Blog

Blog

Enhanced Data Analysis with Synthetic Datasets

Large data can offer a massive affordable advantage for companies. Scientists, information analysts, marketing professionals, and advertisers rely upon receiving valuable insights from substantial pools of consumer information. When examined correctly, this information can provide valuable insight for organizations that understand how to use it. The regular procedure of gathering and arranging...
Blog

ATT&CKing the Center for Internet Security

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 breakdown of the various CIS Controls . I do, however, want to...
Blog

VERT Threat Alert: July 2023 Patch Tuesday Analysis

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 execute code in the context of the logged in user providing the attacker...
Blog

A Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) IT Compliance Primer

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...
Blog

Insider Risk Hits Closer to Home

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...
Blog

VERT Threat Alert: June 2023 Patch Tuesday Analysis

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 drop. CVE Breakdown by Tag While historical Microsoft Security Bulletin...
Blog

Do you Work in a SOC Noise Factory?

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 are pouring into the SIEM, and it’s Gabrielle’s job to listen to the...
Blog

Beyond the firewall: How social engineers use psychology to compromise organizational cybersecurity

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”, regardless of their gender. In the cybersecurity realm, these attacks are...
Blog

VERT Threat Alert: May 2023 Patch Tuesday Analysis

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 in Win32k. This vulnerability could allow an authenticated attacker to...
Blog

Allowlisting and Blocklisting: What you need to know

The phone rings, displaying "Potential Spam," warning of the possible downfall of accepting the call. We also have the option to set specific ringtones for the special people in our lives, so we audibly know immediately who’s calling. For other callers, like the once-a-year important call from our insurance or investment rep, we'll at least add their names so we can see when they ring. And, of...
Blog

Root Cause Analysis for Deployment Failures

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 something Tripwire Enterprise is often deeply tied into too. Before we talk...
Blog

A Day in the Life of a SOC Team

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. These are the people who make our MDR services best in class so...
Blog

What Is Microsegmentation and 5 Compelling Security Use Cases

What Is Microsegmentation? Microsegmentation is a security technique that partitions a network into small, isolated sections to reduce the attack surface and reduce an organizations risk. Each microsegment is typically defined by specific security policies, accessible only to authorized users and devices. Microsegmentation is often seen as a more effective security strategy than traditional...
Blog

CISA Publishes Advisory on Improving Network Monitoring and Hardening

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 monitoring network activity to spot abnormal behavior, conducting regular...
Blog

VERT Threat Alert: April 2023 Patch Tuesday Analysis

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. CLFS provides a general-purpose logging service to other software via the...
Blog

30 Ransomware Prevention Tips

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 in 2022. Malicious actors employ ransomware to extort money (at least...
Blog

VERT Threat Alert: March 2023 Patch Tuesday Analysis

Today’s VERT Alert addresses Microsoft’s March 2023 Security Updates . VERT is actively working on coverage for these vulnerabilities and expects to ship ASPL-1046 on Wednesday, March 15th. In-The-Wild & Disclosed CVEs CVE-2023-24880 Up first this month is a publicly disclosed and exploited vulnerability impacting Windows SmartScreen. SmartScreen prompts you when running certain files downloaded...
Blog

VERT Threat Alert: February 2023 Patch Tuesday Analysis

Today’s VERT Alert addresses Microsoft’s February 2023 Security Updates . VERT is actively working on coverage for these vulnerabilities and expects to ship ASPL-1042 on Wednesday, February 15th. In-The-Wild & Disclosed CVEs CVE-2023-21823 The first vulnerability in the list this week is CVE-2023-21823, a vulnerability in Windows Graphic Component that can allow for code execution leading to...
Blog

Network Security Threats and Defenses: A 2023 Guide

What Is Network Security? Network security is a broad field, encompassing various processes, policies, rules, standards, frameworks, software, and hardware solutions. Its primary goal is to protect a network and its data from various threats, including intrusions and breaches. A network security program typically utilizes a combination of access controls, application security tools, virus and...
Blog

The Heightened Importance of Cybersecurity in Mobile App Development

Mobile device use is pervasive , and has eclipsed traditional computing. We often hear how various malicious mobile apps are released into circulation. For these reasons, mobile app development needs to focus on cybersecurity just as much as it does on functionality and flexibility, if not more so. It’s an inevitable aspect of app development that must be taken more seriously, as the very real...