows. There were more users to reach within the Windows OS, so hackers focused on writing malicious code to target Windows devices. Today, however, plenty of people use Macs, so they're a more appealing target for cyber attacks than they used to be.

Another reason for this security reputation is Apple's walled garden approach, where any software or service must be reviewed and approved by Apple before it can run within macOS, iOS or iPadOS. With the App Store, Apple carefully vets third-party software before making it available for download, so it's harder for users to unwittingly install malicious software onto their devices. While this approach can strengthen device security, it has been the subject of criticism and antitrust charges in recent years, so Apple might have to allow third-party app stores on its devices in the future.

New threats emerge constantly, and XProtect isn't as up to date on those threats as third-party antivirus providers tend to be.

Still, there are some aspects of macOS that give the operating system an edge when it comes to security. XProtect is macOS' built-in antivirus protection tool, which scans all applications and files to detect and block the download of malware. Another built-in security tool is Gatekeeper, which verifies that any app users try to open or install has come from a certified developer. These native Mac security tools also receive silent automatic updates, keeping them effective as threats evolve.

Even with these security strengths, viruses and other malware infections can and do affect Mac devices, with new vulnerabilities coming out every year. Their reputation for security can also contribute to cybersecurity risks, as users might be more careless when dealing with phishing attempts and other threats in a Mac environment. To stay on top of any potential vulnerabilities, organizations should supplement macOS' native security features with third-party antivirus software.

Antivirus software typically runs in the background to scan devices for malware and vulnerabilities, detecting and blocking threats such as ransomware, spyware and adware in real time. While XProtect can do this fairly well, it only scans for the malicious software that Apple is already aware of. New threats emerge constantly, and XProtect isn't as up to date on those threats as third-party antivirus providers tend to be. Plus, many antivirus products offer advanced features to further enhance protection, such as built-in VPN, malicious traffic detection, data loss prevention and patch management.

Third-party antivirus can fill in some of the gaps that macOS doesn't cover for security, making it a necessity for organizations that have to deal with sensitive corporate and end-user data. It should be just one part of a malware protection strategy, however. In addition to third-party antivirus software, organizations should invest in security awareness training for end users.

User behavior plays a major role in cybersecurity, with the Verizon "2022 Data Breach Investigations Report" finding that 82% of breaches in 2021 involved human error. Users don't always recognize the signs of a malware attack or know how to react to pop-ups and other suspicious activity. And while one of Apple's security strengths is that it issues regular security updates, users aren't always quick to install updates, allowing vulnerabilities to cause serious issues for even longer. Ensuring that users know the importance of software updates and other cybersecurity best practices is vital to effectively secure Macs in the enterprise.

There is a wide range of Mac antivirus providers on the market today. To choose from the available options, organizations should consider a few factors. Some tools, such as Intego Mac Internet Security X9, only support macOS, but most antivirus vendors can accommodate both macOS and Windows systems. Vendors such as Bitdefender and ESET include Linux support as well. Implementing security platforms that can support all of an organization's systems is a good way to reduce administrative overhead and licensing costs.

Similarly, organizations should look for antivirus software that's compatible with other IT tools and won't significantly impact device performance or the end-user experience. Some vendors, including Malwarebytes and Avast, offer a few different antivirus products and editions to choose from. It's important to sort through all of the available features to find the best fit among all of the vendors and their offerings. Some features that organizations should opt for include ransomware protection, adware detection and centralized management. Other popular vendors to consider include Norton, McAfee, TotalAV and Kaspersky.

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Does macOS need third-party antivirus in the enterprise? - TechTarget

Apple’s first iPhone Rapid Security Response patch had a problem … – The Verge

Apple announced the new Rapid Security Response updates for iPhones, iPads, and Macs last year at WWDC, and today, the first publicly released patch on the system started to roll out. After rough going initially when the new update claimed every iPhone was offline, the new patch is now installed on our devices without a problem.

The Rapid Security Response system is supposed to make things easier, adding security fixes in between larger system updates that could install on some devices without a reboot as well as allowing users to opt out of receiving them entirely or uninstall them if they caused any issues.

Every iPhone we checked among Verge staffers running the latest iOS software (iOS 16.4) showed a notification that the 85MB patch was available after the rollout started at 1PM ET.

