Digital Forensics 2.0: Innovations in Virtual Environment and Emerging Technologies

Modern computing devices generate high volumes of information and are responsible for the retrieval, storage, and processing of information throughout our day-to-day lives. Emerging technologies which are fast-growing, can make forensics investigations difficult as they span applications in a variety of industries ranging from agriculture, aviation, entertainment, electronics, information technology, and more.

Virtualized environments can make digital forensics challenging, and the current state of digital forensics is rapidly evolving. With the increasing use of electronic devices, there are concerns revolving around privacy violations. Automation fueled by Machine Learning in digital forensics investigations can improve the overall efficiency of the investigation processes and make it easier to ensure the integrity of information when analyzing cases.

Read More: 312-85: EC-Council Certified Threat Intelligence Analyst (CTIA)

We will examine emerging technologies and the latest innovations in the current digital forensics landscape. We will explore what it means to venture into the world of Digital Forensics 2.0 and what forensic examiners are doing to improve their investigative practices. Here are the key trends to watch out for (Barrett, 2008):

IoT Forensics

IoT has changed the way mobile communications and systems work and enabled interconnectivity between physical and digital infrastructures. Users are sharing their data across multiple platforms, and despite the several benefits of using IoT applications, environments are laden with various cyber threats, such as the destruction of IoT networks, DoS attacks, ransomware, and mass monitoring. IoT forensics ensures the preservation and extraction of critical evidence regardless of technological limitations and responds to investigative requirements without needing user intervention. USB forensics is growing in its capabilities and is used to trace USB connection activities in networks to assist with investigations. It identifies file-related operations like copy-pasting pictures and opening documents and helps in analyzing potential digital artifacts. Digital devices also contain important footprints, and the MSC protocol is a standard used for defining communications between operating systems and USB devices. Forensic examiners can get full access to clusters, systems, and sectors by using the MSC protocol and can address security vulnerabilities before a data breach happens.

Cloud Forensics

Cloud Forensics relies on the sharing of resources across local servers and personal devices to run applications. A majority of growth can be attributed to ubiquitous access, and there are plenty of opportunities for improving the scope of criminal investigations in the field. Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) clients give investigators the access they need to the right information for solving cases. Virtualization allows multiple instances to be separated from physical systems and separates cases across cloud environments as well. This ensures user anonymity for shared infrastructures during forensics investigations. Cloud forensics focuses on capturing traffic transiting networks and data packets which might be considered being sourced from unusual or malicious traffic. It is multi-dimensional and encompasses technical, organizational, and legal domains. Methods like live forensics, evidence segregation, and collecting client-side artifacts are laid emphasis on. Forensic examiners also focus on examining multi-tenancy environments, SLAs, CSPs, multi-jurisdictional environments, and trust boundaries without violating the laws and regulations of states (Obbayi, 2018).

Social Media Forensics

Social media forensics has gained a lot of traction with the advent of Web 2.0 technologies and Industry 4.0. Different social media platforms like Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter are exposed to hackers, and their databases are most vulnerable to malware attacks. Investigators are able to access diverse subsets of different data sources, photographs, contact lists, demographics, metadata, and text messages. These can be used to assist forensic investigations and solve cases. Digital artifacts can be extracted from timestamps, URLs, passwords, images, and other social media mobile applications for analysis.

There are three key features social media forensics offers when it comes to the latest developments – tempering localization analysis, reverse search integration, and metadata visualization and extraction. Forensic algorithms can generate up to 6 different tampering localization maps to acquire tempering traces on social media, and it also supports embedded thumbnails. Forensic experts can examine these to ascertain crucial evidence and proceed with their investigations (Alghamdi, 2020).

Digital Forensics for Code Semantics

A multi-layer automation approach is used to collect information from multiple social media networks by law enforcement officials. Semantic reverse engineering is used to understand binary codes in closed-source software packaging and for recovering data structure instances without leaving any traces of execution. It can extract high-level semantic meanings for associated memory addresses, and its forensic applications are used for sensitive data protection, vulnerability scanning, and so on. Reviver and Mismo are popular digital forensics frameworks used to do cross-platform binary code similarity detection and analysis for vulnerability identification. It uses deep learning and dynamic analysis to evaluate data structures, IoT firmware images, and CVE (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures) functions in smartphones and devices.

Artificial Intelligence and Digital Forensics

Automated identification of digital evidence and advanced mixed data forensic analysis is used to streamline the decision-making process during legal proceedings by analyzing relevant evidence and presenting appropriate findings. AI technology is used for pattern recognition in clusters, and decision trees are used in conjunction with neural nets to help with the identification of initial patterns, which is of critical importance for forensic investigations.

Data mining is another area of interest where exploratory data is used to highlight key relationships between information and users and make deeper assessments. AI techniques are being used to examine the imaging of virtual disks and can automate forensic processes to help experts speed up repairs and conduct analysis for closing cases in record times.

Quantum Forensics

The top algorithms being used for quantum forensics in the digital landscape are Shor’s O(n3) integer factorization and discrete logarithms. These are used to solve cryptoanalysis challenges associated with RSA-like and EC-based public-key cryptosystems. They can analyze compromised cryptosystems in real time and speed up cryptographic quantum computing times. This means that organizations can eliminate large-scale cybercrimes in the future and improve both the quantity and quality of evidence recovered from digital devices for further analysis and interpretation in proceedings (Overill, 2012).

Virtualization

Technological advances in virtualization technologies like VMware, Microsoft, Sun, and Parallels offer in-depth views and insights into digital forensic examinations in virtual environments. Parallels operate on the Macintosh platform and provide users with up to 350 software downloads through a library that allows users to deploy and manage OS environments. Many companies in the market are offering virtual box solutions, and the InBoxer Anti-risk app is popular for archiving emails, electronic evidence discovery, and real-time content monitoring. The use of virtualization is not limited to official cases but can be used for individual investigations as well. For example, MojoPac isolates host PCs from desktop environments and can load its virtualized environments onto portable USB storage devices, Windows host computers, and network-attached storage.

The Portable Virtual Privacy Machine is another innovation that aids forensic examiners with privacy-enabled open-source internet applications. It can be loaded on flash memory cards, iPods, secure digital devices, and USB drives.

Virtual machines are also useful tools in forensics since they can track and record activity trails of users and produce seamless recreation of crime scenes for further forensic examinations. Law enforcement officers source images from a suspect’s native environment and analyze these files in virtual machines to see how the perpetrators, along with their evidence, respond to and react in their natural states.

Conclusion

The next version of digital forensics is dubbed by experts as Digital Forensics 2.0, and it is basically a collection of emerging technologies and enhancements which aid with the investigation process. The completeness of data and data privacy preservation need to be compatible with each other, and researchers are addressing this challenge by leveraging emerging technologies. Digital forensic frameworks use a mix of machine learning and automation to retrieve higher-level evidence and securely log investigation steps. These frameworks also establish a high level of accountability throughout the process, thus garnering trust and improving the effectiveness of said investigations.

Source: eccouncil.org

Continue reading

How Can You Test the Strength of a Disaster Recovery Plan?

