Network Security and Cyber Security

Network Security: Network Security is the measures taken by any enterprise or organization to secure its computer network and data using both hardware and software systems. This aims at securing the confidentiality and accessibility of the data and network. Every company or organization that handles a large amount of data, has a degree of solutions against many cyber threats. 

Cyber Security: Cyber Security is the measure to protect our system from cyber attacks and malicious attacks. It is basically to advance the security of the system so that we can prevent unauthorized access to our system from the attacker. It protects cyberspace from attacks and damages. Cyberspace can be hampered by inherent vulnerabilities that cannot be removed sometimes.

Difference between Network Security and Cyber Security:

Parameters	Network Security	Cyber Security
Definition	Network security is a feature that protects data as it travels through and across an organization’s network. As a result, it protects firm data from nefarious employees who are not authorized to view specific sensitive information.	Cyber security is a system that protects a company’s device and server data. In other words, it serves as an extra layer of defense against cyber criminals.
Data	It protects the data flowing over the network. Network security ensures to protect the transit data only. It protects anything in the network realm.	It protects the data residing in the devices and servers. Cyber security ensures the protection of entire digital data. It protects anything in the cyber realm.
Hierarchy	It is a subset of cyber security.	It is a subset of information security.
Viruses	It deals with the protection from DOS attacks, viruses, and worms.	It deals with the protection from cyber-attacks and cybercrimes that includes phishing and pre-texting.
Strikes against	Network Security strikes against trojans.	Cyber Security strikes against cyber crimes and cyber frauds.
Security	It secures the data traveling across the network by terminals.	It deals with the protection of the data resting.
Examples	Multi-factor authentication, software updates, and rigorous password regulations are all part of network security.	Secure sensitive data, online authentication, and up-to-date information are all examples of cybersecurity precautions.
Popular job titles	Network Security Engineer and Network Security Architect are two popular job titles.	Cyber Security Architect and Cyber Security Analyst are two popular career titles.
Job role	The job role of a network security professional lies in safeguarding an organization’s IT infrastructure.	A cyber security specialist is an expert in the protection, detection, and recovery of cyber security threats.

Source: geeksforgeeks.org

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The Essential Soft Skills that Cybersecurity Professionals Need to Succeed

While technical knowledge is, of course, essential for cybersecurity professionals, the importance of soft skills cannot be overstated when it comes to leading successful security teams and defending against cyberattacks. Personal qualities can make the difference between effective and ineffective implementation of security strategy.

The Identity Theft Resource Center recorded 1,862 data compromises in 2021—over 68% more than in 2020. To protect their critical assets, detect breaches, and quickly respond to security incidents, businesses need to hire cybersecurity professionals who can design and implement effective policies and processes.

Cybersecurity Career Outlook

The demand for cybersecurity professionals is growing as organizations prioritize the security of their IT infrastructures and sensitive data. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that information security analyst will be one of the fastest-growing occupations this decade, growing by 33% between 2020 and 2030.

Consequently, recruiters and companies are looking for competent cybersecurity professionals with cohesive, field-relevant skill sets. However, many of these cybersecurity jobs remain unfilled, as there’s not enough qualified talent to meet demand.

The Importance of Soft Skills in Improving Cybersecurity Career Opportunities

While technical expertise is an important criterion, recruiters also look for candidates who have excellent communication and other soft skills. Cybersecurity professionals and recruitment leaders report that a lack of candidates with well-honed soft skills impedes their ability to hire for security roles.

A cybersecurity role requires the ability to deliver assignments on time, as well as problem-solving abilities, analytical thinking, and leadership skills. Communication and teamwork skills also help cybersecurity professionals forge stronger relationships with their employers, colleagues, and other professional contacts.

Top Soft Skills for Cybersecurity Professionals

Aspiring cybersecurity professionals need to develop a strong set of soft skills while honing their technical competencies. Whether in a leadership or management position or a more technical security role, cyber teams are responsible for ensuring that organizational security policies are implemented successfully. They may also need to step in to explain technical issues to a predominantly non-technical workforce.

EC-Council University (ECCU) students are taught to leverage their technical and soft skills to their advantage, learn from mentors who are also industry experts, and improve their skills through hands-on learning. Let’s look at some of the soft skills that constitute an essential part of ECCU programs.

Composure Under Pressure

With technology advancements, organizations are under constant threat of cyberattacks. Cybersecurity teams have the crucial responsibility of ensuring that there’s a contingency plan for threat situations to minimize damage from breaches, such as exposure of sensitive information. Consequently, cybersecurity professionals need to be able to thrive under pressure and calmly lead their teams in stressful situations.

Inquisitiveness and Desire to Learn

Companies worldwide are constantly upgrading their technology stacks to keep pace with competitors and take advantage of innovations. In this continually changing landscape, having an inquisitive mindset and a passion for learning is always advantageous for a cybersecurity professional

Curiosity about how technologies function, a keen interest in learning new subjects, and an enthusiasm for identifying emerging cyber risks puts you one step ahead of cybercriminals as a security expert. At ECCU, students are trained to think like a hacker and find creative and reliable solutions to beat adversaries at their own game.

Teamwork and Communication

Cybersecurity is not a one-person job; keeping cyberthreats at bay is a team effort. A cybersecurity professional must work in sync with team members as well as other departments to fulfill their responsibilities and achieve business objectives.

To perform their jobs well, cybersecurity professionals must collaborate with colleagues and build trust when securing their organization. ECCU’s curriculum and lab activities, based on real-world scenarios, are designed to teach graduates how to effectively collaborate with their peers.

Caution and Meticulousness

As cybercriminals are always becoming more advanced in their attacks, cybersecurity professionals need to be careful and rigorous in developing approaches to fight back. This means methodically thinking through how an attack could happen and what steps need to be taken to secure the infrastructure. At ECCU, students are taught to design a caution-based defense model to safeguard organizational assets in the event of a cyberattack.

Honesty and Ethics

Even the best technical skills will only get you so far without a strong code of ethics. Cybersecurity professionals are tasked with critical work, and practicing honesty in the workplace ensures that they can build and maintain open lines of communication. When cybersecurity professionals are open, ethical, and honest, they promote trust among their employers, coworkers, and clients. At ECCU, students are taught the values of trust and integrity.

