The FFIEC Cybersecurity Assessment Tool (CAT) is a diagnostic test designed to help institutions identify risks and gauge cybersecurity preparedness. The tool is primarily for financial and non-depository institutions, enabling organizations to make risk-driven security decisions informed by regular cybersecurity assessments and standardized risk measurement criteria. While it is voluntary...

Most data crimes are the result of online compromises. This makes sense, as the criminals don’t need to know any of the old, dirty, hands-on techniques such as lock-picking, dumpster diving, or any other evasive maneuvers to carry out a successful attack. However, this doesn’t mean that the old methods are completely defunct. Physical security is still an important facet of a complete security...

This piece was originally published on Fortra’s blog . Infosecurity Europe has closed its doors for another year. The aftermath of these events can be a strange time; still reeling from the chaos of the show floor and nursing feet unaccustomed to such intense use, it’s often difficult to make sense of everything we’ve learned. But, as the old adage goes, “when in doubt, write it out.” So, I...

The Department of Defense (DoD) introduced the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) in 2019. This framework outlined a series of security standards contractors must meet to win DoD contracts, so it’s a big concern for many companies. However, four years later, the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification rollout has yet to take effect. Part of this delay comes from the fact that the...

An Application Programming Interface (API) is an essential and ubiquitous software that allows the exchange of information between day-to-day applications and processes, such as Software as a Service (SaaS) applications, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, universal profile login pages, and autonomous vehicles. APIs synchronize and maintain the data exchange between clients and servers, responding...

It’s no secret that the U.S. power grid is one of the main foundations of the nation’s economy, infrastructure, and daily way of life. Now that almost everything is digitized, it is hinging on it even more. We wouldn’t be able to use even most vending machines (not to mention cell towers or the internet) without a working electrical supply, and the importance of keeping it safe cannot be...

The Gramm-Leach Bliley Act (GLBA or GLB Act), or financial modernization act, is a bi-partisan federal regulation passed in 1999 to modernize the financial industry. It repealed vast swathes of the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 and the Bank Holding Act of 1956 , allowing commercial banks to offer financial services such as investments or insurance. It also controls how financial institutions deal...

At the turn of the most recent century, the financial world was in a moment of unregulated growth, which lead to some serious corporate misdeeds in the United States. This presented the opportunity for two senators to enact a new law to ensure accurate and reliable financial reporting for public companies in the US. The result was the Sarbanes-Oxley Act ( SOX ) of 2002. But what does financial...

Elon Musk's ascension isn't the first thing to cause waves of scams on Twitter , and it certainly won't be the last. On July 20th of 2022, data belonging to over 5 million Twitter users was put up for sale on the internet underground for $30,000. The FTC reported that we've experienced a recent "gold mine for scammers" and the April bump to a 10,000-character limit (for Twitter Blue) only makes...

The NSA has published a guide about how to mitigate against attacks involving the BlackLotus bootkit malware, amid fears that system administrators may not be adequately protected against the threat. The BlackLotus UEFI bootkit made a name for itself in October 2022, when it was seen being sold on cybercrime underground forums for $5,000. The news sent a shiver down the spines of many in the...

Attackers always seek the easiest path to get into our systems and compromise data. System misconfigurations and insecure default settings are often the criminals' favorite vectors since these errors allow them easy access to critical systems and data. The rise of misconfiguration errors was primarily driven by cloud data storage implementations deployed without appropriate access controls...

In the early days of computer networking, the idea of restricted permissions was shunned. Network administrators could access every system in the environment. In some extreme cases, a CEO would demand full administrative access to a network, thinking that this would protect against a rogue employee. As you can imagine, this set up a point of failure beyond logic. Fortunately, this ideology of...

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.) Protecting your organization from outside threats is foundational to any...

They say character isn’t gained in a crisis; it’s displayed in one. By the time the disaster hits, the time for preparation has passed. But what if you could go through that earth-shattering event beforehand so when the time came, you’d be ready? Well, in security, you can. And it's not called cheating – it's called Red Teaming . It’s done differently, it provides a different outcome, and it tests...

Zero trust is a hot topic in cybersecurity, and for a good reason. There is no one-size-fits-all solution to securing your data and networks; rather, zero trust offers a more holistic perspective comprised of many different safety measures and practices and a shift in perspective on security. As threat actors step up their efforts and business operations, and depend more and more on digital...

What Is an SBOM (Software Bill of Materials)? A software bill of materials (SBOM) is a comprehensive, structured inventory of all components, libraries, and dependencies used within a software product or application. It typically includes information about the names, versions, and licensing details of each component. SBOM plays a critical role in managing the security of open source components by...

Digital technology is becoming an increasingly essential part of nearly every industry, and supply chains are no exception. In recent years, supply chains have become more dependent on digital solutions, from manufacturing, packing, and shipping processes, to storing records in the cloud. While digital technology increases speed, efficiency, and interconnectivity across industries, this increased...

Cybercrime has become a dominant concern for many businesses, as well as individuals. Cybercriminals will target any business, and any individual if they can realize a profit from their minimal efforts. One of the ways that criminals achieve their goals is through the use of malware that garners a fast profit, such as ransomware. More enterprising criminals will use more persistent malware, which...

We often hear how a company was compromised by a sophisticated attack. This characterization contains all the romantic thrill of a spy movie, but it is usually not how most companies are victimized. Most breaches usually happen as a result of malware entering the environment. The need to protect against malware is addressed in progressive degrees in Requirement 5 of the new 4.0 version of the...

The cybersecurity community is one of the best communities around. Whether it is our peers, our colleagues, or our managers, there are a number of great qualities that we all share. That’s one of the reasons that we’re so lucky to work in this industry. One of the more interesting aspects of the industry is that there are so many ways to accomplish a goal, and that doesn’t just apply to technical...