The only problem is that, as soon as we tried to install it, all we got was an error message that read Unable to Verify Security Response. It continued, saying, iOS Security Response 16.4.1(a) failed verification because you are no longer connected to the internet.

A quick scan of comments across Twitter, Reddit, and other platforms reveals a lot of other people experienced the same problem.

However, by around 3:30PM ET, the process started working smoothly, applying the update within about 30 seconds on all available devices. Apple hasnt yet updated its security page for iOS or other platforms to explain what problems the patch fixes.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and so far, its unclear why the error messages were popping up. According to the support page, the first security updates are available now on iOS 16.4.1, iPadOS 16.4.1, and macOS 13.3.1.

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Apple's first iPhone Rapid Security Response patch had a problem ... - The Verge

Heads up! Avast One is 70% off for Tom’s Guide readers in the UK – Tom’s Guide

The Avast One internet security suite recently earned perfect scores for malware protection from the two biggest independent security software labs, AV-Comparatives, and AV-Test. But it also has several advanced security tools, like a system cleaner, network protections, and unlimited VPN access.

For our UK Tom's Guide readers only, Avast has a special introductory offer. For only 23.99 (that's a 70% savings) you can protect up to 5 devices for a whole year!

Here's a quick look at some of the cool features of Avast One:

Firewall: Especially important when connected topublic Wi-Fi, the Avast firewall keeps tab on your connection to make sure snoops and hackers can't sneak in this way. The firewall also works alongside Avast's network security so your system is clear of threats that don't originate from the web.

System cleaner: As you download apps and save files, your devices tend to run slower. Even after files have been deleted small remnants are left behind. Avast's system cleaner looks for these small bits, and anything else causing system slowdown and removes them.

VPN: A virtual private network hides your online activity by using encryption, so your activity can't be intercepted. There's also no proof linking your online movements to you. Even your IP address is hidden. Avast's VPN will kill your internet access automatically if your connection is ever compromised while using it.

ID monitoring: Because of how easy it is to lose personal information due to data breaches, using the ID monitoring that comes with Avast One is very helpful. It will keep watch for your passwords, email addresses, and other login credentials being used on the dark web.

Today's best Avast Mobile Security deals

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Heads up! Avast One is 70% off for Tom's Guide readers in the UK - Tom's Guide

Fallston Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Federal Prison for … – Department of Justice

Baltimore, Maryland - U.S. District Judge Stephanie A. Gallagher today sentenced Robert Jackson Wyatt, Jr., age 54, of Fallston, Maryland, to 15 years in federal prison, followed by lifetime supervised release, for distribution of child pornography. Wyatt had a previous federal conviction for possession of child pornography. Judge Gallagher ordered that, upon his release from prison, Wyatt must register as a sex offender in the places where he resides, where he is an employee, and where he is a student, under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge James C. Harris of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore; Colonel Roland L. Butler, Jr., Superintendent of the Maryland State Police; Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey R. Gahler and Harford County States Attorney Alison Healey.

According to his guilty plea, on August 31, 2021, members of the Maryland State Police (MSP) were conducting an investigation into offenders sharing child pornography using a communication protocol for peer-to-peer file sharing that enables users to distribute data and electronic files over the Internet in a decentralized manner. An IP address that was sharing suspected child pornography was identified as belonging to Wyatt and a search warrant for his home was executed on October 1, 2021. Investigators learned that Wyatt was not home but was at a nearby marina on his boat where he often spent time. Investigators went to the marina and watched as Wyatt walked from his boat to his car. Wyatt then drove back to his residence, where he was confronted by investigators.

Wyatt consented to a search of his cell phone and an MSP digital forensic examiner found several files of child pornography on the phone. A peer-to-peer filesharing program was installed on the phone, as well as a virtual private network application and an anti-forensic application. On a chat application, Wyatt belonged to chat groups including Incest and Little Girl and mommy and daughter. On October 26, 2022, a search warrant was executed on Wyatts boat. Two thumb drives were found with multiple images and videos of child pornography, including several known series involving depictions of babies, toddlers, and sadomasochistic abuse of children. Several of the files located on Wyatts devices matched those that were distributed during the MSP investigation via the peer-to-peer file sharing originating from the suspect IP address.