Source: eccu.edu

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DREAD Threat Modeling: An Introduction to Qualitative Risk Analysis

By 2025, the global cost of cybercrime is projected to reach an estimated $10.5 trillion (INTRUSION, Inc., 2020). With 30,000 websites hacked every day (Bulao, 2022), companies of all sizes need to prioritize cybersecurity. As the prevalence and costs of cybercrime skyrocket, organizations have developed a variety of methods to model cyberthreats and assess cybersecurity risks and vulnerabilities. One of these risk analysis methodologies is DREAD, a threat modeling framework created by Microsoft (Meier et al., 2003). Although Microsoft has since abandoned the model, citing concerns about its subjectivity (Shostack, 2008), it’s still in use today by small businesses, Fortune 500 companies, and the military.

What Is the DREAD Model?

The DREAD model quantitatively assesses the severity of a cyberthreat using a scaled rating system that assigns numerical values to risk categories. The DREAD model has five categories (Meier et al., 2003):

◉ Damage: Understand the potential damage a particular threat is capable of causing.

◉ Reproducibility: Identify how easy it is to replicate an attack.

◉ Exploitability: Analyze the system’s vulnerabilities to ascertain susceptibility to cyberattacks.

◉ Affected Users: Calculate how many users would be affected by a cyberattack.

◉ Discoverability: Determine how easy it is to discover vulnerable points in the system infrastructure.

The DREAD model enables analysts to rate, compare, and prioritize the severity of threats by assigning a given issue a rating between 0 and 10 in each of the above categories. The final rating, calculated as the average of these category ratings, indicates the overall severity of the risk. 

Damage Potential: How Much Damage Could the Attack Cause?

◉ 0: No damage

◉ 5: Information disclosure

◉ 8: Non-sensitive user data related to individuals or employer compromised

◉ 9: Non-sensitive administrative data compromised

◉ 10: Destruction of an information system; data or application unavailability

Reproducibility: How Easily Can the Attack Be Reproduced?

◉ 0: Difficult or impossible 

◉ 5: Complex 

◉ 7.5: Easy 

◉ 10: Very easy 

Exploitability: What’s Required to Launch the Attack?

◉ 2.5: Advanced programming and networking skills

◉ 5: Available attack tools 

◉ 9: Web application proxies 

◉ 10: Web browser 

Affected Users: How Many People Would the Attack Affect?

◉ 0: No users 

◉ 2.5: Individual user 

◉ 6: Few users 

◉ 8: Administrative users 

◉ 10: All users 

Discoverability: How Easy Is the Vulnerability to Discover?

◉ 0: Hard to discover the vulnerability

◉ 5: HTTP requests can uncover the vulnerability

◉ 8: Vulnerability found in the public domain

◉ 10: Vulnerability found in  web address bar or form

Overall Threat Rating

The overall threat rating is calculated by summing the scores obtained across these five key areas. The risk severity categories for a threat are as follows:

◉ Critical (40–50): Critical vulnerability; address immediately.

◉ High (25–39): Severe vulnerability; consider for review and resolution soon.

◉ Medium (11–24): Moderate risk; review after addressing severe and critical risks.

◉ Low (1–10): Low risk to infrastructure and data.

Cyberthreat modeling using the DREAD framework is customizable based on your needs. However, to successfully apply a subjective risk analysis framework like the DREAD model, you need extensive cybersecurity expertise to ensure that your analysis of cyberthreats is accurate. Without up-to-date domain knowledge, you risk missing crucial information about system vulnerabilities and potential attack vectors. 

EC-Council’s Certified Threat Intelligence Analyst (C|TIA) certification program can provide you with the knowledge base and practical skills you need to progress in your cybersecurity career. The program leverages insights from industry professionals to create one of the most robust and informative threat intelligence training courses in the cybersecurity industry.

Source: eccouncil.org

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The Evolving Role of Cyber Forensics in Criminal Cases

The world has become increasingly digital in recent years, a trend that has affected every aspect of daily life. We’re now seeing the use of cyber forensics in criminal cases, among other areas of the justice system. From the local to international levels, cybersecurity experts have been tasked with assisting investigators in both solving crimes and exonerating the wrongfully accused.

Forensics Experts Make It Hard to Be a Cybercriminal

When most people think of cyber forensics in criminal cases, they immediately think of computer crimes. This is a solid assumption—after all, cybercrime has increased significantly in recent years. While the risks of phishing have long been an issue, hackers now have complex tools we once never imagined that enable them to do damage even without a social engineering aspect.

Digital forensics experts can track down illicit bank accounts, identify the source of attacks, spot system inadequacies, and perform a variety of other complex activities. Some of the biggest cybercrimes have led to billions of dollars in losses (EC-Council, 2017; Yakowicz, 2015), but digital forensic investigators have found tools to combat these attacks. Applying cyber forensics in criminal cases makes it possible to catch cybercriminals, serving as a major deterrent to computer crimes.

Collection of Criminal Evidence

When people think of forensics, they often envision scenes from the television show CSI, with professionals combing through evidence at crime scenes. Many of those interested in becoming digital forensic investigators know the situation is similar for cyber forensics: Digital forensics professionals also seek out evidence, but they’re looking at a computer rather than a dark alley.

This evidence can come in many forms—for example, digital footprints left by a hacker after infiltrating a system. Cyber forensics in criminal cases has also shown great promise in identifying fraud. Defendants have been convicted of sexual crimes, murder, and terrorism thanks to forensics experts’ ability to access encrypted data.

Exonerating the Innocent

Recent media coverage of wrongful convictions has led many people to defendant advocacy. While cyber forensics typically serves the prosecution in criminal cases, this isn’t always the case. For instance, the Digital Evidence Innocence Initiative is devoted to overturning wrongful convictions using digital evidence.

Unfortunately, individuals can only be exonerated after they’ve already been convicted. Criminal defendants are at a distinct disadvantage during trial since they don’t have the digital access that prosecutors do. While the state can subpoena service providers, defendants don’t have this option—but a cyber forensics expert can still find evidence to prove a convicted party’s innocence after the fact.

