Cybersecurity

Minimum Disclosure: What Information Does a Name Server Need to Do Its Job?

Two principles in computer security that help bound the impact of a security compromise are the principle of least privilege and the principle of minimum disclosure or need-to-know. As described by Jerome Saltzer in a July 1974 Communications of the ACM article, Protection and the Control of Information Sharing in Multics, the principle of least privilege states, "Every program and every privileged user should operate using the least amount of privilege necessary to complete the job." more

IPv6 Security Myth #7: 96 More Bits, No Magic

This week's myth is interesting because if we weren't talking security it wouldn't be a myth. Say what? The phrase "96 more bits, no magic" is basically a way of saying that IPv6 is just like IPv4, with longer addresses. From a pure routing and switching perspective, this is quite accurate. OSPF, IS-IS, and BGP all work pretty much the same, regardless of address family. Nothing about finding best paths and forwarding packets changes all that much from IPv4 to IPv6. more

Why Attribution Is Important for Today’s Network Defenders

It makes me cringe when I hear operators or security practitioners say, "I don't care who the attacker is, I just want them to stop." I would like to believe that we have matured past this idea as a security community, but I still find this line of thinking prevalent across many organizations -- regardless of their cyber threat operation's maturity level. Attribution is important, and we as Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI) professionals, need to do a better job explaining across all lines of business and security operations... more

Hiding in the Firmware?

The most interesting feature of the newly-described "Equation Group" attacks has been the ability to hide malware in disk drive firmware. The threat is ghastly: you can wipe the disk and reinstall the operating system, but the modified firmware in the disk controller can reinstall nasties. A common response has been to suggest that firmware shouldn't be modifiable, unless a physical switch is activated. more

IPv6 Security Myth #6: IPv6 is Too New to be Attacked

Here we are, half-way through this list of the top 10 IPv6 security myths! Welcome to myth #6. Since IPv6 is just now being deployed at any real scale on true production networks, some may think that the attackers have yet to catch up. As we learned in Myth #2, IPv6 was actually designed starting 15-20 years ago. While it didn't see widespread commercial adoption until the last several years, there has been plenty of time to develop at least a couple suites of test/attack tools. more

Notes from NANOG 63

The following is a selected summary of the recent NANOG 63 meeting, held in early February, with some personal views and opinions thrown in! ...One view of the IETF's positioning is that as a technology standardisation venue, the immediate circle of engagement in IETF activities is the producers of equipment and applications, and the common objective is interoperability. more

Phishing Costs Companies over $411 Million per Alert

Phishing blindsides businesses' best defenses and takes a toll whose price tag still hasn't been pinned down. Here's one estimate: $441 million per attack, according to a recent study of the cybercrime's effect on stock market data (market value, volume of shares traded, and stock volatility) of global firms. The authors use "event studies" techniques (i.e., analyzing the impact of specific types of events on companies' market performance) to analyze nearly 2,000 phishing alerts by 259 companies in 32 countries... more

The Uses and Abuses of Cryptography

Another day, another data breach, and another round of calls for companies to encrypt their databases. Cryptography is a powerful tool, but in cases like this one it's not going to help. If your OS is secure, you don't need the crypto; if it's not, the crypto won't protect your data. In a case like the Anthem breach, the really sensitive databases are always in use. more

IPv6 Security Myth #4: IPv6 Networks are Too Big to Scan

Here we are, all the way up to Myth #4! That makes this the 4th installment of our 10 part series on the top IPv6 Security Myths. This myth is one of my favorite myths to bust when speaking with folks around the world. The reason for that is how many otherwise well-informed and highly experienced engineers, and others, hold this myth as truth. It's understandable, really. more

Am I Safer Within an Organization or by Myself?

An Internet Bill of Rights may or may not be a good idea. The point here is that, besides highly commendable topics such as net neutrality and privacy, some of them seem to mandate cybersecurity. Approved in Brazil last May, the Marco Civil includes the principle of preservation of stability, security and functionality of the network, via technical measures consistent with international standards.  more

A Cynic’s View of 2015 Security Predictions - Part 2

Every year those in the security industry are bombarded with various cyber security predictions. There's the good, the bad and the ugly. Some predictions are fairly ground breaking, while others are just recycled from previous years -- that's allowed of course if the threats still stand. In part one of my predictions I looked at the malware threats, so let's take a look at big data and the cloud for part two. more

Internet Society Issues Statement on Developing Cyber Security Policy Initiatives

The Internet Society has released an announcement setting out its views on the development of policy to address the balance between security and privacy. From an Internet perspective and in the context of the growing threat vector from hacking, targeted cyber attacks on networks and individuals, and surveillance, the Internet Society's approach to the development of cyber security policy initiatives is based on the following key considerations. more

Over 75% of All Top-Level Domains (TLDs) Now Signed With DNSSEC

As I was entering in data for the weekly DNSSEC Deployment Maps, I was struck by the fact that we are now at the point where 617 of the 795 top-level domains (TLDs) are now signed with DNSSEC. You can see this easily at Rick Lamb's DNSSEC statistics site...Now, granted, most of that amazing growth in the chart is because all of the "new generic TLDs" (newgTLDs) are required to be signed with DNSSEC, but we are still seeing solid growth around the world. more

7 Tips to Boost BYOD Security

The bring-your-own-device (BYOD) trend continues to make corporate inroads. According to Security Intelligence, more than 60 percent of enterprises now allow or "tolerate" employee mobile device use in the workplace. But companies still have significant security concerns, especially when it comes to the specter of lost data. Here are seven tips to boost BYOD security in 2015. more

A Cynic’s View of 2015 Security Predictions - Part 1

Cyber security was a hot topic in 2014. It seemed not a week went by without details of a high profile data breach hitting the headlines. To recap, the Sony breach was one of the most notable, as was the Home Depot hack, while details of widespread security vulnerabilities such as Heartbleed, Shellshock and Poodle were also revealed. But what will 2015 bring? Will it be more of the same, or have cyber criminals got some new tricks up their sleeves? more