Wyatt admitted that he was the person who shared the files with the MSP investigator on August 31, 2021. In total, over 1170 images files and over 170 video files were located on Wyatts devices.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys Offices and the Criminal Divisions Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc and click on the Resources tab on the left of the page.

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended HSI, the Maryland State Police, the Harford County Sheriffs Office and the Harford County States Attorneys Office for their work in the investigation and prosecution. Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Colleen E. McGuinn, who prosecuted the case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorneys Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit http://www.justice.gov/usao-md/project-safe-childhood and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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Fallston Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Federal Prison for ... - Department of Justice

3 Best Software Stocks to Buy in 2023 and Beyond – The Motley Fool

Looking to add some excitement to your portfolio? Investing in software stocks could give you that jolt, while also setting up your portfolio to make money in the long run. And if you're looking for some solid picks in this sector, I've got your back.

Read on to dive into three software stocks that are worth your attention: software giant Microsoft (MSFT -0.55%),programmatic advertising platform The Trade Desk (TTD -2.18%), and cloud-based security provider Cloudflare (NET -4.95%). Get ready to learn why these three companies could be great additions to your portfolio this year.

You can't beat the classics sometimes. Microsoft is an excellent investment after dominating the software industry for decades. The market opportunities might have changed, but the company's growth prospects remain enormous, even now.

For example, the tech giant's revenue rose by 10% in constant currency in the recently reported third quarter of 2023. If that jump doesn't impress you much, maybe you didn't notice that the global economy is waist-deep in an inflation-based crisis. Any growth should be seen as good news in this market, especially if the growing business was large and established in the first place.

And that's for the whole shebang, including underperforming businesses such as Windows licenses and Microsoft-branded hardware devices. Balancing out those weak spots, the Redmond, Washington, company is pulling off some truly remarkable growth in cloud computing and productivity software. Strong demand for Windows Azure and other cloud-based services is driving that train.

Of course, no investment is a sure thing, but Microsoft seems well positioned for continued growth in the years to come. It's no surprise that as a leading cloud-computing platform with a keen eye on the artificial intelligence (AI) space, the stock is up by more than 27% year to date in this AI-flavored economy.

But wait -- there's more. In the third quarter, Microsoft returned $9.7 billion of spare cash to shareholders through buybacks and dividends. That stockholder-friendly move was based on $17.8 billion in free cash flows. Microsoft is putting those deep pockets to good use.

You'll want to take a closer look at The Trade Desk in the digital advertising space.

The company's programmatic advertising platform is gaining market share, and its advertising business is snowballing. In the fourth quarter of 2022, The Trade Desk reported revenue growth of 24% year over year.

Remember what I said about any growth being good news? That's even more true in the advertising sector, which has taken the inflation-based downturn on the chin. Ad buyers are holding their purse strings tightly since their prospective customers generally aren't ready to buy stuff. A 24% revenue jump against that backdrop is nothing short of stunning.

Like Microsoft, The Trade Desk's ongoing success has caught the attention of hungry investors lately. Share prices are up by 40% year to date.

For a software stock with strong growth potential in the advertising space, consider adding The Trade Desk to your portfolio. When this company does a good job, it makes ad campaigns more effective with a lower budget. This programmatic advertising platform looks like a great addition to your holdings.

And when you're looking for ideas in internet security and performance services, look no further than Cloudflare. The company is gaining market share, and its customer base is growing rapidly. It added 114 large customers in the first quarter of 2023, with annual contracts worth $100,000 or more. That customer group now has 2,156 members.

Cloudflare is also expanding its product portfolio and growing its global footprint. In the first quarter, the company reported revenue growth of 37% year over year. I don't need to remind you of the challenging market environment, right? The gains are only getting bigger.

The last quarter was tough, with customers scrutinizing every penny of their operating budgets. On last week's first-quarter earnings call, CEO Matthew Prince likened it to the grimmest days of the pandemic. Still, Prince emphasized that his company remains indispensable, not just an expendable luxury. As he put it, "Thankfully, we continue to be a must-have, not a nice-to-have."

