How to Improve Azure Web Service with Front Door

The Internet is mostly accessed through web applications these days. Though a lot of companies provide us with rich and interactive native applications, our thumb automatically taps the browser icon if need to search anything on the internet. You need a web application to run everything from a large news website to a local pastry shop to a B2B application to manage your sales channels, because your users are distributed across several locations, and the application helps make your business available.

However, there is always a demand to maximize an application’s performance for your end-users and make sure the application is always-on across attacks. This is why you need an Azure Front Door, as it offers a variety of features to improve your application with its layers of caching, global distribution, acceleration, and failover. Find out everything you need to know about Azure Web Service with the Front Door in this article.

What Is Azure App Service?

The Azure App Service is a fully managed Platform as a Service that can be used to integrate  BizTalk Services, and Mobile Services into a single service while adding new capabilities that enables integration with cloud systems or on-premises. Furthermore, Azure App Service offers users the ability to:

◉ Build engaging iOS, Android, and Windows apps.

◉ Provision and deployment of web and mobile apps in seconds.

◉ Automation of business processes plus a visual design experience.

◉ Integration with Software as a Service (SaaS) applications like OneDrive, Office 365, Facebook, Twitter, etc., and on-premises applications.

Why Use Azure App Service?

Some of the key features of the Azure App Service are:

◉ The Azure App Service supports multiple languages and frameworks. This means support for ASP.NET, Java, Python, PHP, etc. You can also run PowerShell and other scripts as a background service.

◉ It features a managed production environment. This means that the App Service helps to automatically patch and maintain the OS and language frameworks for you while you spend time creating great apps.

◉ You can use App Service for containerization and docker functions. You can dockerize your app and also host a custom Linux or Windows container with an App Service.

◉ Azure Web Service offers DevOps This means you can set up continuous integration and deployment using Azure DevOps, Docker Hub, GitHub, Azure Container Registry, or BitBucket. It also promotes updates by testing and staging environments.

◉ It offers connections to SaaS platforms and on-premises data. You can use App Service to choose from over 50 connectors for SaaS services, enterprise systems, and internet services.

◉ Some of the other Azure Web Service features are global scale with high availability, application templates, security and compliance, Serverless code, Visual Studio, Visual Studio Code integration, API and mobile features, etc.

Types of Azure App Services

Azure runs App Services on fully managed virtual machines in either a shared or dedicated mode based on your App Service Plan. There are four types of Azure App Services:

◉ Web App: This is used for hosting web applications and websites (previously Azure Websites).

◉ API App: It is used for hosting the RESTful APIs.

◉ Logic App: It is used for sharing data across clouds, system integration, and business process automation.

◉ Mobile App: It is used to host mobile app backends previously delivered by Azure Mobile Services.

Benefits of Azure Web Service

◉ The deployment slots are free.

◉ It is very easy to deploy to, and it deploys faster than Cloud Services.

◉ It can combine multiple applications together to save money.

◉ It is extendable with site extensions.

◉ It has a built-in A/B testing feature.

Limitations of Azure Web Service

◉ It cannot use all the monitoring tools as you cannot install an agent.

◉ It has limited windows performance counters.

◉ It has no server access.

◉ It has limited VM sizes and specs to choose from.

What Is Azure Front Door?

Azure Front Door is a premium service that gives the application access to networks of edge nodes. With Azure Front Door as a service layer, you can improve your user’s network access performance without modifying the existing application. Furthermore, Azure Front Door offers diverse features like geographic load-balancing.

You can additionally use Azure Front Door to offload the overhead SSL encryption from your application server onto the Edge Node. Azure Front Door also provides firewall and DDoS protection.

Azure Web Service with Front Door (Coming Soon on CodeRed)

This is one of the best Azure Web Service courses that you can find out there. In this course, you will learn what Azure Web Apps are, how developers can use the Azure web apps to create and deploy the application, and how to scale and secure Azure Web Apps. You will also learn about the high availability of the application hosted on Azure Web Apps with Azure Front Door.