Fixing the Investigative Backlog with New Cybersecurity Professionals

One of the biggest hurdles that the cybersecurity industry will face in the coming years is attrition. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2022) projects that there will be over 16,000 new job openings for information security analysts each year until 2030, many of them due to professionals changing industries or leaving the workforce. This shortage is a good thing for those who want to enter the field.

Regardless of your current role in cybersecurity, now is the perfect time to enter the criminal justice field as a digital forensics investigator. There is a significant evidence and investigative backlog that digital analysis could solve, including at the international level (Barnes & Sanger, 2021). Without qualified professionals in the field, the best cyber forensics tools could be useless in the criminal justice system.

Reopening and Solving Cold Cases

Although the shortage of available cyber forensics professionals in criminal cases is worrying, heightened interest in solving cold cases could change this. Computer hacking forensic experts are essential in contemporary investigations, but some older cases never even involved a computer and have ended up as cold cases

However, entering old evidence into expanding databases has proven powerful in remedying this issue. Sometimes, simply organizing data can crack a long-forgotten case. The ability to collect information from old hard drives is also a useful tool for investigators, who’ve used it to solve famous cold cases (Eclipse Forensics, 2021).

Enter the World of Digital Forensic Investigation ​

Forensics is one of the most popular areas of the criminal justice system. Unfortunately, many of those interested in a role in this field as a digital forensic investigator don’t have the cybersecurity skills they need to begin their careers. If you’re interested in a career in criminal justice as a cyber forensic investigator, now is the time to start.

EC-Council’s Certified Hacking Forensic Investigator (C|HFI) program, which focuses on digital forensics and evidence analysis, is lab driven and ANSI accredited. It’s ideal for everyone from IT professionals looking to switch fields to current cyber forensics experts looking to fortify their knowledge. Start your C|HFI certification today and advance your career in this exciting field.

Source: eccouncil.org

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Why Organizations Need to Deliberately Adopt Threat Intelligence

Every organization will, one way or another, land on the radar of cybercriminals or hackers who have an incentive to compromise their systems. Threat intelligence has therefore become a top priority for many organizations around the world.

Some of the top security challenges organizations have faced over the last few years include:

◉ Identifying the right frameworks to implement

◉ Choosing from varying vendor solutions to fill gaps in technology

◉ Mitigating supply chain risks

◉ Managing vulnerabilities and patches

◉ Addressing insufficient skill sets within cybersecurity teams

◉ Handling inadequate threat intelligence and visibility

◉ Securing third-party engagement and integration

◉ Promoting general awareness of cyber resilience among staff

Cybersecurity: A Growing Concern in Digital Transformations

The COVID-19 pandemic prompted a number of mindset shifts. Many organizations started moving to the cloud, and others started to activate digital transformation playbooks that had been shelved for many years.

Organizations that did not think the time would ever come for remote work had to activate many work-from-home programs. Affected businesses ranged from small and medium-sized enterprises to large corporations that had to rework their entire security fabrics to stay resilient as attacks rose.

The Limitations of Existing Cybersecurity Solutions

Top-tier companies are continuously buying new solutions in hopes of solving contemporaneous security issues that arise. These include antimalware and data loss prevention software; upgrades to firewalls, routers, and switches; network access control solutions; data and network monitoring software; and many more.

However, the above solutions often do not communicate with each other after implementation, which creates challenges when it comes to decision making. This leads to an increase in risks to the organization.

An antimalware solution, for instance, might be able to detect malware, but it may not work with the organization’s network and access control solutions to isolate the infected machine or the organization’s firewall to block the IP address of the threat actor. Instead, organizations must rely on manual intervention, meaning that actualizing mitigation controls can take a great deal of time.

Take, for example, a financial institution. The sensitive data it handles might include:

◉ Client lists

◉ Customer credit card information

◉ The company’s banking details

◉ Pricing structures for various services

◉ Future product designs

◉ The organization’s expansion plans

The impacts of a security incident on that financial organization can include:

◉ Financial losses resulting from theft of banking information

◉ Financial losses resulting from business disruption

◉ High costs associated with ridding the network of threats

◉ Damage to reputation after telling customers their information was compromised

“You can get cybersecurity right 99% of the time, but adversaries only need to exploit the 1% to cause tremendous damage.”

The Evolution of Cybersecurity Models

The focus of cybersecurity when it comes to protecting business operations has shifted from the traditional risk management approach, which relies on perimeter and static assessment through grading on the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) system, to a framework of predictive threat intelligence, agile posture, and dynamic controls.

The deciding factor in whether an organization will be able to get back up and running after a security incident is its ability to recover very easily. This is directly proportional to operational readiness and time.

Historically, the definition of security has centered around the concepts of protection, detection, and response. Resilience, on the other hand, involves two other elements: identification and recovery. Being able to identify potential risks and plan out a recovery method is key to maintaining operational status as a business

Comparing Security Software Solutions

Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)

Every modern-day organization should have a security information and event management (SIEM) tool. SIEM software can be either proprietary or open source, depending on the company’s budget and needs.

SIEM tools have several core functionalities, in addition to many other crucial capabilities:

◉ Correlating logs

◉ Analyzing user behavior

◉ Performing forensics

◉ Monitoring file integrity

◉ Providing a dashboard for analyzing incidents

Incident responders may receive thousands of alerts each day from all devices connected to their organization’s SIEM solution. As a result, they often spend a large portion of their time engaged in detection, triage, and investigation.

A typical example could be seen in the case of a malicious IP scanning a target network. The analyst has to filter out false positives, analyze the details of the IP address (such as origin and reputation), and send the details to the firewall to block the IP based on that analysis.

The response time required to investigate alerts and filter out false positives reduces analysts’ productivity, leaving room for attackers to succeed in a potential threat scenario. Post-incident analysis of past breaches often finds that the SIEM detection time and the steps taken by analysts are predictive of the actions performed by various parties.

Security Orchestration Automation and Response (SOAR)

Security orchestration automation and response (SOAR) solutions came into play to solve the above challenge. SOAR systems detect, triage, respond and periodize throughout the full chain of threat intelligence.

