Tag Archive for: building

A Hacker’s Perspective For Building Proactive Organizational Defenses

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Anshu is the founder/CEO of CloudDefense.AI—a CNAPP that secures both applications and cloud infrastructure.

The ongoing happenings in cyberspace continually underscore the concerning fact that hackers are getting super smart with their tricks and launching sophisticated cyberattacks more often. Whether it’s crippling ransomware attacks or sneaky data breaches, cybercriminals are showing off their cleverness and adaptability like never before. Hacking techniques are evolving faster than our traditional security measures can keep up with.

This is the harsh reality of cloud security, where hackers exploit the very nature of the cloud—its openness, its dynamism—to gain an edge. But what if you could think like a hacker? What if you could see your publicly exposed infrastructure through their eyes, anticipate their moves, and shore up your defenses before they even struck?

That’s the power of understanding hacker recon. As the CEO of a cloud security company, I’ve learned that when it comes to implementing cybersecurity strategies, it’s not enough to merely react to threats. To stay ahead of the curve, we need to think like attackers, not just defenders. That said, here I discuss how to adopt the hacker’s perspective and use it to strengthen your cloud security posture.

Understanding What Hacker Recon Is

Think of hacker reconnaissance (recon) as detective work done before a cyberattack is launched. It’s when hackers gather information about their target, such as a company’s computer systems and networks. Through this, they’re trying to understand the layout of the digital front, looking for any security gaps, attack vectors or potential entry points that they can exploit later.

Simply put, the more information they uncover, the more smoothly their “operation” can go—just like any good detective needs solid clues to crack a case. So, next time you hear about a cyberattack, remember that it often starts with this information-gathering phase.

There are two main ways hackers do their recon:

• Passive recon involves gathering information without directly interacting with the target system. Hackers might use search engines, social media, public records and other…

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DOD’s Cyber Strategy Emphasizes Building Partner Capacity > U.S. Department of Defense > Defense Department News

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In May, the Defense Department released to Congress the classified version of the 2023 Cyber Strategy. Today, the department made public an unclassified summary of that strategy which reveals a new emphasis on helping U.S. partners and allies build their own cyber capacity.

“Distinct from previous iterations of the DOD cyber strategy, this strategy commits to building the cyber capability of global allies and partners and to increase our collective resilience against cyber attack,” said Mieke Eoyang, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for cyber policy, during a briefing today at the Pentagon. “Allies and partners are a strategic advantage that no competitor can match.” 

According to the now publicly available summary of the 2023 Cyber Strategy, the department plans to prioritize efforts to increase the effectiveness of allies and partners in cyberspace. 

“In some cases, the department will work toward this goal by augmenting partner capacity, expanding partners’ access to cybersecurity infrastructure and maturing their cyber workforce though combined training events and exercises,” the summary reads. 

The summary further states the department has also committed, in some cases, to directly helping develop partner capability by enabling functions a partner needs but does not yet have. 

“The department will enhance our relationship with our most cyber-capable allies and partners at the strategic, operational and tactical levels,” the policy reads. “We will expand the total number of partners with whom we engage and integrate these efforts with the wider security cooperation enterprise.” 

More broadly, the summary reveals that the 2023 Cyber Strategy asks the department to address current and future cyber threats by pursuing four complementary lines of effort. These lines of effort include defending the nation, preparing to fight and win the nation’s wars, protecting the cyber domain with allies and partners, and building enduring advantages in cyberspace. 

“[This] strategy builds upon the direction set by the 2018 DOD Cyber Strategy and is informed by years of real-world experience of…

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Building a CyberInsurance Infrastructure in the Age of Ransomware — Virtualization Review

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Building a CyberInsurance Infrastructure in the Age of Ransomware

In the age of ransomware, John O’Neill Sr., chief technologist at AWS Solutions, has become a CyberInsurance expert who guides clients through the intricacies of dealing with insurance companies who really don’t want to pay out unless they have to.

“Insurance companies are for profit, and they are losing a lot of money on CyberInsurance right now,” says the sought-after speaker at live tech events. “So they’re trying to tighten up those losses and make it make it harder for them to lose money when they pay out on these claims.”

He will be explaining more about that when he shares his expertise in a hands-on TechMentor training seminar titled Building a CyberInsurance Compliant Security Infrastructure, taking place Sept. 7-8.

The workshop is for IT support professionals, cybersecurity pros and Chief Information Security Officers who must become, and remain, well versed in the nuances of cyberinsurance. When attackers strike and operations suffer, good cyberinsurance may make the difference between a few stressful days, or catastrophic monetary losses.

At the TechMentor event, attendees will learn:

  • How to create advanced protection and recovery designs including Secure Fabric and Rapidly Deployable Secure Network architectures
  • About creating effective Incident Response Plans, Business Continuity Plans, and Disaster Recovery plans
  • The top things to do now, preventing compliance heartbreak at renewal
  • Finish this seminar with the tools and skills to obtain CyberInsurance policies with the highest coverages, lowest deductibles, and lowest premiums

He might also help attendees create a CyberInsurance policies checklist like the one below that he used for a previous event in a different venue.


A High-Level CyberInsurance Polices Checklist
[Click on image for larger view.] A High-Level CyberInsurance Polices Checklist

We recently caught up with O’Neill Sr. to learn more about his event and CyberInsurance in general in a short…

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Building in cyber resilience | Envirotec

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cyber-security

A criminal cyber-attack on a UK water company in August 2022 saw hackers gain access to customer banking details, and led utilities to urgently reassess cybersecurity strategies. In this Q&A, Philippe Willems, engineering manager at Ovarro, discusses the challenge for the water sector and suppliers.

What are the biggest cybersecurity threats facing the water sector today?
The biggest cybersecurity hazard for water companies, and for all critical infrastructure companies, is an attacker taking control of their IT or OT [operational technology] systems to steal data and block or disrupt operations. Risks stem from water companies still using legacy systems which were installed many years, if not decades, ago.

These systems have minimal, if any, cybersecurity features and present a huge digital attack surface – this means there are many pathways an attacker can take to gain unauthorised access to a computer or network.

Protecting insecure legacy infrastructure can seem like a daunting challenge. The main task for water companies is to update or protect their existing systems. This requires a detailed analysis of their OT network vulnerabilities, before establishing an initial plan to protect the most vulnerable entry points for attackers.

Who is behind water sector threats and attacks, and what are their motives?
There are three main attacker types. Hackers who do it for the sake of doing it – they are perhaps the least concerning. Then there are the attackers who want to block access to computer systems using malicious software, such as ransomware, until a sum of money is paid. The most dangerous and under-the-radar, unnoticed threat comes from state-backed attackers trying to gain access to water companies, and other critical infrastructure, in what is called cyber-warfare.

What steps should water companies take to protect their systems from attacks?
First and foremost, companies must undertake a full assessment of their security systems. The correct steps can then be taken to protect these systems. Actions may include replacing existing unsecured devices with cyber-secure devices, by using firewalls, or by segregating IT and OT networks, to ensure any…

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