Test Your Backups, Test Your Incident Response Plan, Test Your Business Ecosystem

Amidst all of the ransomware attacks, it is evident that organizations need to believe that it is not an if they will be subject to such threats, but when.

Tabletop testing is certainly necessary, though more comprehensive testing would be prudent as well.

Derivatives of Blockchain

Holochains (http://ceptr.org/projects/holochain) and other derivatives are making their way into this new ecosystem.

It seems that IoMT and other tech that requires firmware to have high level of integrity are the best use cases.

Dual of Cloud Silver Bullets: Aporeto vs RedLock

Both are flush w/ cash & both have stormed outta the gate for cloud security.

The question is who is there customer?  Many orgs have existing InfoSec investments that could be extended to the cloud via virtual appliances.  So, unless cloud security providers (CSPs) bundle these solutions in, I would think that large, Fortune 1000 companies wouldnt be early adopters.

TBD....

Ransomware & Incident Response: Thoughts from WannaCry, WannaCry2, & WannaCrypt0r

Lots of content has been created for detecting & dealing with ransomware; however, these past few days have seen a flurry of different attacks & thus require some specific after-action reports (AAR).

So, here are some observations / thoughts / notes:

• Many orgs do not have the budget to ward off ransomware, including: 
• Advanced threat protection (ATP) via: EDR, UBA / UEBA, UTM / NGFW / NGIPS / NGIDS
• Virtualization to segment legacy tech: SDN, SDS, hyperconvergence
• SIEM & TI
• SETA & CSIRT awareness notifications were slow & ineffective
• Close the patching gap....no more excuses
• We'll see this level of pandemic / infestation again...this is just a start.

So, folks will see this level of attack again & its up to them to be proactive & respond accordingly.

CISO Leadership Academy is Coming Soon

Watch out for the CISO Leadership Program, which will formally start this June....

OODA Framework for TI / DFIR / CSIR Process Engineering

THE OODA Loop (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OODA_loop) can be used to develop workflows for TI / DFIR / CSIR, including leveraging TIMP implementations, like MineMeld (https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/products/secure-the-network/subscriptions/minemeld).

Offensive Security vs. Enhanced (Defensive) Security

Offensive / obfuscation tools (e.g., honeypots, bastion hosts, anti-reconnaissance: Microsoft NetCease) and techniques are now gaining more attention as of late.

So, while next-generation (defensive) security tools and techniques (e.g., behavioral analytics: UBA / UEBA via Cisco StealthWatch, binary sandboxing, advanced threat protection: ATP) are all the craze, InfoSec leadership will have to address prioritization for budgets and bodies.

Said prioritization may be assisted by identifying the defense-in-depth posture, as well as the threat environment.