So stop me if you've heard this before, but Cloudflare is a software stock with explosive growth potential. You should consider adding this promising company to your portfolio, giving you a healthy exposure to the internet security and performance markets. Like Microsoft and The Trade Desk, Cloudflare should serve your wealth-building investment goals well for the long haul.

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3 Best Software Stocks to Buy in 2023 and Beyond - The Motley Fool

Internet 2.0 Conference Reviews The Need To Invest In Cybersecurity Technology To Avoid Growing Fraud In The – EIN News

One of the fireside chats of the Internet 2.0 Conference sheds light on the need to invest and include cybersecurity technology in order to stay safe online.

Cybercrime is on the rise, with scam offenses, fraudulent activities, and online scams becoming increasingly sophisticated. Experts shared that over $3.3 billion was lost to fraud in 2020, and the trend shows no signs of slowing down. Many people have fallen victim to these scams and some have even lost their life savings. Therefore, addressing this issue and taking preventative measures to protect against fraud is imperative.

Speakers at the Internet 2.0 Conference shared that cybercriminals use various tactics to scam and defraud unsuspecting internet users. One of the most common scams involves enticing users to share personal information or downloading harmful software through fake websites and fraudulent emails. Cybercriminals sometimes even impersonate well-known businesses to lure users into sharing confidential information. These scammers operate under pretenses and fake identities and use reviews to dupe unsuspecting victims. Online review platforms are rife with fake reviews, which can lure customers into trusting illegitimate businesses. Consumers should, therefore, remain vigilant when reading reviews, especially on unfamiliar sites.

As we usher in the new era of technology, there is a pressing need to invest in cybersecurity technology. In the past, internet security was reactive, with developers only focusing on mitigating cyber-attack effects. However, with the increase in data breaches and fraud, developers must adopt a proactive approach to cybersecurity. By doing so, they can help prevent fraudulent activities before they occur, ensuring that the internet remains a safe space for all users.

You can join this upcoming tech event, the Internet 2.0 Conference, and explore the limitless possibilities of discussing, debating, and exhibiting your effective solutions against the prevailing fraud, spam, and other scam offenses, before the global audience. To learn more about its upcoming Dubai and Las Vegas editions, feel free to visit http://www.internet2conf.com.

Internet 2.0 ConferenceInternet 2.0 Conference+1 346) 226-8280email us hereVisit us on social media:FacebookTwitterLinkedIn

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Internet 2.0 Conference Reviews The Need To Invest In Cybersecurity Technology To Avoid Growing Fraud In The - EIN News

Advancing The Security Operations Center (SOC): New Technologies and Processes Can Help Mitigate Cyber Threats – Forbes

Work on a Big Interactive Map. Facility is Full of Screens Showing Technical Data.getty

We are in a state of cyber-flux with new and many asymmetrical challenges to cybersecurity. As cybersecurity gaps abound, a new urgency in both industry and government has arisen on how to better protect the cyber landscape.

The digital attack surface has vastly expanded from the transitions by many companies and organizations to remote work, and from more interconnectivity of PCs and smart devices coming online from around the globe. For many companies and institutions, the overall IT perimeter is now more complex and dispersed with on-premises systems, cloud, and edge computing that necessitates more visibility, and a need for better threat detection, analysis, and incident response.

The cyber ecosystem is in a precarious situation. Emerging technologies such as the Internet of Things, Machine learning & artificial intelligence, and 5G are creating operational shifts that require new and more robust cybersecurity strategies. Exacerbating the cybersecurity challenge is the global dearth of qualified cybersecurity workers and expertise available to help defend the data at risk.

Finally, but not least of concern is the fact that criminal enterprises and state actors are posing a much more sophisticated and capable threat. They are sharing resources and tactics over Dark Web forums and using advanced hacking tools that enable them to discover vulnerable targets to infiltrate malware and automate attacks.

One vital and important development to meet these numerous cyber-threat challenges is the development of enhanced capabilities in Security Operations Centers (SOCs) used by companies, government, and organizations. SOCs provide an operational risk management structure for organizations to organize, monitor and respond to cybersecurity threats.