The widespread adoption of technology has changed how businesses process information. Employees today communicate using email and VoIP telephone systems and use electronic data interchanges to transmit orders between companies or payments from one account to another. All of these systems rely on IT to function correctly.

As business processes become increasingly reliant on IT, organizations also need to be prepared for the growing risk of cyberthreats. In this environment, it’s important to ask yourself what policies and procedures your organization has in place in the event of a disaster. IT disaster recovery plans (DRPs) and business continuity plans (BCPs), which provide a roadmap for response and recovery in the event of a crisis, are essential to have on hand in an emergency. But how can you ensure your plans will work?

The answer is testing. Before you implement your DRP and BCP in production environments, you need to ensure that your unit tests and user simulation exercises have covered every step in the process. In this article, we’ll outline the best practices for testing your organization’s DRPs and BCPs and explain how EC-Council’s Disaster Recovery Professional (E|DRP) certification can benefit you.

Testing a Disaster Recovery Plan: How to Avoid Different Types of Cyberattacks

The best way to ensure that your DRP is working properly and will assist you in an emergency is to test it regularly. All businesses should have a recovery plan in place. However, many don’t take action until something goes wrong, leaving them vulnerable until their next scheduled test date.

A BCP and DRP provide guidelines for your organization to follow in an emergency. Since no one knows when a disaster will strike, it is essential to have well-crafted BCP and DRP tests that account for as many potential types of cyberattacks as possible.

Set Your Plans and Objectives

Before you begin to test your disaster recovery system, you should identify the relevant key performance indicators (KPIs). The most common KPIs for disaster recovery solutions are recovery time objective (RTO) and recovery point objective (RPO). RTO describes the amount of time that can elapse after the failure of a system before your business is impacted. RPO indicates the maximum acceptable amount of data loss after an emergency occurs by calculating how much time can elapse since the last backup if it becomes necessary to restore from tapes rather than online services.

While there is no one standard for how often you should test your DRP and BCP, you should generally conduct functional disaster recovery testing at least once per year. This should include an emergency evacuation drill; a structured walkthrough; and a review of your risk assessment, business impact analysis (BIA), and recovery plans. A checklist test should be conducted twice per year. Recovery simulation tests or drills should be conducted at least every two or three years or as you deem fit for your business.

Although these guidelines are the most commonly suggested, it’s not always necessary to follow them strictly. The time frames for your testing should reflect your organization’s size, industry, personnel, BCP maturity levels, and available resources. EC-Council advises that you assess, review, and update your emergency preparedness plans throughout the year, including your DRP, BCP, risk management plan, and incident response plan.

Create a Test Environment

You can improve the accuracy of your tests by paying close attention to detail when setting up your lab environment. In testing environments, you should mirror your production hardware and software as closely as possible so there are no surprises in real-world situations later on. Know the types of cyberattacks to which you’re most susceptible and create an appropriate testing environment.

Choose the Right Testing Method

Those working on your disaster recovery solution should assess what’s needed to ensure your business is prepared when a crisis arises. They should then proceed through every step—from policies to procedures to checklists—so no potential deficiencies are left unaddressed. A physical copy should be stored securely, while digital copies can reside on cloud servers accessible by multiple computers or smartphones.

Relying on only one testing technique can’t ensure that your plan will be effective in an emergency. Instead, you should conduct a variety of tests before implementing any changes to production environments. This may include performing user research (for example, asking people if they would like certain features) and testing interactions with software tools or physical devices necessary for the BCP’s functionality. Next, we’ll review some of the techniques that should be part of your testing scenario.

This stage often includes senior executives and department heads. They’ll assess the BCP and DRP, deliberate on likely developments, update contact information, and ensure that business continuity and disaster recovery situations are adequately addressed. Making a plan identifies the sequence in which crucial administrative and operational processes should be conducted. It is typically structured as a quick-reference guide.

Walkthroughs, also referred to as runthroughs, are used to support hands-on and procedural drills. This testing technique resembles structured walkthrough drills with department heads, which aim to ensure that the core delegation channels are informed of what’s expected of them in an emergency or disaster. This includes automated and scripted contingencies, data validation, cloud backups, data replication tasks, kickoff boot sequences, standby server switchovers, and other technical components of your BCP and DRP.

Simulation testing focuses on restoring and recovering key components of the DRP in superficially realistic situations. This type of testing involves performing real-life tests of outmoded systems, restoring from backups, and practicing loss recovery procedures, among other related activities. You should also test your protocols for staff safety, leadership response, asset management, and relocation.

Involve Your Vendors

During your testing cycle—that is, your checklist, walkthrough, and simulation—you should ensure that your key vendor is covered in the testing procedure. Including your vendors in your testing process lets you review and assess the precision and serviceability of your business plans to a greater extent. It also enables your vendors to offer feedback to support your testing activities and plans.

Record Your Tests or Drills

Ensure that you record and properly file the outcomes of your tests and drills, including documenting all findings that indicate a lack of compliance with applicable laws and regulations or that may otherwise lead to actionable outcomes. Once you’ve completed your drills and testing processes, record your findings, and adjust your DRP and BCP accordingly. It’s critical to monitor the results of your tests and integrate the suggestions realized through your testing process. This is the most appropriate method of reinforcing your company’s response techniques.

Source: eccouncil.org

Continue reading

How to Defend Against Common Web Application Attacks

With the rapid adoption of innovative technologies, cybersecurity has become more imperative than ever. From data breaches and ransomware to web application exploits, businesses today are constantly under attack.

Not only is the number of cyberattacks increasing, but the cost of each breach is also on the rise: According to a recent report (IBM, 2021), the rapid adoption of remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic has led to data breaches that cost an average of $1,000,000 more than data breaches not involving remote work. This is an alarming number, given that it is projected that over 40 million Americans will work remotely by the year 2026 (Tanzi, 2021).

Organizations need a comprehensive cybersecurity plan that includes defense against web application attacks. This article discusses some of the most common types of application security threats, how organizations can defend against them, and how to kickstart a career in application security by becoming an EC-Council Certified Application Security Engineer (C|ASE).

SQL Injection

One of the most common web application attacks is SQL injection (Towson University, n.d.): a type of attack that takes place when a web application does not validate values provided by a web form, cookie, input parameter, or another source before forwarding them to SQL queries on a database server. This allows attackers to insert malicious code by manipulating the input variables. Hackers can then use that code to extract data from a database or execute malicious commands on the server.

There are several ways to defend against SQL injection attacks, but one of the most reliable is to use a web application firewall (WAF) to detect and block malicious SQL code. Input validation can also be used to check for invalid or malformed input data, and parameterized queries can be used rather than dynamic queries to prevent attackers from executing commands on the database.

Cross-Site Scripting

Another common attack vector is cross-site scripting (XSS). XSS attacks occur when an attacker takes advantage of vulnerabilities in a web application to inject malicious code that enables them to access a target end user’s data. The code can be embedded in a script tag, iframe, or hyperlink. These attacks are typically launched using a client-side script and can occur whenever a web application uses input data from a user without validation or encryption.