Source: eccouncil.org

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Understanding Attack Trees: Everything You Need to Know

The best way to analyze the risk to a business is the application of risk management principles that involve allocation and execution of security resources to vulnerabilities that pose risks to organizations. One of the most effective ways to apply this strategy is through threat modeling. Threat modeling involves a lot of mathematical and technical concepts, thus making it quite difficult to understand or analyze. Attack trees are a diagram model to conceptualize how a target might be hit by a cyberattack, providing a guide to understanding the concepts of threat modeling and target modeling.

What Is an Attack Tree?

Attack trees are hierarchical diagrams describing the security of systems based on attack vector predictions on an asset deemed vulnerable to an attack. In cybersecurity, attack trees are used to outline threats on information systems and possible attacks. Attack trees are also used in the defense domain to conduct a threat analysis against electronics defense systems. Depending on the type of attacks you are dealing with, attack trees can be complex and vast. An attack tree may contain thousands of paths leading to the attack, resulting out of threats and vulnerabilities.

Importance of Attack Trees

Threat analysis via attack trees provides threat modeling in a graphical, easy-to-understand manner. It helps to ascertain the different ways in which an information system can be attacked and helps develop countermeasures to prevent such attacks. By understanding who the attackers are, an organization can install the proper countermeasures to deal with the real threats.

Attack trees provide a process to analyze security controls, strengthen them, and respond to changes in security. Security is an ongoing process and attack trees are the basis of understanding the security process.

Attack trees helps to define an information security strategy. It is important to consider, however, that implementing a policy to execute this strategy changes the attack tree.

Threat Modeling Using Attack Trees

Attack trees are multi-level diagrams consisting of one root, leaves, and children. From the bottom up, child nodes are conditions which must be satisfied to make the direct parent node true; when the root is satisfied, the attack is complete. Each node may be satisfied only by its direct child nodes. An attack described in a node may require one or more of many attacks described in child nodes to be satisfied. Our above condition shows only OR conditions. However, an AND condition can be created.

The first step is to define a model for attack trees to understand how and what needs to be analyzed in the attack trees.

1. Node architecture: Node architectures differentiate between certain layers of the tree where specific types of nodes are bunched together in one layer. In node architecture, the attack tree splits in layers either vertical, horizontal, or otherwise.

2. Node grouping: Node grouping is all about the nodes that are placed in a specific place with a reason behind.

3. Splits: Splitting refers to splitting the nodes at certain levels of the tree in certain sub-nodes.

4. Rate of abstraction: Rate of abstraction is the amount of detail with which the children of a node describe their actions.

5. Tree traversal: Tree traversal mainly affects the thought process when creating ideas for new nodes.

Creating an Attack Tree and Threat Analysis

The process of constructing an attack tree and analyzing threats is a step-by-step process starting with defining the goals of the attacker, decomposing the objective into subgoals, creating an attack tree by decomposition of subgoals into smaller tasks, assigning attribute values to the leaf nodes, and calculating the security of the goal. The major challenge in creating an attack tree is assigning attribute values to attack tree nodes, as there is no systematic method available to determine attribute values for each node.

Threat modeling is an important aspect of a threat intelligence program and modeling threats through attack trees makes this task simpler. Thus, creating attack trees is the practical approach to threat modeling. However, one should take care and keep in mind the limitations of attack trees.

EC-Council’s Certified Threat Intelligence Analyst (CTIA)

Every organization wants to have a skilled threat intelligence analyst in their team who can predict future threats and allow the security team to take countermeasures. The certification they hold is one of the ways to validate their skill set and ensure they have the knowledge of tools and techniques to collect, process, and analyze threat data to create actionable intelligence and disseminate it to the appropriate stakeholders.

CTIA is a method-driven threat intelligence program that uses a holistic approach, covering concepts from planning the threat intelligence project to building a report to disseminating threat intelligence. These concepts are highly essential while building effective threat intelligence and, when used properly, can secure organizations from future threats or attacks.

The CTIA program is:

◉ 40% hands-on with report writing and a library of tools, platforms, and frameworks.

◉ Compliant to CREST and NICE Framework 2.0.

◉ 21 iLabs.

◉ 4 types of threat intelligence scenarios.

◉ 29 threat data collection and acquisition techniques.

◉ 22 data analysis approaches.

◉ More than 200 tools.