An effective SOC can manage corporate systems, control systems, and physical security. It is designed to deliver continuous prevention, protection, detection, and mitigation of threats to systems. SOC teams also uncover vulnerabilities, respond to threats, and handle incidents that may be in progress on your networks or systems. A SOCs success quotient depends on the rapid and accurate interpretation and response to threats by analysts and the security team. Please see my article on the key functions and operations of SOCs in Homeland Security Today at: Using SOCs and Cybersecurity Hubs to Prioritize Security Operations in a Critical Era - HS Today

Also, security operations center benefits are well defined in an article called Security Operations Center Trends for 2023 by Gilad David Maayan:

Improved Security Posture: A SOC helps to improve an organization's security posture by continuously monitoring for security threats and vulnerabilities and taking appropriate action to address them. This can help prevent security incidents and protect the organization's assets.

Enhanced Visibility: A SOC provides a centralized view of the organization's security posture, allowing security professionals to easily see what is happening across the organization's networks, systems, and applications.

Please see: Security Operations Center Trends for 2023 - DZone

Every year the RSA conference in San Francisco operates as a venue where many new cyber technologies are introduced for consideration to IT and security teams. SOC technologies have become a significant focus of those seeking improved cybersecurity. Other venues and conferences are also discussing the important role of SOCS for cybersecurity as the threat matrix grows. I have selected a few examples of solutions and products in different areas of SOC operations that can help advance SOCs and their operators for the years ahead.

IBM, a historical leader in developing tools for SOCs, has responded to new SOC challenges with an array of AI and security solutions designed to unify and accelerate the security analyst experience across their entire process of threat detection, investigation and response The IBM QRadar Suite offers a comprehensive set of security software built around a new user interface that is embedded with AI, and connects security data and response workflows between SOC analyst toolsets. It is delivered as SaaS and is designed so businesses small, medium, and large can select and customize products from the suite that specially fit their unique situations.

Specifically for SOC operators these products include AI/automation innovations for:

Alert triage; contextualizing threats, reducing false positives, and automatically prioritizing or closing alerts with AI trained on prior analyst response patterns,

Threat investigation; with the system automatically conducting early investigation steps that analysts would normally do manually, such as searching across systems for other evidence related to the security incident, and compiling results into easy to digest format for analysts to review and respond.

According to IBMs press release from the RSA conference, there are three core design elements of the QRadar Suite that immediately garnered my attention that bring immediate advantages to SOC operators to help ameliorate cyber-threats:

Please see RSA Press Release:

For more information also for a deeper dive on QRadar see:

Peripherals

Fibernet

An Israeli company called Fibernet LTD. known for their data center expertise (including for the CERN particle reactor), and has developed of a line of products for SOCs to keep secure USB, HDMI, and similar data lines. Their solutions allow companies to protect high-level secured environments, including multi-media peripherals that connect to SOCs, by separating source and data. Their new products can secure and simplify the aggregation of audio/visual data from multiple sources that may feed into a SOC. Fibernet restrings, emulates and separate signals, keeping functionality and avoiding any possibility of hacking through these lines.

Cybersecurity at the signal level is an interesting approach as physical security is based on the laws of physics it makes it physically impossible to transfer data in the wrong direction, denying an attacker access to your system.

For more information, please see:

Following The Audit and Log SOC Trail

A Canadian company called Datex created a technology called DataStealth that is beneficial for SOC operators performing audits. DataStealth is deployed between 2 endpoints: User to Application or Application to a database or even an On-Premises environment to a SaaS Service. Their platform then creates an audit record for everything that passes between.

The uniqueness of this approach is that the collection is performed at the transport layer enabling DataStealth to sit between any source and target, without any installation of collectors or agents. By collecting and reviewing audit logs, system administrators can achieve unparalleled granularity in tracking user activity, while security teams can easily and quickly investigate any security incidents to ensure full compliance with regulations, privacy laws, and governance requirements.

Please see: DataStealth Audit and Logging Use Case

While technologies are very important, there is no substitute for the human factor in cybersecurity and in especially managing the operations of a security operations center. There are a variety of organization that specialize in SOC certifications, two of them are described below.

SANS Institute

The SANS Institute was launched in 1989 as a cooperative for information security thought leadership. SANS ongoing mission to empower cyber security professionals with the practical skills and knowledge they need to make our world a safer place. SANS offers the latest SOC training certification and resources for SIEM, Elastic Stack, and modern detection techniques to help equip Blue Teamers with the right knowledge and ability that is needed to safeguard their organizations and drive security operations with actionable intelligence.