There are several ways to protect against XSS attacks, including using a WAF to identify and block malicious code and input validation to identify unsafe or invalid input data. A content security policy can also be used to prevent attackers from injecting code into a webpage.

Cross-Site Request Forgery

Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) allows an attacker to execute unauthorized requests on behalf of another user (OWASP Foundation, 2021). This can be done by embedding the target’s session ID in a malicious payload.

There are several ways to protect against CSRF attacks. The first is to use a WAF to detect and block unauthorized requests. A second approach to defending against CSRF attacks is to use authentication tokens: unique identifiers used to verify the legitimacy of a request.

Insecure Direct Object References

Insecure direct object references (IDOR) are another common web application vulnerability (OWASP Foundation, 2020). IDOR-based attacks occur when a malicious hacker accesses sensitive data by manipulating the URLs used to reference objects in an application.

There are several ways to protect against IDOR and associated attacks. One technique is to use input validation to check that input values are safe and valid. Additionally, obfuscation techniques like URL rewriting and encoding can make it more difficult for attackers to exploit vulnerable URLs.

Opportunities for Career Growth in Application Security

As the world embraces new technologies faster than ever before and remote work increases, the threat of cybersecurity breaches looms large. To keep their data safe and ensure the security of their infrastructures and operations, organizations need cybersecurity professionals who understand the types of web application cyberattacks and how to defend against them.

While there are multiple threats to web applications, some sectors are more vulnerable to cyberattacks than others. One prominent industry is the blockchain and cryptocurrency space. For example, in 2017, a vulnerability was disclosed in the Parity Wallet, which stores cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, that allowed attackers to steal over USD 30 million worth of digital currency (Zhao, 2017).

Source: eccouncil.org

Continue reading

What Is Broken Access Control Vulnerability, and How Can I Prevent It?

Broken access control vulnerability is a type of security flaw that allows an unauthorized user access to restricted resources. By exploiting this vulnerability, attackers can circumvent standard security procedures and gain unauthorized access to sensitive information or systems. Broken access control vulnerabilities are often caused by weak authentication and authorization mechanisms, allowing attackers to gain illegitimate privileges. Prevention of such vulnerabilities is critical for preserving the security of your systems and data. In this blog post, we’ll discuss broken access control vulnerability and its prevention techniques.

What Is Broken Access Control Vulnerability?

One typical case of a broken access control vulnerability is an application that allows any user to view or edit sensitive data without authenticating first. An attacker could exploit this flaw to gain access to sensitive information or make changes to data without the proper permissions.

Another example of a broken access control vulnerability would be an application that doesn’t properly restrict access to certain functions based on a user’s role. For instance, an administrator account might have permission to add new users to the system, but a regular user account shouldn’t. However, if the application doesn’t restrict access to the function, a regular user could add new users to the system, potentially giving them administrator privileges.

Attackers may exploit these vulnerabilities to gain unauthorized access to sensitive data or make changes to data without the proper permissions. Organizations should implement adequate security controls to mitigate the risk of these vulnerabilities.

How to Identify a Broken Access Control Vulnerability

There are many attack vectors associated with broken access control vulnerabilities. However, some of the most common methods used to exploit these vulnerabilities include:

◉ Injection flaws: Injection flaws occur when untrusted input is injected into an application, resulting in unintended behavior. This can be exploited to gain unauthorized access to sensitive data or modify application data.

◉ Cross-site scripting (XSS): XSS flaws occur when untrusted input is included in web page output. Attackers can exploit this to execute malicious scripts in the user’s browser, resulting in session hijacking, cookie theft or other malicious activity.

◉ Broken authentication and session management: Broken authentication and session management flaws occur when an application fails to properly validate or protect information associated with user authentication and sessions. An attacker can exploit this to gain access to resources or data they shouldn’t have access to.

To prevent broken access control vulnerabilities from being exploited, it’s crucial to implement security measures such as input validation, proper session management, and authorization controls.

The Impact and Risk of Broken Access Controls

When it comes to access controls, organizations face several different risks if these controls aren’t properly implemented or maintained. One of the most common and potentially damaging risks is data breaches. If an attacker is able to gain access to sensitive data, they may be able to use this information for malicious purposes, such as identity theft or fraud. Additionally, data breaches can damage an organization’s reputation and lead to financial losses.

Another risk associated with broken access controls is compliance violations. Organizations subject to regulatory requirements, such as HIPAA or PCI DSS, must ensure access controls comply with these regulations. If an organization’s access controls aren’t up to par, they may be subject to fines or other penalties.

Finally, broken access controls can also lead to operational disruptions. When attackers can gain access to critical systems, they may be able to disable or damage them, leading to significant downtime and financial loss.

How to Prevent Broken Access Control

Access control is a security measure that determines who can access a particular area or resource. There are many different access control systems, but they all have the same goal: to keep unauthorized people from entering an area or using a resource (OWASP).

The most important thing is to have a well-designed system that considers all potential security risks. There are a few key steps you can take to help ensure that your access control system isn’t easily compromised:

Access Validation

The most foolproof way to prevent IDOR vulnerabilities and attacks is to perform access validation. If an attacker tries to tamper with an application or database by modifying the given reference, the system should be able to shut down the request, verifying that the user does not have the proper credentials.

In particular, web applications should rely on server-side access control rather than client-side so that adversaries cannot tamper with it. The application should perform checks at multiple levels, including the data or object, to ensure no holes in the process.

How to Become a Web Application and Security Professional

Security vulnerabilities, such as insecure direct object references, are a major problem for web applications. Fortunately, through fuzz testing and access validation techniques, IT security experts can detect and prevent IDOR vulnerabilities, helping safeguard applications from attack.

Do you want to become a web application and security professional yourself, preventing insecure direct object references and other vulnerabilities? Obtaining a cybersecurity certification such as EC-Council’s Web Application Hacking & Security (W|AHS) program is an excellent career move.

EC-Council is a leading provider of IT security courses, training programs, and certifications. The WAHS certification verifies that the holder knows how to hack, test, and secure web applications from existing and emerging security threats.

Source: eccouncil.org

Continue reading

Insecure Direct Object Reference (IDOR) Vulnerability Detection and Prevention

When it comes to cybersecurity, the playing field is far from even. Numerous application vulnerabilities can leave a backdoor into your IT systems—and attackers often need one such vulnerability to exploit your systems to the fullest potential. Thus, organizations must continually check their web applications for IT security holes that need to be patched.

Insecure Direct Object Reference (IDOR) vulnerabilities are a common security flaw in which applications unintentionally expose sensitive internal objects such as files, databases, and user details. The Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) has ranked IDOR vulnerabilities among the top 10 most critical web application security risks.

Any IT security expert should know IDOR vulnerabilities and how they operate. This article will cover everything you need to know about insecure direct object reference vulnerabilities: what they are, how they work, and how to prevent IDOR vulnerabilities.

What Is an Insecure Direct Object Reference (IDOR)?

An insecure direct object reference (IDOR) occurs when a web application provides users with an authorized reference or ID that can be used to access or change other unauthorized information. This is a consequence of the application only requiring a reference to access certain information instead of authenticating the user’s credentials.

