Articles about Security

With the release of this month's security updates for Windows, Microsoft has brought to an end support for not only Windows Server 2012, but also Windows 11 21H2.

What this means for users of these versions of the operating system is that there will be no more updates of any sort made available -- and this means both security updates and non-security updates. For anyone who wants or needs to stick with Windows 2012, things could get expensive, but there are free upgrades available to those currently running Windows 11 21H2.

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For anyone running Windows 10 21H2 or Windows 10 22H2, Microsoft has a new cumulative update that fixes various issues with the operating system as well as introducing new features and options.

As is customary, Microsoft provides sparse details about the security issues the update addresses, but it does share information about the various other improvements included in the KB5031356 update.

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When CISOs think about cybersecurity for their companies, there are certain expectations. Password protection, firewalls, and continuously training employees on the latest phishing scams, to name a few. And to be sure, cyber risks like these are as relevant as ever. The persisting problem is, cybersecurity is like any defense contest: the burden (and therefore the disadvantage) is on the defender. You have to win every time, whereas an attacker only has to win once to cause major damage.

Frustratingly, cyber criminals have shown time and time again that they are actually quite gifted at creative approaches, thinking outside the box, and combining advanced tech with old school techniques. For instance, a suspicious-looking form letter email is easy to spot and delete. However, by purchasing even a small amount of personal data from the dark web, a smart criminal can craft a phishing email with just enough familiarity so that its target will most likely open it without hesitation. With enough patience and photoshopping, a malicious actor can send customers a message from their favorite store that leads them to a spoofed website solely created to steal their credit card information. Increasingly today, these attacks targeting customers are more prevalent.

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Threat actors are early adopters. Cyber defense is brimming with uncertainties, but one dynamic you can be confident about is that threat actors will leverage everything available to exploit a target. In 2023, this means the rise of artificial intelligence-enabled attacks, from AI-generated social engineering scripts to powerful automation designed to find and exploit vulnerabilities and spread laterally through systems and networks.

Security teams, therefore need to be prepared to meet the challenge of cloud scale threats on both a technical level and an organizational level. It requires anticipating threats that exist beyond technical vulnerabilities, including, for example, social engineering and DDoS. This is part of the challenge of modern cyber security -- the attack surface comprises not just the entirety of IT infrastructure, its endpoints, and all the data it uses and stores, but also its users. It is too large to be effectively managed manually.

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The third edition of Mastering Linux Security and Hardening is an updated, comprehensive introduction to implementing the latest Linux security measures, using the latest versions of Ubuntu and AlmaLinux.

In this new edition, you will learn how to set up a practice lab, create user accounts with appropriate privilege levels, protect sensitive data with permissions settings and encryption, and configure a firewall with the newest firewall technologies.

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As we approach the 20th anniversary of Cybersecurity Awareness Month, it's crucial to reflect on the progress made in patch management, a fundamental cybersecurity practice aimed at helping organizations mitigate the risk of unpatched vulnerabilities -- the primary gateway for attackers to breach organizational systems and deploy ransomware and other malware.

In 2003, patch management awareness was low, but it wasn't as critical to global cybersecurity as today because cybercrime was less developed. Automated exploits for known vulnerabilities and ransomware, which now monetizes attacks, hadn't emerged yet.

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Passwords are a blessing and a curse, serving to secure files, devices and more, while simultaneously being burdensome and, to some extent, offering a false sense of security. With the update that is rolling out to Windows 11, Microsoft is fully embracing the passwordless future the company so desires.

Microsoft points out that passwords are nowhere near as secure as people might think, citing the statistic of 4,000 password attacks every second as proof. The Windows 11 update introduces greater password free security thanks to Windows Hello and wider support for passkeys.

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This year marks the 20th Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and today, the prevailing theme, "It’s easy to stay safe online," remains a timely reminder. The message is clear: online safety can be achieved with the proper knowledge and tools. This comes with a bit of a caveat, however, as many of our current security processes are manual and rely on the end user's discretion and action, such as turning on MFA. Adding further complexity is the ever-growing challenges posed by nonstandard applications, which do not work with established security standards like single sign-on.