Consider, for instance, a malware indicator of compromise in a network of about 200 endpoints. While a SIEM will be able to pick it up, investigating how many other machines are similarly affected and making decisions about whether to isolate them from the network usually has to be done manually.

Likewise, sending the malicious IP address that is acting as the malware’s command-and-control server to be blocked by the firewall is a further step. A SOAR solution automates all these processes by investigating and taking necessary action before sending an alert to the analyst, prompting them to examine the situation further.

Despite being misconstrued as a “plug-and-play” solution by many security personnel, SOAR platforms are still new technologies and are not yet capable of acting fully automatically. SOAR technology is not meant to replace all solutions in an organization. Instead, it enables security teams to make smart decisions in time to curb adversaries’ actions.

SOAR software works following a series of actions, known as a playbook, that is written by analysts and fine-tuned to fit the organization’s network and existing solutions. The process of writing a playbook can only be done by developing use cases as a continuous process.

Threat intelligence has various measures of success when a holistic viewpoint is taken that encompasses not only technology solutions but also the human element, especially threat intelligence analysts. An organization’s threat intelligence analysts consolidate all the architecture of collection, correlation, decision making, and post-implementation tactics to avoid future potential breaches.

How to Measure the Success of a Threat Intelligence Program

The table below provides a sample summary of key performance indicators, associated metrics, and possible success measurements.

Key Performance Indicator	Metric	Possible Measurements
Workload	Total number of devices being monitored Total number of events Number of tickets assigned	Number of devices Number of devices per analyst Number of events per analyst per day Proportion of assigned to unassigned tickets
Detection success	Number of events per device or application Mean time to detection Amount of false positives	Number of events per device per day or month Number of events per application per day or month Number of false positives per day Time to detect (in hours, days, or months) False positives as a percentage of all alerts
Analyst skill	Time to resolution Event types resolved	Average time to identify Average time to identify per technology Average time to identify per event type All event types resolved by analyst
Key risks	Number of events per application Number of events per user or account Number of events per device Vulnerabilities detected	Number of events generated by application Number of events per user or account Number of events per device Vulnerabilities detected by vulnerability management tools

Why Successful Threat Intelligence Requires Management Support

An organization’s threat intelligence program can never be a success if there is no support from senior management. The involvement of key stakeholders, especially C-suite executives and the board of directors, can lead to risk reduction or even elimination in any organization.

The catalyst for achieving management buy-in is cybersecurity leaders who can communicate key requirements, as well as potential business risks if certain actions are not taken. This responsibility is shared by the chief information security officer, chief information officer, and risk information officer. Together, these three stakeholders’ insights can help ensure a secure and resilient organization.

Source: eccouncil.org

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How SIEMs Can Help SOCs Streamline Operations

The global Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) market is expected to reach USD 5.5 billion by 2025 (Markets and Markets, 2020). So why are companies investing in SIEM?

Cyberattacks are pervasive and increasingly sophisticated, which means security risks are rapidly growing. As a result, organizations are implementing SIEM solutions to secure their applications and networks.

SIEM solutions streamline security, warn IT teams of threats, and prevent alert fatigue. In this blog, we explore how SIEM software works and how it can benefit security operation center (SOC) analysts.

How SIEMs Work

SIEM software collects events and data from an organization’s applications and devices, analyze them, and classify them into different categories such as failed login, malware activities, exploit attempts, and more. SIEMs identify potential threats by assessing data patterns and providing in-depth security event analysis. When the software detects suspicious activities, it generates security alerts to flag security teams.

Essentially, SIEMs implement a security log management system that allows real-time monitoring of incidents and generates security alerts into one centralized location, which enables security analysts and teams to efficiently analyze data. They also provide visibility into an organization’s entire infrastructure, making the security posture more proactive rather than reactive.

There are various SIEM tools in the market that provide real-time analysis of security alerts and help anticipate cyberattacks. These are some of the most reputable SIEMs:

1.SolarWinds strengthens an organization’s security posture by providing automated threat detection and incident response. It provides an easy-to-use dashboard that visualizes event data for analysis and pattern recognition. SolarWinds also has customizable reporting templates so users can easily demonstrate compliance to standards like ISO 27001 and SOX.

2. Log360 helps organizations detect potential threats and prevent attacks on-premises, in the cloud, in networks, and in hybrid cloud environments.

3. IBM QRadar is an SIEM solution that monitors the entire IT infrastructure and helps security experts prioritize alerts and defend against threats. It also offers insights into security incidents to determine the root cause of a network issue.

UEBA vs. SIEM vs. SOAR

◉ User and Event Behavioral Analytics (UEBA) utilizes algorithms and machine learning to monitor user activities and machine entities within a network. It helps identify suspicious activities and potential threats in real-time so it can issue alerts. UEBA applies behavioral analytics to look for any malicious activity or behavior that can lead to cyberattacks and sends alerts to IT teams, who can then investigate and quickly mitigate the threats before they cause any serious damage.

◉ SIEMs collect, collate, and analyze data in real-time to identify threats, discover trends, notify the security team about suspicious activities, and establish correlations between security events.Traditionally, SIEMs didn’t include behavioral analytics technology, which is why UEBA solutions were developed to address this gap (Imperva).

◉ Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response (SOAR) software collects, analyzes, and acts upon security incidents without human intervention. In addition to internal sources, SOAR collects information from external sources and endpoint security software. The automation feature of SOAR enhances time management and efficiency and minimizes human error. A SOAR platform enables a security analyst team to monitor security data from a variety of sources, including SIEMs and threat intelligence platforms (Crowdstrike, 2021).

How SIEM Solutions Can Benefit SOCs

No organization is safe from intrusions, and organizations of all sizes need constant monitoring to detect and respond to threats quickly. The longer a vulnerability or risk goes unnoticed, the greater the damage it can inflict on an organization. This is where having a dedicated security operation center (SOC) can enable 24/7 monitoring of an organization’s IT infrastructure and elevate a company’s cybersecurity posture.

SIEMs are an increasingly essential part of SOCs. With companies relying on IT networks, it’s difficult to manually monitor entire systems and analyze large amounts of data. By using SIEM tools, SOCs can automate the task of detecting threats, saving resources and labor while increasing efficiency and productivity. SIEMs provide SOC analysts with data of real-time network events and reduce their burden by investigating security incidents, sending out alerts and improving incident response times.