One all-too-common example of insecure direct object references is user IDs. Many databases and website backends assign user IDs in ascending order, i.e., starting at one and increasing from there. This means, for example, that the account for user 8201 was created immediately before user 8202.

However, this approach can cause problems for the security of web applications. As a simple example, suppose that an application allows user 8201 to access their account settings at the following web address:

https://www.example.com/settings/user/8201

Using this information, an attacker could surmise that the account settings for user 8202 are available at the address:

https://www.example.com/settings/user/8201

By itself, this fact is perhaps not a problem. The issue with insecure direct object references occurs when the web application fails to implement proper access control. In other words, if the application does not properly validate the requesting user’s identity, an attacker would be able to view and change the account settings for other users at will.

Another extremely common occurrence of insecure direct object references is for purchases, orders, and other transactions. For example, if a user sees that their purchase ID is 19346, they might be able to view information on other purchases (e.g., 19345, 19347, etc.) simply by incrementing or decrementing this number.

Insecure direct object reference (IDOR) vulnerabilities plague businesses of all sizes and industries. In December 2021, for example, a teenage security researcher in Nepal found an IDOR vulnerability in the Facebook mobile app for Android smartphones that could expose the identities of Facebook page administrators (Arghire, 2021). In August 2022, cybersecurity research firm CyberX9 claimed that the telecom company Vodafone had exposed the call records and personal data of 226 million customers due to an IDOR vulnerability (ETTelecom, 2022).

How To Prevent Insecure Direct Object References

Randomly assigning numbers to reference objects instead of sequentially can slightly mitigate (but does not fully solve) the problem of insecure direct object references. For example, suppose all users are given a nine-digit ID number. In that case, adversaries can try a brute-force attack, testing various nine-digit numbers until they find one that refers to a valid user. 

Even user ID generation methods with a high degree of randomness, such as Universally Unique Identifiers (UUIDs), are not a perfect solution for IDOR vulnerabilities. If a company’s list of user IDs is leaked, adversaries could use this list to execute attacks as long as the web application does not implement access control. Thus, organizations need a more robust approach that can stop IDOR vulnerabilities in their tracks.

The good news is that there are multiple ways to prevent IDOR vulnerabilities. Below are four options businesses can use to detect and fix insecure direct object references.

Indirect Reference Maps

With an indirect reference map, web applications replace the direct reference to an object with an indirect reference that is much more difficult to guess. For example, instead of directly using the user ID 8201 in the URL, the application could use a UUID such as:

https://www.example.com/settings/user/e194da7f-3d74-48e9-ac49-4c72e1b02eeb

Internally, an indirect reference map matches each UUID to its corresponding user ID so that the application can translate this obfuscated URL to its original form.

However, as discussed above, externally visible IDs using a high degree of randomness may be much harder to guess but not impossible. Indirect reference maps, if used, should be combined with other methods to prevent insecure direct object references.

Fuzz Testing

Fuzz testing is software testing that attempts to discover application bugs and vulnerabilities by entering random or unexpected inputs. Applications should be able to handle these strange inputs successfully without crashing or exposing unauthorized information.

Organizations can help detect (although not prevent) insecure direct object references by fuzz testing their URLs and database queries. For example, software developers at Yelp have released the fuzz-lightyear framework, which helps identify IDOR vulnerabilities in an automated manner (Loo, 2020).

Parameter Verification

The likelihood of a successful IDOR attack is decreased if the application verifies the parameters passed in by the user. Some of the checks to perform may include:

◉ Verifying that a string is within the minimum and maximum length required.

◉ Verifying that a string does not contain unacceptable characters.

◉ Verifying that a numeric value is within the minimum and maximum boundaries.

◉ Verifying that input is of the proper data type (e.g., strings, numbers, dates, etc.).

Access Validation

The most foolproof way to prevent IDOR vulnerabilities and attacks is to perform access validation. If an attacker tries to tamper with an application or database by modifying the given reference, the system should be able to shut down the request, verifying that the user does not have the proper credentials.

In particular, web applications should rely on server-side access control rather than client-side so that adversaries cannot tamper with it. The application should perform checks at multiple levels, including the data or object, to ensure no holes in the process.

How to Become a Web Application and Security Professional

Security vulnerabilities, such as insecure direct object references, are a major problem for web applications. Fortunately, through fuzz testing and access validation techniques, IT security experts can detect and prevent IDOR vulnerabilities, helping safeguard applications from attack.

Do you want to become a web application and security professional yourself, preventing insecure direct object references and other vulnerabilities? Obtaining a cybersecurity certification such as EC-Council’s Web Application Hacking & Security (W|AHS) program is an excellent career move.

EC-Council is a leading provider of IT security courses, training programs, and certifications. The WAHS certification verifies that the holder knows how to hack, test, and secure web applications from existing and emerging security threats.

Source: eccouncil.org

Continue reading

The Six Types of Cyberattacks You’re Most Likely to Face

Do you know what the most common types of cyberattacks are? If you’re not sure, you’re not alone: Many people don’t know the different types of cyberthreats that are out there. But as more and more businesses move their operations online, it’s important to have the knowledge and skills necessary to protect yourself against cybercriminals.

In this article, we’ll cover some of the most common cyberattacks and explain how you can defend yourself against them. To learn more, check out EC-Council’s Certified Secure Computer User (C|SCU) certification, which is designed to teach you about the types of cyberattacks that you’re most likely to encounter. The C|SCU course covers a wide range of security topics, from avoiding identity theft to recognizing social engineering tactics.

1. Phishing Attacks

Phishing attacks are one of the most common types of cyberattacks. These occur when cybercriminals send emails that appear to be legitimate but are actually designed to manipulate the recipient into providing sensitive information, clicking on a malicious link, or downloading a malicious attachment.

Read More: EC-Council Certified Security Analyst (ECSA v10)

Attackers can successfully pull off a phishing attack by sending a message that contains an urgent request for help, which tricks users into clicking on a link that will supposedly provide additional details or direct them to the correct location. Phishers may also execute attacks by creating websites that look extremely similar to legitimate ones; if a user isn’t paying close attention, it can be easy to mistake the fake website for the real one.

2. Social Engineering Attacks

Social engineering attacks are another common form of cyberattack. Social engineering techniques attempt to trick individuals into providing sensitive information to an attacker or enabling the attacker to use their computer for the attacker’s purposes without the user’s knowledge.

This kind of attack requires not just technical knowledge but also a certain level of social skills on the part of the attacker. Unlike most other cybercrime methods, social engineering relies almost entirely on human interaction. Social engineering is also one of the most challenging types of cyberattacks to prevent because it’s not always easy to identify that an attack is taking place.

3. Ransomware Attacks

A ransomware attack starts when hackers take control of a target’s computer and encrypt the files stored on it. The attacker then demands that the target pay a ransom to decrypt the files, usually in the form of an untraceable means of payment, such as Bitcoin.

This type of cyberattack is typically carried out using Trojans or another type of malware spread using phishing emails or social engineering techniques. Ransomware costs businesses more than $75 billion per year, according to PurpleSec’s (2021) ransomware statistics report.