A report by Netskope paints a grim picture with its concerning findings. For instance, the report found that 97 percent of apps used within enterprises operate outside the traditional identity perimeter. While the ubiquity of these nonstandard applications is undeniable, the lack of oversight in their security is alarming. The Ponemon Institute's research reveals that only 34 percent of organizations are proactive in prioritizing the security of nonstandard applications. When educated on the risks, this figure jumps dramatically to 82 percent. People care once they understand the impact on the business.

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Cybersecurity can, at times, feel like a thankless and invisible task. The punishment for a mistake is immediate and ruthless, the reward for success next to non-existent, because how do you recognize the absence of a breach? But this isn’t a new scenario; the IT industry has dealt with this outlook for decades. The job of an IT department is to be invisible, but when something does go wrong all eyes are inevitably on them to fix it.

In a threat landscape where there exists a constant push to innovate, adapt and breach, there are only three possible outcomes for the IT industry: defeat, indefinite struggle, or complete structural collapse.

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It's the time of the month when Microsoft releases its regular security updates, and this September is no different. As the KB5030219 update is a security update, it is rolling out automatically to all Windows 11 users.

As well as numerous security fixes, the KB5030219 update removes a blank item from the Sticky Keys menu, a problem introduced by the previously released KB5029351 update.

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2024 is fast approaching, and it seems likely that the new year heralds the same torrent of sophisticated malware, phishing, and ransomware attacks as 2023. Not only are these long-standing threats showing few signs of slowing down, but they're increasing by as much as 40 percent, with federal agencies and public sector services being the main targets.

Meanwhile, weak points like IoT and cloud vulnerabilities are making it tougher for cybersecurity pros to secure the wide attack surface that these edge devices create.

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Decrypting HTTPS (TLS/SSL) traffic at the network perimeter is a vital step in protecting against malware and other online threats. Most of today’s web traffic is encrypted and presents an obvious hiding place for threat actors to deliver cyberattacks, since many network security controls aren’t set to inspect encrypted traffic. Consider recent findings from WatchGuard’s Threat Lab in its Q4 2022 Internet Security Report (ISR). While the report showed an apparent decline in overall malware volume, the Threat Lab analysts found a much higher prevalence of malware being delivered over encrypted connections when they looked closer at decrypted HTTPS traffic. These results came from a mere 20 percent of devices decrypting TLS and indicate the other 80 percent would also show malware volume is up, but hidden -- which mirrors findings from previous quarters.

Despite this trend, it’s common for teams not to enable decryption at the firewall due to the complications it can present. The process requires resources to decrypt and then re-encrypt traffic passing through a gateway device, as well as next-gen firewalls (NGFW) or unified threat management (UTM) appliances that use significant computing horsepower, all which impact network performance. Then, introducing decryption while managing the performance of other security tools and their varying uses could be difficult. Today, however, tabletop UTM/NGFW solutions can perform this process at the speed of the incoming WAN connection. So now, users’ main objection is the initial configuration of TLS/SSL decryption, and the need for exceptions for certain applications.

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Swap-unwanted-stuff-for-free site Freecycle has acknowledged a security breach that took place at the end of last month. Hackers were able to access a wealth of data including usernames, User IDs, email addresses and passwords.

The organization says that it has notified the "appropriate US authorities" of the incident, as well as the Information Commissioner's Offier (ICO) in the UK. Few details of what happened have been revealed, but Freecycle is advising all members to change their account passwords as a security measure.  

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Hot on the heels of a reminder about the end of support for Windows 11 21H2, Microsoft has reminded everyone that Windows will soon have TLS 1.0 and TLS 1.1 disabled.

Transport Layer Security (TLS) has been around for a number of years, with TLS 1.0 not only dating back to 1999, but having been superseded by far more secure versions. TLS 1.2 and TLS 1.2 are now very much the norm, so Microsoft is following others in the industry by dropping 1.0 and 1.1.

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Cybersecurity can, at times, feel like a thankless and invisible task. The punishment for a mistake is immediate and ruthless, the reward for success next to non-existent, because how do you recognize the absence of a breach? But this isn’t a new scenario; the IT industry has dealt with this outlook for decades. The job of an IT department is to be invisible, but when something does go wrong all eyes are inevitably on them to fix it.

In a threat landscape where there exists a constant push to innovate, adapt and breach, there are only three possible outcomes for the IT industry: defeat, indefinite struggle, or complete structural collapse.

Continue reading →