Please see: Security Operations Center | SANS Institute

CompTIA is another certification organization that offers excellent training for potential SOC analysts. The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) is a leading voice and advocate for the $5 trillion global information technology ecosystem; and the estimated 75 million industry and tech professionals who design, implement, manage and safeguard the technology that powers the worlds economy.

Please see: What Is a Security Operations Center | Cybersecurity | CompTIA

The State of The SOC

CompTia

The adage is that people, processes, and technologies are essential for holistic cybersecurity. I have discussed some interesting technology applications, but there are also newer processes that SOCs need to implement. While models can differ, below is a glimpse of the basic elements usually found in operating an SOC:

In the past, three significant risk management themes have been put forward to help ameliorate the digital risk ecosystem including: security by design, defense in depth, and zero trust. They are a triad, or three strong pillars of risk management needed for a successful cybersecurity strategy.

Security by Design is well defined in an article in United States Cybersecurity magazine, cybersecurity expert Jeff Spivey provided an excellent working definition: Security by Design ensures that security risk governance and management are monitored, managed, and maintained on a continuous basis. The value of this holistic approach is that it ensures that new security risks are prioritized, ordered, and addressed in a continual manner with continuous feedback and learning. Security by Design | United States Cybersecurity Magazine (uscybersecurity.net)

Security by Design is really the initiation point of a risk management processespecially if you are a software or hardware developer concerned with security. In fact, DHS CISA recently came out with a strategy for both the private and public sectors making security by designing a preferred course of action. Please see: Secure by Design, Secure by Default | CISA

Defense in Depth. A variety of strong definitions exist for defense in depth in the security community. A NIST publication defines the Defense-in-depth concept as an important security architecture principle that has significant application to industrial control systems (ICS), cloud services, storehouses of sensitive data, and many other areas. We claim that an ideal defense-in-depth posture is 'deep', containing many layers of security, and 'narrow', the number of node independent attack paths is minimized. Measuring and Improving the Effectiveness of Defense-in-Depth Postures | NIST

Zero trust (ZT) is the term for an evolving set of cybersecurity paradigms that move defenses from static, network- based perimeters to focus on users, assets, and resources. A zero-trust architecture (ZTA) uses zero trust principles to plan industrial and enterprise infrastructure and workflows. Zero trust assumes there is no implicit trust granted to assets or user accounts based solely on their physical or network location (i.e., local area networks versus the internet) or based on asset ownership (enterprise or personally owned). Authentication and authorization (both subject and device) are discrete functions performed before a session to an enterprise resource is established. Zero trust is a response to enterprise network trends that include remote users, bring your own device (BYOD), and cloud- based assets that are not located within an enterprise-owned network boundary. Zero trust focuses on protecting resources (assets, services, workflows, network accounts, etc.), not network segments, as the network location is no longer seen as the prime component to the security posture of the resource. This document contains an abstract definition of zero trust architecture (ZTA) and gives general deployment models and use cases where zero trust could improve an enterprises overall information technology security posture. Zero Trust Architecture | NIST

Frameworks, processes, strategies, operational SOC are elements that should be prioritized in industry and government. I provided a working checklist in a recent article in Homeland Security Today on the topic that can be found at the following link: Using SOCs and Cybersecurity Hubs to Prioritize Security Operations in a Critical Era - HS Today

A useful publication to better understand the importance of the role of SOCs that was written in 2021 is The Evolution of Security Operations and Strategies for Building an Effective SOC by Lakshmi Narayanan Kaliyaperumal. The author noted that cybersecurity threats are becoming increasingly complex, sophisticated, malicious, well organized, and well-funded. The widespread adoption of artificial intelligence (AI)-powered tools and technologies will lead to customized; high-impact cyberattacks. Addressing the complexity and sophistication of such attacks requires an empowered security operations center (SOC). And that extended detection and response (XDR) and the integration of IT/operational technology (OT)/industrial control systems (ICS) are likely the next advancements in the SOC evolution. XDR evolved from current reactive threat detection and response solutions and integrates security technologies signals to extract threat events across identity, endpoints, the cloud, and the network. XDR capabilities include identity analytics, network analysis, integrated threat intelligence, AI/ML-based detection, and automated and orchestrated investigation response.