4. Malware and Virus Attacks

Cybercriminals often attempt to install malware or a virus on a target’s computer to gain access to it and use it for their own purposes—for example, launching an attack against another machine or network. According to Purple Sec’s (2021) malware statistics, 92% of malware is delivered by email.

If you find that your computer is running much more slowly than usual or is crashing frequently, an attacker might be using it without your knowledge. If you notice any unusual activity on your machine, try to figure out what’s causing the problem as soon as possible. To protect yourself against malware and virus attacks, it’s important to keep all of your antivirus and security software up to date and to practice safe browsing habits.

5. Denial-of-Service (DoS) Attacks

A denial-of-service (DoS) attack is one of the most common types of cyberattacks. DoS attacks are designed to take an online resource offline by flooding it with so much traffic that it crashes or becomes extremely slow. Cybercriminals might carry out DoS attacks because they want to gain access to information stored on a machine or website or to disrupt the activities of the person or organization responsible for running the targeted resource.

If you’re responsible for managing websites or machines that store important data, try using services like Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) and Amazon Web Services (AWS) to protect your resources against DoS attacks. EC2 and AWS provide automatic scaling options that increase server capacity as you experience more traffic, making it more difficult for attackers to successfully carry out a DoS attack.

6. Spyware and Adware Attacks

Spyware and adware cyberattacks often go undetected. These forms of attacks generally involve the installation of software applications on a user’s computer without their knowledge or consent. Cybercriminals typically carry out these types of attacks because they want to use the target’s machine for their own reasons, such as engaging in cyber espionage or delivering ads for products that generate revenue for the attackers.

You can protect yourself against spyware and adware by keeping your antivirus and security software up to date, avoiding suspicious websites and apps, and regularly checking your browser settings to make sure they haven’t been changed without your knowledge.

Source: eccouncil.org

Continue reading

Transferring College with an Advantage (Credit Transfer)

The Benefits of Transferring Your Credits to ECCU

Wondering how to utilize your previously earned credits? Well, you need not worry about that, for knowledge earned does not ever go to waste. And EC-Council University (ECCU) not only professes it, but also practices it.

The university does accept transfer of credits from other recognized universities. Transferring credits can be a cumbersome process at times, but not at ECCU. We do it the easiest way, i.e. by taking advantage of the array of courses that most colleges and universities offer. Let’s go step-by-step to understand the process of credit transfer.

Let’s Understand How Credit Transfers Work

Every university has its own credit transfer policy. Few insist on a minimum number of credits from the previous university, while others restrict on a maximum number of allowable credit transfer. Credit transfer policy also depends on the type of degree you opt for.

To be eligible for credit transfer, students must first know what courses are accepted for the same. The entire process takes determined planning and work. When done right, attaining your degree with credit transfer becomes a smooth experience.

Benefits of Credit Transfer

◉ It allows students to receive credits toward their degree from other institutions and can have a profound effect on a student’s career planning.

◉ It enables students to reduce the time required to complete their degrees and to get transferred to more advanced programs.

◉ It allows students to work at their own pace, take additional courses, and fine-tune their curriculum according to their interests.

Myths around Credit Transfers

Contrary to the popular myth, credit transfers are common. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, about 33 percent of all college students in the United States transfer at least once during their college careers. Of course, the reasons to opt for it are different for different students. Some students seek a more challenging academic environment or a different career path; whereas, others find they need more time or financial resources to complete their degree. Still, others simply opt it for they need a changing stream of study.

Whatever be the reasons, the credit transfer process is critical for students, and can prove to be life-changing and future-shaping for them.

Reasons for Credits Transfer at ECCU

◉ Credits earned indicate the amount of knowledge you acquired.

◉ Credit transfer is a method to save you time.

◉ Credit transfer reduces your costs.

◉ Credit transfer saves you the effort of starting from scratch.

◉ Right credit transfer may make you eligible for an advanced degree or a diploma program.

Take Advantage of EC-Council University’s Transfer of Credits

EC-Council University is an internationally recognized university for Cyber Security aspirants. ECCU is committed to providing high-quality education, hands-on practical experience, and cutting-edge research.

The EC-Council University curriculum aligns with the latest Cyber Security topics, accessible to students worldwide. While studying at ECCU, you can not only earn your degree 100% online from the convenience of your home, but you can also transfer credits toward your degree from other accredited institutions.

The Limit of Credits Transfer at ECCU

At ECCU, you may receive a maximum of 18 graduate credit hours in the graduate program and 90 credits in the undergraduate program. Additionally, you will:

◉ learn from highly qualified instructors.

◉ gain networking opportunities.

◉ get the opportunity to attain industry certification.

◉ acquire an accredited degree with a global presence.

Fast Track Your Degree with ECCU’s Seamless Credit Transfer Policy

The transfer of credits at ECCU is a seamless process. Here’s how you can apply to transfer your credits at ECCU:

◉ Submit an official transcript or NACES/NAFSA evaluation.

◉ Submit an official transcript or NACES/NAFSA evaluation.

Source: eccu.edu

Continue reading

All You Should Know About Cryptojacking

All you should know about Cryptojacking – the new cyber threat

The shift of activities to the digital platform has increased across the globe. From working online to financial transactions, most of the population actively uses digital platforms. With the rise of cryptocurrency in recent years, cryptojacking has become more prominent, allowing people to steal, involving lower risk and higher potential for financial gain.

What is Cryptojacking?

Cryptojacking is the unauthorized use of a person’s computer resources to mine cryptocurrency without their knowledge, which may lead to a full-blown ransomware situation. 

Cryptojacking is a malicious hacker technique that harnesses the processing power of computers to mine for cryptocurrency. It is used to steal resources and mine online currencies like Bitcoin. Hackers practice cryptojacking either by getting the victim to click on a malicious link sent to them through an email or by infecting their computer system via an online ad or a website with JavaScript code. With the help of cryptojacking, cybercriminals hack into any user’s laptop, personal computer, mobile device, or business computer network to install malicious software.

What is a Cryptojacking Attack?

Cryptojacking is a process where malicious cryptocurrency miners stealthily embed in a website, causing the visitor’s browsers to run more slowly while another entity mines the currency in the background. It allows cybercriminals to gain financial benefits from using other people’s computers and resources to mine cryptocurrencies, or cybercriminals get paid by advertising agencies for the display of their ads on certain websites.

Over the last couple of years, cryptojacking has become a serious global issue. Companies can prevent cryptojacking by training their IT team, using the anti-crypto mining extension, educating employees about cryptojacking, disabling JavaScript, and using ad blockers to block malicious code.

How does Cryptojacking Work?

Cryptojackers use three methods. They are:

i) Browser-Based Cryptojacking

This type of cryptojacking attack takes place directly within a web browser. Attackers use IT infrastructure to mine for cryptocurrency. With a programming language, hackers create a crypto mining script, which is then embedded onto numerous websites.

ii) File-Based Cryptojacking

A file-based cryptojacking attack is one of the most common ways through which cryptojacking attacks occur. It takes place when malware is downloaded, and an executable file is run on a computer network. This malware then spreads a crypto mining script throughout the infrastructure of the computer network.

iii) Cloud Cryptojacking

A cloud cryptojacking attack takes place when a cybercriminal uses the cloud services to search through an organization’s files and code to find the API keys. Once the hackers gain access, they siphon unlimited CPU resources for crypto mining.

