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Guarding Against Fileless Malware: Types and Prevention

Image Fileless malware, true to its name, is malicious code that uses existing legitimate programs in a system for compromise. It operates directly in the Random Access Memory (RAM) without requiring any executable files in the hard drive. Differing from conventional malware, fileless attacks are stealthier in nature, falling under...
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VERT Threat Alert: September 2023 Patch Tuesday Analysis

Image Today’s VERT Alert addresses Microsoft’s September 2023 Security Updates, which includes a recently introduced release notes format. VERT is actively working on coverage for these vulnerabilities and expects to ship ASPL-1073 on Wednesday, September 13th. In-The-Wild & Disclosed CVEs CVE-2023-36761 Microsoft has indicated that...
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Understanding Firewalls – Types, Configuration, and Best Practices for Effective Network Security

Image A firewall is a security device that controls the flow of traffic across a network. A firewall may be a hardware appliance, or it may be a piece of software that runs on a third-party operating system. Firewalls operate based on a set of pre-defined, as well as customizable security rules that inspect network traffic to block or...
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The Use of Natural Language Processing for Identifying and Mitigating Threats

Image As technology advances, the battle between cyber criminals and organizations intensifies. Cyber threats have become more sophisticated, complex, and widespread, posing a significant risk to the security and integrity of sensitive data. In Q1 2023 alone, the number of global cyber attacks increased by 7%, with an average of 1...
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2023 Business Email Compromise Statistics

Image In cybersecurity, knowledge is everything. From APT intelligence to zero-day vulnerabilities, relevant and timely information can be the difference between a thwarted attack and a total disaster. With Business Email Compromise (BEC) attacks at their zenith, there has never been a better time for a comprehensive BEC report. As...
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VERT Threat Alert: August 2023 Patch Tuesday Analysis

Image Today’s VERT Alert addresses Microsoft’s August 2023 Security Updates, which includes a recently introduced release notes format. VERT is actively working on coverage for these vulnerabilities and expects to ship ASPL-1068 on Wednesday, August 9th. In-The-Wild & Disclosed CVEs CVE-2023-38180 A vulnerability in Kestrel could...
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Is Your MSP Taking Its Own Security Seriously?

Image Most small and midsized businesses trust an IT services partner to help them secure their networks. A few years ago, high-profile cyberattacks targeting MSP vendors Kaseya and SolarWinds thrust the security risk of relying on a complex chain of vendors into the technology media and moved the Department of Homeland Security to...
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An Introduction to Cyber Threat Intelligence: Key Concepts and Principles

Image Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI), or threat intelligence, is evidence-based knowledge established from current cyber threats, gathered from myriad sources to identify existing or potential attacks. Threat intelligence assists in identifying the motives, targets, and attack behaviors of a threat actor and implementing strong...
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ATT&CKing the Center for Internet Security

Image I recently spoke at a Fortra Webinar about CIS and MITRE. More specifically, I discussed the intersection between the CIS Critical Security Controls, CIS Benchmarks, and MITRE ATT&CK. In this post, I won't go into deep details about the core background, but there are plenty of excellent references available online, including our...
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VERT Threat Alert: July 2023 Patch Tuesday Analysis

Image Today’s VERT Alert addresses Microsoft’s July 2023 Security Updates, which include a new release notes format. VERT is actively working on coverage for these vulnerabilities and expects to ship ASPL-1064 on Wednesday, July 12th. In-The-Wild & Disclosed CVEs CVE-2023-32046 A vulnerability in MSHTML could allow an attacker to...
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Insider Risk Hits Closer to Home

Image If you’re busy securing the perimeter, mandating strong authentication practices, and restricting software downloads, you may be missing the mark. (Just to be clear: if you are doing those things, keep it up. You’re off to a good start, and none of what follows here replaces classic and vital cybersecurity measures.) ...
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VERT Threat Alert: June 2023 Patch Tuesday Analysis

Image Today’s VERT Alert addresses Microsoft’s June 2023 Security Updates, which include a new release notes format. VERT is actively working on coverage for these vulnerabilities and expects to ship ASPL-1060 on Wednesday, June 14th. In-The-Wild & Disclosed CVEs There were no in-the-wild or disclosed CVEs in the June Patch Tuesday...
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Do you Work in a SOC Noise Factory?

Image Gabrielle is a security engineer. She deploys tools to scan for threats and vulnerabilities, read logs, and manage the security risks for her company, but is all that data really helping? Sometimes, it seems like she works in a noise factory instead of a SOC. The cacophony of all the log and event data and vulnerability scans...
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Beyond the firewall: How social engineers use psychology to compromise organizational cybersecurity

Image A Social engineering attack is the process of exploiting weaknesses in human psychology to manipulate and persuade others to perform in a way that is harmful. Prior to the digital age, criminals would carry out these attacks in person, in what was known as a confidence game.  The perpetrators were referred to a “con men”,...
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VERT Threat Alert: May 2023 Patch Tuesday Analysis

Image Today’s VERT Alert addresses Microsoft’s May 2023 Security Updates, which include a new release notes format. VERT is actively working on coverage for these vulnerabilities and expects to ship ASPL-1055 on Wednesday, May 10th. In-The-Wild & Disclosed CVEs CVE-2023-29336 Up first this month is a vulnerability reported by Avast...
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Root Cause Analysis for Deployment Failures

Image Root Cause Analysis (RCA) is a technique used to identify the underlying reasons for a problem, with the aim of trying to prevent it from recurring in the future. It is often used in change management processes to help identify the source of any issues that arise following any modifications to a system or process. RCA is...
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A Day in the Life of a SOC Team

Image This piece was originally published on Fortra’s AlertLogic.com Blog. Managed detection and response (MDR) would be nothing without a SOC (security operations center). They’re on the frontline of our clients’ defenses — a living, breathing layer of intelligence and protection to complement our automated cybersecurity features....
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CISA Publishes Advisory on Improving Network Monitoring and Hardening

Image CISA released in late February a cybersecurity advisory on the key findings from a recent Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) red team assessment to provide organizations recommendations for improving their cyber posture. According to the Agency, the necessary actions to harden their environments include...
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VERT Threat Alert: April 2023 Patch Tuesday Analysis

Image   Today’s VERT Alert addresses Microsoft’s April 2023 Security Updates. VERT is actively working on coverage for these vulnerabilities and expects to ship ASPL-1050 on Wednesday, April 12th. In-The-Wild & Disclosed CVEs CVE-2023-28252 A vulnerability in the Common Log File System (CLFS) Driver has been exploited in-the-wild....
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30 Ransomware Prevention Tips

Image Dealing with the aftermath of ransomware attacks is like Russian roulette. Submitting the ransom might seem like it’s the sole option for recovering locked data. Ransomware also continues to evolve as a threat category within the past year, with old names like REvil rearing their heads and new players like Black Basta emerging...