SOCs receives hundreds of alerts every day; SIEM tools analyze these data to detect incidents that constitute real threats. SIEMs allow already overworked security teams to use their time and attention to thwart potential data breaches.

How to Become an SOC Analyst

SOC analysts are essential to cybersecurity teams. Cybercriminals don’t take breaks—the cyber world is always vulnerable to attacks. As the first line of defense, SOC analysts save their organizations millions of dollars every year by reducing cybersecurity risks.

To become an SOC analyst, one must have the right skills and knowledge. There can be many learning routes to acquire the specific skill set and knowledge in network defense, ethical hacking, and technical and programming knowledge. Certifications are a popular way to gain hands-on experience and build professional competencies. EC-Council’s Certified SOC Analyst (C|SA) program equips candidates with industry-relevant skills and knowledge.

FAQs

Q. What is the difference between SIEM and SOC?

An SOC is a team of people and the system(s) they use to monitor and respond to security incidents ona network. SIEM software uses intelligent correlation rules to highlight links between events to support the IT team in analyzing and dealing with threats.

Q. What does an SOC analyst do?

Security analysts detect, investigate, and respond to incidents. They may also plan and implement preventative security measures and build disaster recovery plans.

Q. What is the difference between an SOC and a network operations center (NOC)?

SOCs and NOCs are responsible for identifying, investigating, prioritizing, escalating, and resolving issues, but the issues they resolve and the impact they have are considerably different. SOCs focus on “intelligent adversaries,” while NOCs deal with naturally occurring system events.

Q. What are SOC services?

SIEMs and SOCs provide real-time analysis of security alerts from within an organization’s network to maintain a secure environment while ensuring continuity in business operations.

Source: eccouncil.org

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Why to Pursue a Career in Cyber Threat Intelligence

Cybercriminals are continually on the move, looking for ways to conduct cyberattacks and hack into networks across the globe. The annual cost associated with cybercrime damages equates to trillions of dollars each year, with experts predicting that global cybercrime damages will likely exceed USD 10.5 trillion annually by 2025 (Porteous, 2021).

With numbers like these, the need for qualified cybersecurity professionals and threat intelligence analysts is evident. Read on to learn what a career in threat intelligence entails, how to land your first threat intelligence job, and how to become a Certified Threat Intelligence Analyst (C|TIA) with EC-Council.

What Is a Threat Intelligence Analyst?

If you’ve got an analytical mind, the ability to think critically, and a strong understanding of the cybersecurity industry, becoming a threat intelligence analyst might be a great next step in your career path. But what does a threat intelligence career truly entail?

Put simply, threat intelligence professionals are trained to perceive and neutralize threats before cyberattacks can actually take place. Threat intelligence analysts serve within an organization’s cybersecurity ecosystem, where they work to combat existing and emerging threats. It’s important for threat intelligence analysts to understand the following three domains (ZeusCybersec, 2021):

Tactical: Intelligence gained through analyzing data and research that enables analysts to identify Indicators of Compromise (IOCs) within an organization.

Operational: Intelligence gained through learning how cybercriminals and groups think and operate that allows analysts to conduct threat monitoring and vulnerability management.

Strategic: Intelligence that involves taking findings and presenting them in an easily understandable form to key personnel within an organization to identify where cybersecurity weaknesses exist and determine what changes need to be made.

How to Start a Threat Intelligence Career

If threat intelligence sounds like a career path for you, consider starting with EC-Council’s C|TIA program, which offers IT and security professionals the ability to advance their threat intelligence careers through an industry-respected cybersecurity certification.

The Ins and Outs of EC-Council’s Certified Threat Intelligence Analyst Program

The C|TIA program will equip you with all the knowledge and skills you need to land your first threat intelligence job and a successful threat intelligence career. In the C|TIA program, you’ll learn about:

◉ What threat intelligence entails

◉ How to understand cyberthreats and the Cyber Kill Chain methodology

◉ Data collection and processing

◉ Data analysis

◉ Intelligence reporting and dissemination

The C|TIA program is ideal for those looking to work as:

◉ Security practitioners, engineers, analysts, specialists, architects, and managers

◉ Threat intelligence analysts, associates, researchers, and consultants

◉ Security operations center professionals

◉ Digital forensic and malware analysts

◉ Incident response team members

Average Threat Intelligence Analyst Salary

Along with acquiring superior threat intelligence skills, earning a threat intelligence analyst certification can be a great addition to your resume when seeking a job in the field. The average annual salary for a cyber intelligence analyst in the United States is USD 85,353, with those in the 90th percentile and above making upwards of USD 119,500 (ZipRecruiter, 2022).

Source: eccouncil.org

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Why Does Cloud Security Matter to Organizations?

The cloud is growing more popular every day, and for good reason: It provides many benefits for businesses, including cost savings, increased efficiency, and scalability. However, with this growth comes an increased risk of security breaches. That’s why organizations need to have employees who are skilled in cloud security.

A Certified Cloud Security Engineer (C|CSE) has the knowledge and experience necessary to protect organizations against cloud-related threats. This article will discuss why cloud security is so important and how a C|CSE can help mitigate cloud security risks.

The Rise of Cybercriminals

One of the main reasons cloud security is so important is that the cloud is a growing target for cybercriminals (Culp, 2021). As more businesses move to the cloud, hackers are increasingly focusing their efforts on this platform. They know that there’s a lot of valuable data stored in the cloud and that it’s often not as well protected compared with on-premises systems. This makes the cloud a prime target for data breaches, ransomware attacks, and other types of malware.

Data Breach Consequences

If an organization falls prey to a data breach, the consequences can be disastrous(Brooks, 2022). The business could lose customers, damage its reputation, and face costly legal fees. In addition, it could end up paying millions of dollars in damages. That’s why it’s so important to have a cloud security strategy in place and ensure that all employees are trained to protect a company’s data.