How to Detect Cryptojacking?

Cybercriminals infect random computer systems with hidden cryptocurrency miners, damaging computers. Thus, organizations need to stay alert to potential cryptojacking threats that can affect operations and compromise their computer systems. Users can detect a cryptojacking threat by following these steps:

1. Being aware of a decrease in performance of the computing device

2. Watching out for overheating of devices and running of fans

3. Monitoring computer systems for CPU usage (this can be a red flag)

4. Scanning for malware

5. Following the latest crypto-news, staying alert, and updating against any threats

Ransomware vs Cryptojacking

While ransomware attacks are complicated, involving research, and planning to develop and deploy the malware, a cryptojacking attack can be less complex as it takes less time to initiate.

Source: eccu.edu

Continue reading

Information Security and Cyber Laws

A Virtual Organization is such type of organization whose members are geographically separated and usually work by computer e-mail and software system while appearing to others to be a single, combined organization with a real physical location.

Virtual Organization is defined as being closely integrated ambitious with its suppliers and downstream with its customers. In the virtual organization, each discrete firm keeps supremacy in major budgeting and pricing matters and functions as part of a greater organization coordinated by the central firm acting as combiner of the actions done by the various partners. Interdependent among partners differentiates the virtual organization from the conventional hierarchy.

Read More: EC-Council Certified Chief Information Security Officer (CCISO)

Companies adept to coordinating and maximizing the capabilities of suppliers will gain more control over key elements of time-from overall order-to-shipment lead time to product-specific cycle time. In addition, full-fledged alliances that tap the resources of multiple parties will effectively slash product-or- process-development time.

◉ Virtual organization is a energetic collection of individuals and institutions which are required to share resources to obtain specified targets.

◉ Virtual organization is a network of independent organizations that combine together for production of a service or product.

◉ Virtual organizations are also mentioned as network organizations, organic networks, hybrid arrangements and value-adding partnerships. This phenomenon has been driven by the effort to achieve greater effectiveness and responsiveness in an extremely competitive environment marked by increasing globalization, technological change and customer demands.

Virtual Organization Properties:

1. Delocalization:

Delocalization is one of the most important developments in the globalization process. It is potentially space dependence. Therefore, enterprises become independent off space and capacity. It eliminates the need for a particular space.

2. Temporalization:

This property deals with the inter-organizational connections and with the internal process organization, in the sense of the standard and pattern organization. The interdependence is described in the life cycle stages of an virtual organization as a circular process of creation, operation, evaluation, and dissolution.

3. Dematerialization:

Dematerialization has the virtual forms in products, communities, services, and so on along the development of the virtualization. With increasing virtualization products become potential immaterial. It means that all object areas are immaterial. Existing correlative confidence for members, lack of physical credits and executives can affect system performance and flexibility.

4. Individualization:

The main reason for this property is increasing consumer demands. One of ways for encapsulating market is to handle to mass production along with personal requirements. Mass customization is one of the way for producers to fulfill customer demands and grave new markets.

5. Non-Institutionalization:

Because operations are performed in a virtual environment without physical attributes, institutionalization of inter-organizational relationships in such environments can be waived.

6. Asynchronization:

This attribute causes members to asynchronously communicate and interact with each other via the ICT in the context of innovations with the release of time. Some companies globally plan their works in three shifts between spread locations.

7. Integrative Atomization:

This property refers to integrate all atomized core competencies of the participants for satisfying customer.

Characteristics of a Virtual Organization:

◉ Virtual organization does not have a corporeal presence but subsits electronically (virtually) on the Internet.

◉ Virtual organization is not constrained by the legal definition of a company.

◉ Virtual organization is formed in an informal manner as an association of independent legal entities.

◉ Principal of synergy (many–to-one). Virtual organization displays a combined property because it is composed from different organizational entities that produce an effect of a single organization.

◉ Principle of divergence (one-to-many). A single organization can display multiplication property by engaging in many virtual organizations at the same time.

◉ Partners in virtual organizations share risks, costs and rewards in search of a global market. The common characteristics of these opportunities, worlds-class core competence, information networks, and interdependent relationships.

◉ Dynamic virtual organizations have a capability to unite quickly.

Virtual Organization Life Cycle:

1. Virtual Organization Creation

2. Virtual Organization Operation

3. Virtual Organization Evolution

4. Virtual Organization Dissolution

Benefits of Virtual Organization:

◉ Virtual organizations make it possible to convince repeatedly changing customer and market needs in a competitive way.

◉ With the help of virtual organizations, it becomes possible to provide services exactly customized to a specific customer need.

◉ Virtual organizations provide ability to participate in the total service range a company can offer to its customers.

◉ Participation in virtual organization enlarges the total number of end-customers a company can extend indirectly via its partners.

◉ By joining in a virtual organization the concept-to-cash time is minimized.

Drawbacks of Virtual Organization:

◉ Each party has its own strategy on access control and conditions of use.

◉ Virtual organization parties require to build trust between them on a peer-to-peer basis.

◉ The assignment of resources is often dynamic since the structure of virtual organizations may change dynamically. This implies that the virtual organization beginner may not know a priority that additional resources may be required.

◉ Members of virtual organization may be located in different countries under different authorities and, as a result, stick on to different legal and business requirements.

◉ There must be mutual trust in security system by all partners involved in virtual organization. This leads to the challenge to come up with an successful and pliable security system.

◉ Privacy and probity at a virtual organization level have to be assured. At the same time parties have to yield access to their services and resources as mentioned in agreements.

Source: geeksforgeeks.org

Continue reading

5 Reasons to choose Python Programming Language

Software developers have more than hundreds of languages to go ahead with that makes it difficult to come to the best options. However, the developers understand the importance of choosing the right programming language that can affect the outcome of software. While choosing the programming language, developers consider the scalability, place of work, complexity, and type of application followed by a maintenance cycle.

Hence, comes Python.

Python is considered a high-level and flexible programming language that is easy to interpret, focusing on code readability. This makes developers opt for the Python programming language that can help them create top-notch applications.

Here are a few reasons that make software developers opt for the Python programming language.

1. No budget

Python is an open-source and free programming language that makes it easier for programmers to get supporting libraries and modules along with other tools. The programming language is affordable for developers and for businesses of all sizes that want to kickstart their operations.

2. Great Integration

Python developers usually love the integration features that make it easier to develop web services. It offers robust control and works well with markup languages that can work on app development. Developers can easily take up the certification for Python to get hold of the programming language.

3. Trendy

Python programming language allows developers to get fast and easy applications that makes it a trendy language. It can be used by veterans and beginners easily because of simple syntax and clear code.

4. Easy to use

Python is extremely easy to use with extensive support and easy to integrate features. The programming language is easy to understand and read making it easier for beginners to start their coding career.