Please see: The Evolution of Security Operations and Strategies for Building an Effective SOC (isaca.org)

The Importance of SOCs is a global issue and the importance of the SOC role is recognized in new legislation by the European Community. The proposed EU Cyber Solidarity Act, aims to strengthen cybersecurity by creating better detection, preparedness, and response to significant or large-scale incidents. This involves creating a European Cybersecurity Shield and a Cyber Emergency Mechanism, using national and cross-border state-of-the-art Security Operations Centers (SOCs) tasked with detecting and acting on cyberthreats. The EUs Cyber Solidarity Act: Security Operations Centers to the rescue! | WeLiveSecurity

In summary, innovative technologies, (some of which I have highlighted) and which are being introduced in 2023 at RSA and other venues are focused on those capabilities and will significantly assist SOC operators with cybersecurity challenges. Being aware of the resources available and operational requirements for SOC cybersecurity is a starting point for business, government, and many organizations. The cyber threats and risks are too high not to be proactive in advancing the capabilities of security operations centers.

Chuck Brooks

Top Cyber News Magazine

Chuck Brooks is a globally recognized thought leader and subject matter expert Cybersecurity and Emerging Technologies. Chuck is also an Adjunct Faculty at Georgetown Universitys Graduate Cybersecurity Risk Management Program where he teaches courses on risk management, homeland security technologies, and cybersecurity. LinkedIn named Chuck as one of The Top 5 Tech People to Follow on LinkedIn. He was named Cybersecurity Person of the Year for 2022 by The Cyber Express, and as one of the worlds 10 Best Cyber Security and Technology Experts by Best Rated, as a Top 50 Global Influencer in Risk, Compliance, by Thompson Reuters, Best of The Word in Security by CISO Platform, and by IFSEC, and Thinkers 360 as the #2 Global Cybersecurity Influencer. He was featured in the 2020, 2021, and 2022 Onalytica "Who's Who in Cybersecurity" He was also named one of the Top 5 Executives to Follow on Cybersecurity by Executive Mosaic, He is a GovCon Expert for Executive Mosaic/GovCon Wire, He is also a Cybersecurity Expert for The Network at the Washington Post, Visiting Editor at Homeland Security Today, and a Contributor to Skytop Media, and to FORBES. He has an MA in International relations from the University of Chicago, a BA in Political Science from DePauw University, and a Certificate in International Law from The Hague Academy of International Law.

Chuck Brooks, President of Brooks Consulting International, is a globally recognized thought leader and subject matter expert Cybersecurity and Emerging Technologies. Chuck is also Adjunct Faculty at Georgetown Universitys Graduate Applied Intelligence Program and the Graduate Cybersecurity Programs where he teaches courses on risk management, homeland security, and cybersecurity.

LinkedIn named Chuck as one of The Top 5 Tech People to Follow on LinkedIn. He was named as one of the worlds 10 Best Cyber Security and Technology Experts by Best Rated, as a Top 50 Global Influencer in Risk, Compliance, by Thompson Reuters, Best of The Word in Security by CISO Platform, and by IFSEC and Thinkers 360 as the #2 Global Cybersecurity Influencer. He was featured in the 2020, 2021, and 2022 Onalytica "Who's Who in Cybersecurity" as one of the top Influencers for cybersecurity.

Chuck has served at executive levels in both government and industry. He is a two-time Presidential Appointee and was one of the group of initial people hired to helped set up the Department of Homeland Security, including the Science & Technology Directorate.

Chuck has written over 300 articles and has keynoted dozens of conferences worldwide. He has over 82,000 followers on LinkedIn and almost 18,000 followers on Twitter.

Chuck has an MA in International relations from the University of Chicago, a BA in Political Science from DePauw University, and a Certificate in International Law from The Hague Academy of International Law.

Follow Chuck on social media:

LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuckbrooks/

Twitter:@ChuckDBrooks

See the rest here:
Advancing The Security Operations Center (SOC): New Technologies and Processes Can Help Mitigate Cyber Threats - Forbes