How Cloud Security Engineers Can Help

Fortunately, a C|CSE can help mitigate the risks of a data breach. They have the knowledge and experience to create a cloud security strategy that can protect an organization from cloud-based cyberattacks. Moving forward, there’s likely to be incredible demand for cloud security engineers as the cloud becomes more and more popular. A C|CSE certification is a fantastic way to future-proof your career and ensure you have the skills needed to improve your company’s cybersecurity.

How to Become a Cloud Security Engineer

If you’re interested in becoming a cloud security engineer, there are a few steps that you can take. EC-Council, one of the world’s largest cybersecurity certification bodies, offers a variety of programs to help you elevate or kickstart your career. EC-Council’s C|CSE certification provides the skills and knowledge you need to keep an organization safe from cyberattacks. The C|CSE program is designed for experienced IT professionals specializing in cloud security and covers various topics in this domain, including cloud security architecture, risk assessment, and incident response. The lessons you learn in the C|CSE program will enable you to:

◉ Understand the security risks associated with the cloud

◉ Design a security strategy for the cloud

◉ Implement security controls in the cloud

◉ Manage incidents in the cloud

Topics covered in the C|CSE course include:

◉ Vendor-neutral and vendor-specific concepts: Get familiar with concepts and technologies from multiple cloud providers.

◉ Secure cloud platform operations: Learn how to operate, manage, and protect a secure cloud platform.

◉ Risk assessment and management: Understand the risks associated with using the cloud and learn how to mitigate them.

◉ Incident response in the cloud: Learn how to respond to attacks and breaches in cloud environments.

◉ Governance: Understand how to create and enforce policies to protect a cloud environment.

◉ Forensic methodologies: Learn how to investigate security incidents in the cloud.

◉ Hands-on lab training: Put your new skills to the test in a safe, simulated lab environment.

Once you complete EC-Council’s cloud security training, you’ll have the opportunity to become a C|CSE by completing a 125-question, 4-hour exam. With a C|CSE certification from EC-Council to validate your cloud security skills, you’ll be in high demand as more and more businesses move to the cloud.

Job Roles for Certified Cloud Security Engineers

There are a variety of job roles that you can take on with a C|CSE certification. Some of them include:

◉ Cloud security engineer

◉ Cloud security administrator

◉ Cloud security architect

◉ DevOps engineer

◉ Compliance specialist

◉ Operations lead

How You Can Become a Cybersecurity Professional

The cloud is a growing target for cybercriminals, and businesses need to make sure that they have a cloud security strategy in place. It can be difficult to detect and respond to a cloud-based data breach or cyberattack, but C|CSEs can help shield businesses against these risks.

Source: eccouncil.org

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How to Prepare for the C|PENT Certification: Valuable Guidance From a Cyber Professional

If you’re preparing for EC-Council’s Certified Penetration Testing Professional (C|PENT) certification, it’s normal to feel intimidated by the prospect of learning the program’s technical concepts. However, while mastering the exam is no cakewalk, the challenge will pay off in the end.

My name is Sergey Chubarov, and I’m an instructor. As a C|PENT and Licensed Penetration Tester (Master) certificate holder, I would like to offer some tips and tactics for preparing for the C|PENT exam. However, before I dive in, let me explain what the C|PENT exam is all about.

What is C|PENT Exam?

C|PENT is a hands-on exam with multiple challenges, which, in my opinion, can be divided into two parts:

◉ For the first challenge, you must enumerate your target properly and gather information. For instance, you’ll be asked to find the target’s name or a fully qualified domain name, name of the domain, or protocol version.

◉ As part of the second challenge, you’ll need to exploit your target, find the root of the user flag, locate the flag, and provide the content of those flags.

Skills You Need to Master

C|PENT candidates must build their enumeration and exploitation skills to master the exam. Another essential skill is using a search engine such as Google because C|PENT is an open-book exam. During the exam, you’re free to explore any sources, and using a search engine is essential to finding relevant information.

C|PENT Preparation Guide

Before taking an official course, I recommend you first sharpen your enumeration, exploitation, and Googling skills, as these will help you think on your feet. The best way to do that is by working on cyber ranges where you can work with machines and try to compromise them. Learning assembly language and debugger (GDB) will also come in handy. You can take a course to learn assembly languages related to buffer overflow and cybersecurity.

By now, you must be wondering if an official course is necessary. Although it’s up to you, my advice is that taking an official EC-Council course gives you a basic idea about the exam, and their hands-on labs offer real-world experience. During the course, you will encounter several unfamiliar topics (Operational Technology, Binary, Network Penetration Testing, etc.). Do not try to become an expert in these concepts. Your goal is to maintain a balance between preparation time and actual preparation.

How to Get an Additional Three Weeks of Preparation Time

Most candidates will first activate their dashboard on the Aspen portal, then complete both exam sessions within 30 days and submit the report. However, sometimes when you go to the proctor portal to schedule the exam, you may not find available slots, and you’ll have to wait an additional week to take the first session. There is a way around this issue. First, you can schedule your exam session with the proctor and then activate your dashboard. Now you have a guaranteed 30 days for your first session. You can then take the second exam session after three weeks. This additional time will help you better prepare and calm any anxiety.

Quick Wrap-up

Before I conclude, I would like to go over my recommendations. Here’s a quick wrap-up of my tried and tested technique for passing the exam:

◉ Sharpen your enumeration and exploration skills

◉ Take an assembly course

◉ Learn more about buffer overflow, binary analysis, and debuggers

◉ Practice on cyber ranges and do all the labs

Source: eccouncil.org

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Understanding the Meaning and Purpose of IoT Forensics

Cybercrime is a serious threat to any organization, with data breach costs reaching over USD 4 million on average (Mack, 2021). Companies today face many potential cyber risks each year, and the results can be catastrophic.

Since Internet of Things (IoT) devices often face attacks as soon as 5 minutes after connecting, they can present a severe vulnerability (Jovanović, 2022). The number of devices connected to the internet has skyrocketed and now includes many medical devices, smart home components, and even e-cigarettes.

With the increase in IoT devices, IoT-related cyberattacks have also grown, giving rise to the field of IoT forensics. What does digital forensics mean in the IoT context, and what is its purpose?

What Is IoT Forensics?

IoT forensics is the practice of analyzing IoT devices to investigate crimes. Organizations or law enforcement may hire experts to gather and preserve data when investigating whether hackers used internet-connected devices to commit cybercrimes or examining the source of a security breach.