5. Limitless support

Python is a great programming language that can polish up the skills of developers. This also offers extensive guide and support libraries for the developers. Along with this, Python has a helpful community that is ready to help out in case of obstacles.

Source: techgig.com

Continue reading

What is Identity and Access Management (IAM) Governance and its Functions?

Data incidents continue to plague companies, and industry standards organizations are increasing their compliance requirements to ensure data privacy and security. Maintaining Identity and Access Management (IAM) compliance includes Governance software that helps the organization protect data privacy while managing an increasingly complex digital and cloud-based IT infrastructure.

More Info: EC-Council Certified Chief Information Security Officer (CCISO)

Governance frameworks are needed to fulfill IAM’s commitment to consistently support business users’ access needs without affecting the security or breaching.  Governance helps organizations solve this problem by enabling communication, by promoting a genuine understanding of the needs and the technology offered by all key stakeholders.

What Is Identity and Access Management?

Identity and access management (IAM) determine who a user is and what they are permitted to do. IAM only provides the access and handling of sensitive information by individual users in the organization. If there is no IAM, anybody can access sensitive business files, leading to potential data violation. IAM assists businesses in this regard to comply with rigorous and complex data management regulations. IAM is referred to as IDM (IDM). It is an IT branch that examines the identity of users and controls their digital access resources. IAM is a collective term covering products, processes, and policies to manage and maintain the organization’s user identities and regulate user access within the organization.

The important component of identities in an organization is one of the reasons IAM gains traction. An identity allows users to do their job by providing them Wi-Fi access, networks, file servers, applications, and other digital assets. IAM extends to identify, authenticate and authorize people to use IT resources and access hardware and applications.

What Is IAM Governance?

Any identity and access management (IAM) program must include Governance. An IAM governing body establishes and oversees all essential IAM functions, policies, procedures, and standards. The guiding principles that decide who has access to what information in an organization is known as access governance. With the ever-changing IT environment involving various distributed technologies, Establishing IAM governance entails forming a committee of people with authority to prioritize, create, enforce, and track IAM-related tasks and objectives, who meet regularly and make decisions.

Besides the guidelines, access management also requires the monitoring mechanisms necessary to assess each user’s access and use rights continually and detect defects.

Importance of IAM Governance

Due to the pandemic, employees are remote working, and cyber criminals could attack increasingly vulnerable business systems. Organizations whose identity and access management systems are designed poorly or regulated became common cyber attackers’ common aim.

◉ Identity governance is a crucial aspect for reducing vulnerability related to identity and creating policies to manage accessibility compliance in such a long-lasting situation. We need these two things now more than ever to meet the challenges of business safety post-COVID-19.

◉ Without proper Governance, organizations fall at risk. Identity and Access Management Governance helps organizations to keep and monitor the lifecycle of their employees.

◉ Access requests will comply with the policies and regulations of the companies. An automated process can improve efficiency, productivity, and safety.

Functions of IAM Governance

As organizations adopt IaaS, Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) to simplify operations and increase customer interaction, they face a range of new problems relating to identity and access governance:

1. Governance committee

The formation of an IAM governance council, primarily composed of stakeholders responsible for developing IAM policies for the organization, is the first step in establishing an IAM program. This council must be authorized to implement risk-mitigation policies that are widely visible throughout the organization.

2. Role-based access

Governance implies that an organization is aware of who has access and why and who is responsible for adding and deleting an entry. The role management includes periodic review of roles, ensures that entitlements are correct, updates roles according to policy changes, remove roles if necessary. Several companies still depend on role-based access controls that lack context. Industry and regulatory enforcement requirements increasingly include attribute-based access controls, which have other user attributes, such as location and resource.

3. Visibility is essential

The more cloud services your company integrates into the infrastructure, the less control you have over who has access to what resources, how they use them, and why they need them.

4. Authority

Assigning decision-making to those with governing authority supports organizations in promoting and enforcing more accountability in IAM policies and procedures. The Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) has to make decisions with operational and risk considerations.

Benefits of IAM Governance

1. Providing access to the organization in an effective manner

Identity access governance allows your users quick and effective access to the resources they need to operate. It is made possible by using tools. It enables them to be productive, whether they change their responsibilities.

2. Changes in business

Organizations are continually growing and changing. Identity access will improve efficiency and make these changes less risky, since Governance can grant access based on roles and not on individual accounts. By automating and simplifying provisions and approvals, identity access management can significantly reduce time-frames for carrying out user accounts transitions. It is important to accurately and intuitively develop roles.

3. Risk management

Identity Access Governance adopts a proactive approach to reduce sensitive data exposure by strictly restricting and protecting access and reducing environmental risks. It enables a robust approach to manage and regulating access and follows the concept of least privilege, removing unnecessary rights and only giving access to those who require it to do work.

Best Practices to Set Up a Governance Committee

When establishing an IAM governance committee, the following are the best practices:

◉ Agree on key goals and priorities available.

◉ Include important owners and managers, including HR, Legal, Privacy.

◉ Identify measurement metrics for defined objectives.

◉ Get Executive Support from key management, such as CRO, CISO, CIO, CEO.

◉ Make sure that the purposes of the Committee are associated with organizational priorities, including digital transformation.

Governance aims to create a structure that includes structured principles and best practices and a multidisciplinary framework that considers its diverse nature. An effective IAM system relies on an ongoing commitment to administrative, technical, and security privacy controls.  The challenge is to provide access to the ID & Access Management Governance safely.

Source: eccouncil.org

Continue reading

Incident Handlers: Why Being Certified Matters

Incident Handlers: Why Being Certified Matters

A constant thirst to gain more knowledge and skills is the primary key to consistent career growth. Incident handling is a job that requires continuous evolution. It can be defined as an action plan developed to secure an organization from various security incidents. These incidents may include data breaches, security intrusions, denial of service, or any natural disaster affecting an organization’s security system. So, to keep an organization ready for cyberattacks, incident handling professionals need to update their knowledge and technical skills. The easiest way to develop these skills is to undergo training and attain a credential.

More Info: 312-50: Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH)

Before discussing how certifications can positively transform your career, let us briefly discuss incident management and the five stages of the incident management process.

What Is Incident Management?

Incident management is the process used by the IT operations team for responding to service interruption or other unplanned events to restore the service to its operational state. Incidents can be any event that disrupts the operations within the organization. For instance, downtime on a business application is an incident. A slow-running web server that hinders employee and business productivity is an incident.

Being said that, the incident management processes ensure that such issues and other cybersecurity vulnerabilities are addressed as soon as possible. A faster response from the incident management team can help in reducing the overall impact while mitigating the damages. Moreover, it also ensures that the business services and systems are operating as planned.

Without a proper incident response policy, organizations are at risk of losing valuable data. Moreover, they can also experience downtime and reduced productivity. Therefore, organizations implement a strong incident response policy and are always looking for quality and certified incident handlers.

