Newsletter

Server Hardening Policy- Examples & Tips 

Every organization should have a hardened Windows build standard, a hardened Linux build standard, a hardened SQL Server / Oracle database build standard, a hardened firewall standard etc. However, determining what is an appropriate server hardening policy for your environment will require detailed research of hardening checklists and then an understanding of how this should be applied to your operating systems and applications.

All governance, regulatory and compliance standards such as NIST SP 800-53, SOX, NERC CIP, ISO27001, PCI DSS, DISA STIG and HIPAA all call for strong cyber security defenses, with a hardened build standard at the core. This is maintained using file integrity monitoring to highlight any significant changes or 'drift'.

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Botnet turns active directory domain controllers to c2 servers

Researchers at the Australian security company, Threat Intelligence Pty Ltd., have created a possibly devastating botnet that exploits infected victims Active Directory Domain Controllers, resulting in internally hosted command and control servers.

Active Directory is a Microsoft directory service for Windows that domain networks & stores information on network components, automates network management of user data, and authenticates and authorizes users while enforcing security policies.

The attack method can use the AD as a central connecting point for any infected node or endpoint in the system, allowing the attacker to enable two-way communication with each other even when segmented into separate security zones.

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Cinema Chain Suffers Possible 2 year POS Breach

The Missouri-based cinema chain, B&B Theaters, is under investigation for a possible two-year breach of credit card credentials following a tip-off from a banking partner. 

Estimates from security experts like Brian Krebs find that customers may have been exposed from April 2015 till April 2017, leaving an unsettling window of opportunity for attackers to strike. 

It’s highly likely the hackers infiltrated the organizations POS systems to scrape card magstripe data. This issue is alleviated with the implementation of the Chip & PIN credit cards and card readers, which has been mandated by the PCI-DSS Compliance Standard to help protect card data.

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UK Government to Invest 21 Million in NHS Cybersecurity

The UK government has announced they will invest £21 million to beef up cybersecurity within the UK’s National Health Service (NHS).

This news comes in the wake of the recent WannaCry ransomware attack that hit the NHS, locking staff out of their computers and leaving patients without the care they need.

The £21M will be split amongst the 27 trauma centers and hospitals across England. The funding will be used to update IT systems, improve staff training, and raise awareness on how to deal with today’s cyber threats.

Health Minister Lord O’Shaughnessy claims, “People must be confident that systems are secure and robust. Recent incidents, including the May 2017 ransomware attack, which affected many other countries’ services as well as our own health and care system, have shown that the NHS can protect essential services in the face of a cyber-attack, but they have also underlined the need for organizations to implement essential, strong data security standard.”

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Eternalblue exploit used in Wannacry ransomware attack

The leaked NSA cyber weapon, EternalBlue, an exploit of Microsoft Windows that attacks SMB file-sharing services, was leaked by the Shadow Brokers hacker group last month and has since been used as part of the catastrophic WannaCry ransomware attack that started on May 12, 2017.

This global attack is a sobering lesson in what happens when software vulnerabilities fall into the hands of criminals, but also, should serve as a wake-up call for those running out of date software and systems.

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The problem with running outdated software

Why do we resist the upgrade? Change can sometimes be unnerving.  It requires a bit of adjusting and is often times considered best avoided, especially when it comes to upgrading functioning production software. There is an understandable resistance to upgrading software where the version in use is familiar, well understood and from a functionality standpoint, isn’t actually broken. Unfortunately, the same software is well known to hackers. They’ve had plenty of time to get well accustomed with software that’s been around for years.

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2.2 Million Dow Jones Customers Impacted by exposed data

Dow Jones & Company has accidentally leaked the personal details and financial information of at least 2.2 million of its customers, but security experts believe this number is said to increase.

Security researchers at UpGuard found that a cloud-based file repository had been misconfigured to allow semi-public access to 2.2 million customers, however, UpGuard believes the number may be as high as 4 million.

The leak was revealed on May 30 and the database was secured by June 6, however, Dow Jones made little to no effort to notify customers of the incident, aside from an article published in the Journal on July 16 covering the leak.

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