In some instances, breaches occur due to malicious intent. In other cases, they may result from human error—for example, if an employee shares sensitive information due to a phishing attack. The employee may have had no intention to steal data or harm the company, yet the results of sharing that data accidentally can be just as catastrophic. These phishing attacks cause nearly nine out of 10 data breaches (Cisco Umbrella, 2021).

Cyber forensics can help determine the exact intent and extent of a breach and much more. Typical IoT-related cyberthreats may include:

◉ Malware, including ransomware

◉ Botnets and Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks

◉ Data theft

IoT forensics does not just involve the investigation of cybercrimes. Even on-site crimes like burglaries may produce data on various devices that can assist in an investigation. However, the investigation process will vary depending on whether the device is smart or not, which brings us to the difference between IoT forensics and digital forensics.

IoT Forensics vs. Digital Forensics

In short, digital forensics is any forensic investigation dealing with digital evidence, while IoT forensics is a more specialized branch of digital forensics focused on devices connected to the internet.

Connection to the internet provides unfortunate opportunities for data corruption or misplacement, but it also ensures that most data is readily available for legal review by an expert. IoT forensics experts use various methods to find digital evidence.

Extracting Data from IoT Devices

IoT forensics relies on sensors placed in various devices, such as smart kitchen appliances or wearables like fitness trackers. These sensors collect data that the device then transfers to the cloud, where it can be stored, analyzed, or otherwise made available to intended recipients (Joseph, 2021). This is where cloud forensics and IoT forensics intersect: the retrieval of data that has been transferred from IoT devices to the cloud.

Since data travels through various networks and multiple sources, there can be considerable differences in the methods used for locating crucial digital evidence. Any computer forensics investigation must include provisions for multiple standards and data formats.

Challenges in IoT Forensics

Some data is heavily encrypted, and in some cases, decryption may be highly problematic—for example, if the decryption token has been lost or corrupted or if the encryption method is unusual or error prone. Often, data suffers from corruption during transfer or as vendors store it over extended periods.

Thankfully, many companies have policies for preserving data throughout a specific period. However, providers also typically protect data from access except when someone can prove a legal right to access the data. This means that data forensics may require legal action and many special permissions that can be difficult to obtain, depending on the individual policy of the storage provider.

In summary, the challenges facing cyber forensics investigations of IoT devices include:

◉ Lack of data standardization across vendors

◉ Difficulty in decryption

◉ Data corruption

◉ Restrictions related to data protection and privacy laws

Locating Data Traces

Maintaining data quality in evidence is essential for IoT forensics (Gómez et al., 2021). Extracting data involves working around the challenges of following a digital “footprint” through the various data collection and storage stages. This can be complex depending on the quality of the data.

IoT forensics experts have developed various automated methods to simplify the investigation process and make it more effective, resulting in clean, parsed, and structured data that can be used for investigative purposes.

1. Data Traces on Devices

This usually begins with uncovering information within the device itself, such as a smartphone. Unfortunately, many devices only store data for a short time. While most data leaves “traces” behind, these could be fragile and easily corrupted.

2. Data Traces in Networks

Networks used to transfer data may also maintain traces for a specific time. Again, these data traces are fragile and may disappear quickly. Moreover, different networks and processes will use varied encryption methods, creating additional hurdles.

3. Data Traces in the Cloud

Any data transferred from IoT devices that is then stored in or moved within the cloud will leave digital traces behind. Cloud service vendors and ethical hackers can often aid in cyber forensics by preserving and recovering such relics. Of course, they do so only when the recipient has the legal authority to make such a request.

Source: eccouncil.org

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Understanding the Incident Response Life Cycle

Incident response management is an integral part of cybersecurity operations. Incident responders are the first to react to any security incident: They help organizations identify, contain, eradicate, and recover from the incident. Incident handlers help create incident management plans for detection and recovery procedures. Incident handlers—and the entire company—can use these plans in the event of a cyberattack. This article will cover what you need to know about the incident response life cycle and how to help businesses prevent, or manage the aftermath of, a cyberattack.

What Is the Incident Response Life Cycle?

The incident response life cycle is a series of procedures executed in the event of a security incident. These steps define the workflow for the overall incident response process. Each stage entails a specific set of actions that an organization should complete.

The Five Phases of the Incident Response Life Cycle

There are several ways to define the incident response life cycle. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST; Cichonski et al., 2012) developed a framework for incident handling, which is the most commonly used model. The process outlined in the NIST framework includes five phases:

1. Preparation

2. Detection and analysis

3. Containment

4. Eradication and recovery

5. Post-event activity

1. Preparation

In this phase, the business creates an incident management plan that can detect an incident in the organization’s environment. The preparation step involves, for example, identifying different malware attacks and determining what their impact on systems would be. It also involves ensuring that an organization has the tools to respond to an incident and the appropriate security measures in place to stop an incident from happening in the first place.

2. Detection and Analysis

An incident response analyst is responsible for collecting and analyzing data to find any clues to help identify the source of an attack. In this step, analysts identify the nature of the attack and its impact on systems. The business and the security professionals it works with utilize the tools and indicators of compromise (IOCs) that have been developed to track the attacked systems.

3. Containment, Eradication, and Recovery

This is the main phase of security incident response, in which the responders take action to stop any further damage. This phase encompasses three steps:

◉ Containment. In this step, all possible methods are used to prevent the spread of malware or viruses. Actions might include disconnecting systems from networks, quarantining infected systems (Landesman, 2021), or blocking traffic to and from known malicious IP addresses.

◉ Eradication. After containing the security issue in question, the malicious code or software needs to be eradicated from the environment. This might involve using antivirus tools or manual removal techniques (Williams, 2022). It will also include ensuring that all security software is up to date in order to prevent any future incidents.

◉ Recovery. After eliminating the malware, restoring all systems to their pre-incident state is essential (Mazzoli, 2021). This might involve restoring data from backups, rebuilding infected systems, and re-enabling disabled accounts.