Five Stages of Incident Management Process

1. Identification, Logging, and Categorization

Using user reports, manual identification, and solution analyses, incidents are identified by the IT team. Once the team identifies the incident, it is then logged and investigated, after which categorization takes place. Being said that, categorization is crucial as it helps in determining how incident security must be handled and how resources should be prioritized for the incident.

2. Incident Notification and Escalation

In this stage of the incident management process, incident alerting takes place. However, the timing of alerts can vary based on how incidents are identified and categorized. On the other hand, escalation is completely based on the categorization of the incident.

3. Investigation and Diagnosis

After the incident has been assigned, cybersecurity experts can start the investigation process and determine the possible solution for the incident. Moreover, after the incident has been diagnosed cybersecurity experts can determine the remediation steps. This can also include notifying all stakeholders.

4. Resolution and Recovery

In this stage of the incident management process, incident handlers eliminate threats and ensure that the systems are restored to full functioning. Being said that, depending on the severity of the incident, organizations might require multiple stages of recovery to ensure the incident does not happen again.

5. Incident Closure

This stage of the incident management process involves documentation and evaluation of the incident response mechanism. The evaluation process helps the incident handler to identify areas for improvement, which can help to prevent future incidents.

How Can Certifications Positively Transform Your Career?

Every credible professional certification comes with some guaranteed benefits, which includes.

Competitive Advantage Over Others

A professional credential in your name sets you apart from your competitors. Any globally recognized credential depicts that you are committed to learning and are passionate about your career. If so, the right credential can uplift your career in many ways.

Better Opportunities with Better Pay

The efforts invested in earning a credential often result in a higher income. Organizations and clients usually try to associate themselves with those professionals who have gone through specialized training.

Advanced Skills to Grow

Updating your existing knowledge base and skillsets helps lay the stepping-stones for your career. It builds your confidence and helps you demonstrate your competence at work. Advancing your skills also helps you stay in competition with upcoming trends.

Build Professional Credibility

Organizations nowadays want to engage with professionals who own a robust and credible background. Credentials depict that you are well-aware of industry standards, which is a positive sign of a professional.

Why Organizations Hire Trained and Certified Incident Handlers?

For an impactful cybersecurity team, incident handlers are considered an integral part. These professionals are usually the first responders (when a security incident occurs). Credential holding incident handlers come with a list of benefits

1. Possess In-depth Knowledge with Hands-on Experience

A certified incident handler has the required knowledge and skills to carry out different phases of incident handling. These professionals go through intense lab practices to develop their skills. Professionals who limit themselves to theoretical knowledge won’t be a reliable choice for an organization. On the other hand, professionals who earned widely accepted credentials come with hands-on experience and can better perform at work.

2. Familiar with Advanced Concepts

The right candidate should be able to keep up with new technologies, strategies, and techniques. It helps keep the organization in an advantageous position. A credential holding incident handler should be aware of advanced concepts, like strategies to handle cloud-based security incidents. From large-scale organizations to SMEs, a major part of the industry is adopting cloud-based solutions. A 2018 IDG Cloud Computing Study shows 73% of organizations are already dependent on cloud services for at least one of their applications.

Other advanced knowledge includes anti-forensic techniques and awareness regarding the latest cyber attacks. Certified incident handlers who know how various anti-forensic techniques (such as encryption, golden ticket, trail obfuscation, and others) and advanced forms of cyber attacks work can help in revamping the existing IR plans.

3. Aware About How to Execute Successful Campaigns

Launching strategized campaigns to contain different security incidents is a critical attribute that every incident handler should have. For instance, every year, phishing attacks are used to victimize users, but in recent years, these attacks have become challenging to identify. Trained professionals know all the tricks and techniques to contain even sophisticated attacks. They are also familiar with hundreds of tools (like SPAMfighter, GoPhish) to contain the incident. This kind of knowledge can only be validated once a professional earns a professional credential.

4. Keep Themselves Updated with Trending and Evolving Knowledge

Certified incident handlers keep updating their knowledge. Awareness regarding the latest cyber-attacks and their associated attack vectors is a must. A certified professional understands the need for basic, advanced, and trending skills. Lacking in one of these areas can lead an organization to huge financial loss.

5. Work as per Standard Regulations

Not all incident handlers know how to create IR plans as per applicable standards. While certified professionals are trained to keep their actions aligned with these regulations, they know the repercussions of their mistakes, which would possibly result in massive fines and penalties, losing customer’s trust, crippling the brand’s reputation, and negative impact on the company’s stock market.

Source: eccouncil.org

Continue reading

Identify, Contain, Recover: A Blueprint of Incident Handling

Incident response is a systematic and coordinated approach to identify, contain, and recover from a cyber-security breach. The goal of incident response is to immediately respond and mitigate the impact of the suspected data breach within the organization. An incident response plan provides the organization with a clear set of instructions that act as the blueprint of incident handling. That said, the incident response planning contains specific directions to identifying damages, containing cybersecurity risk, and reducing recovering time.

This article will discuss the three steps – identify, contain, and recover – within the incident response plan that also acts as a blueprint of incident handling. But before that, let us briefly discuss the incident response and why incident response planning is important.

Incident Response

Targeted cybersecurity attacks towards the organization can wreak havoc, affecting customers, brand value, and the company’s intellectual property. The incident response mechanism helps the organization reduce these damages and recover from the security breach as soon as possible. Investigating the security breach is an important component as it can help the organization better prepare itself for the future. Also, with most businesses experiencing cyber-attacks these days, having a well-developed incident response is the best way to protect the organization.

Importance of Incident Response Planning

Planning for incident response is crucial because it acts as a blueprint for the organization to minimize the damage and duration of security incidents. Moreover, it also helps identify the key stakeholders, improve recovery time, reduce customer churn rate, and streamline digital forensics.

Even small cybersecurity attacks such as malware infection can snowball into exponentially large problems for organizations. Therefore, having a proper incident response plan can help the organization minimize losses and patch up vulnerabilities in the system. Moreover, planning for incident response can also help the organization establish best practices for incident handling and the development of a communication plan to notify employees, staff, and law enforcement agencies.

Blueprint of Incident Handling

Efficient incident handling of a data breach has three crucial stages – identification, containment, and recovery.

1. Identify

Whenever a security breach occurs within your organization, it is imperative to determine the nature of the incident. Therefore, start by documenting your response as you identify which aspects of your systems have been compromised and the potential damage inflicted by the breach. The identification step of the incident response is based on the monitoring of the system and networks so that if any irregularities are found, they can be flagged immediately. Being said that, once you have identified the incident, you will have to determine the type, severity, and other impacts related to it.

2. Contain

Good incident response is based on how quickly the organization contains the impact of the security breach. Your preparation of the incident response plan must ensure that you have access to the right tools and skills, which will help you with the containment process of the security breach. It is one of those steps in your incident response plan wherein time is of utmost importance.

3. Recovery

Once you have contained the threat, the next step in the incident handling process is to recover from the damages inflicted. For this, you can start by getting your systems up and running again. However, it is very crucial to continuously monitor your systems to ensure that the incident has been completely resolved and that there are no other potential threats left. Ensure that all of your systems are restored and backed up to resume operations.

Source: eccouncil.org

Continue reading