5. Post-Event Activity

The final phase of the incident response life cycle is to perform a postmortem of the entire incident (Cynet, 2022). This helps the organization understand how the incident took place and what it can do to prevent such incidents from happening in the future. The lessons learned during this phase can improve the organization’s incident security protocols and make its security strategy more robust and effective.

Tips for Improving an Incident Response Plan

There are many ways to improve an organization’s incident management plan (HIMSS, 2022).

◉ Identify and train incident handlers in case there is a security breach. Ensure that all employees know their responsibilities when such an event occurs. These responsibilities may vary, but they will likely involve when to report an issue, who to contact, and what tools to immediately deploy in the event of a breach.

◉ Create effective communication channels across teams, ensuring that each person reports to their assigned contact. This helps ensure quick detection and recovery from any incidents in real time without losing much valuable information or data.

◉ Maintain logs for each system and update them regularly, leaving no gaps in the data. The creation of such logs can be useful in identifying the source of a security breach and preventing similar events in the future.

◉ Regularly test the incident response plan so that the documentation stays up to date with any changes made to security policies or new technologies introduced to the organization’s infrastructure.

Prevent Security Incidents with an Incident Handler Certification

At the end of the day, businesses need to ensure that they have the appropriate resources on hand to prevent a security breach from occurring and to know how to handle it if one does. EC-Council’s Certified Incident Handler (E|CIH) certification program teaches cybersecurity professionals the skills they need to prepare for such an event and trains them to detect, analyze, and prepare for any security-related incident within an organization. Having E|CIH-certified personnel on hand can benefit businesses in numerous ways, including reducing damages, increasing response times to security breaches, and greatly improving security posture.

Source: eccouncil.org

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Navigate the Challenging CISO Career Path With CCISO Certification

The EC-Council CCISO certification is the first of its kind certification program geared towards producing top-level information security executives. The CCISO does not concentrate on technical knowledge but on applying information security management standards from an executive management perspective. The program was developed by sitting CISOs for present and aspiring CISOs.

The CCISO plans to fill the gap between the executive management knowledge that CISOs require and the technical expertise many sitting and aspiring CISOs own. This can be an acute gap as practitioners step up from mid-management to higher executive management positions. Much of this is commonly learned as on-the-job training. Still, the CCISO certification can be the key to a successful shift to the highest levels of information security management.

Top 3 Inviting Reasons to Earn EC-Council CCISO Certification

1. CCISO Certification Is Created By CISOs

The CCISO Advisory Board includes CISOs from government and private sectors ranging from various industries and areas of expertise. They delivered their vast knowledge to create this certification to deal with the deficit of leadership training in information security.

2. CCISO Certification Is Not Slanted Towards The Technical Aspects Of The CISO Job Role

The syllabus of the CCISO certification exam is from the standpoint of executive management. It requires high-level knowledge of technical topics. It doesn’t spend much time on precisely technical information but on utilizing technical knowledge in an information security executive’s everyday work.

3. CCISO Includes Tactical and Financial Management

To become reliable leaders in their organizations, IS professionals need to have better business intelligence than has ever been demanded. The CCISO certification explores further how security should be infused into the procurement procedure and how a CISO should manage budgets and assets – crucial skills and knowledge many in the profession lack.

Career Outlook

The career outlook for chief information security officers is quite optimistic. This is because more and more valuable assets are available on computer networks, which provokes black hat hackers to grow, each in hopes of taking advantage of or exploiting a situation. Thus, you and your fellow certified chief information security officer professionals must increase to overcome them and protect networks and databases.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) may not trail CISOs particularly, but the agency does indicate that information security analysts with a bachelor’s degree receive an average salary of $99,000. At the same time, computer and information systems managers receive an average salary of $146,000, with an average bachelor’s degree education. In the C-suites, chief executives make an average salary of $193,000, and those specializing in computer systems earn an average salary of $232,000.

Given that the field for information security analysts is scheduled to increase by 31% through 2029, it’s apparent that the need for CISOs will correspondingly evolve. The actual number of jobs in the CISO employment field is sure to be distinctly lower, but the growth rate should track with that of infosec analysts.

CCISO Exam Information

• Total No. of Questions: 150
• Exam Duration: 150 minutes (2.5 Hours)
• No. of questions: 150
• Question Type: Scenario-based multiple choice
• Passing score: 72% resting on the exam form
• Recertification required: every three years
• Language: English

To be eligible for the CCISO exam and receive the certification, applicants must satisfy the fundamental CCISO requirements. Applicants who do not yet fulfill the CCISO requirements but are involved in information security management can earn the EC-Council Information Security Management (EISM) certification. EISMs can apply for the CCISO Exam once they hold the required years of experience.

Tips for EC-Council CCISO Exam Preparation

The first and foremost step in CCISO exam preparation is to visit the official webpage of this exam.

Read over the exam objectives, requirements, policies, and other important information available on the official website. This will help you start the preparation process and let you know what to emphasize when studying.

Many study materials are available for you. If you don’t know where to start, start with the EC-Council platform. EC-Council suggests various preparation methods to create a practical study plan and carry out preparation for the certification exam. They incorporate video courses, self-paced training, instructor-led training, and CCISO practice tests. Let’s look at how you can prepare for and pass your CCISO exam on the first try.

1. Register for a Course

There are no secret formulas and no shortcuts to success. You need to take up a training course. By taking a training course, you will learn from specialists. Another crucial benefit of enrolling in a training course is getting practical experience and understanding from professional instructors.

2. Obtain the Study Guide

You must obtain a study guide for the EC-Council CCISO exam. This study guide covers everything you need to know to get through your CCISO exam. Learn from this guide and study it completely. Write notes as you read so you can use them for revision purposes.

3. Participate in an Online Community

An online community allows you to connect with other applicants, and you can also learn from them and ask your questions. You can easily find online communities relevant to this exam. You can also build a strong network with like-minded people.

4. Take CCISO Practice Tests

This is a must for your success in the CCISO exam. You can depend on the Edusum website to access CCISO practice tests. This helps you to feel the vibe of a natural exam environment. This will help you enhance your time management skills and give you a clear view of what to expect in the CCISO certification exam.

Earning a CCISO credential is not so tough. If you meet the exam requirements and are ready to work hard, you can easily pass it and receive your certification.

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