Source: eccouncil.org

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How to Avoid Emerging Attack Vectors in 2021

Today, every enterprise must protect themselves from manipulations of an attack surface made up of several exploitable attack vectors on their systems and networks. An attack surface’s complexity and magnitude increase every day as organizations introduce new technologies and applications and cyber attackers discover fresh vulnerabilities.

Your job can be overwhelming if you are an IT professional, cybersecurity professional, or even a cybersecurity enthusiast living in the present attack-plagued cybersecurity landscape. You have to constantly stay on top of malicious hackers and still keep your enterprise safe. Besides, cybercriminals seem to have an unfair advantage over you. They get to choose the time and place for an attack, and they only need to detect a vulnerable point to launch an attack.

However, you don’t have to operate blind. Regardless of the business or industry you operate in, you can learn to combat emerging attack vectors. If you’re wondering how, you’re in the right place. Read on as we explain how you can combat emerging attack vectors.

What Are Vectors of Attack?

Vectors of attacks are pathways or the means by which a malicious attacker can gain unauthorized access to a computer or network server. The intent of the attacker is often to steal sensitive information or data and extort money from you by probing known attack vectors. They also try to leverage vulnerabilities to infiltrate the targeted system.

Attack vectors allow hackers to infiltrate desired systems and networks, install various types of malware, launch cyberattacks, and also exploit the human element. They require some planning and analysis, which makes them dangerous.

4 Emerging Attack Vectors to Watch Out For

The following are some of the emerging attack vectors to watch out for in 2021.

1. Manipulating domain name infrastructure

Now more than ever, malicious actors are exploiting credentials they’ve hijacked to log into DNS providers and registrars to manipulate DNS records. For instance, hackers can manipulate email records that are meant for your organization by redirecting them through a server they control. This lets them intercept your messages.

To avoid this:

◉ Watch out for public changes to DNS records and digital credentials linked with your company.

◉ Deploy DNS security comprising both validated and signed records.

◉ Use multi-factor verification for modifications made to the DNS infrastructure.

2. User privilege escalation

This is a type of network attack exploited to gain unauthorized access to sensitive systems or systems within the security perimeter of an organization. Malicious hackers find weak points to penetrate within an organization’s system. After which, they’ll try to privilege escalation to obtain access or more permissions to other, more sensitive systems.

You can mitigate this by:

◉ Implementing endpoint protection to detect active anomalous activities.

◉ Using network analytics to identify and prevent initial penetration and privilege escalation on your organization’s network.

◉ Using behavioral analytics to detect malicious activities on user accounts and the organization’s system.

3. Targeted cloud individualized attacks or cloud-jacking

This occurs when the attacker is aware of your conversations, physical locations, and other sensitive personal information. Part of the issue is that people are openly sharing their personal information such as birthdays, photos, our first pet’s name, etc., on social media.

Most people don’t understand how broadcasting their personal information, such as their location data, is retained by the services utilized on their personal devices and stored in the cloud. It’s not just your mobile devices that are capturing information. Your smartwatches, vehicles, tablets, fitness trackers, and PCs, that have location services turned on by default, also put you at risk.

Hackers can exploit these routes to access your information through social engineering, hacking weak passwords, and phishing emails. While most of these attacks are individualized, organizations can suffer where personal devices can access private networks — for instance, BYOD.

It is recommended that you:

◉ Evaluate privacy settings on the services you use and authorized third-party applications with access to your data.

◉ Ensure you use two-factor authentication (2FA) through a trusted second factor to minimize the number of security breaches that occur within your organization. However, if a service doesn’t offer 2FA, you should seriously rethink your use of that service.

◉ If you adopt BYOD-style cultures, request disclosures if they find out that their devices have been breached.

◉ It’s crucial that organizations have useful password policies that assure appropriate password strength since popular usernames and weak passwords can compromise credentials.

4. Encryption and visibility issues

According to Bricata, this can be categorized as an emerging attack vector. Recently, you must have realized that encryption is no longer the panacea for cybersecurity attacks. It definitely didn’t help Equifax.

When users visit a website, the client machine calls a recursive server typically managed by an ISP or enterprise. Once the first connection between the network traffic can be intercepted, attackers can see what you’re doing. Cybersecurity teams also want to observe this connection to detect if there’s malware on the host.

Although this has brought up data and privacy issues, DNS over HTTPS helps protect the client connection to the recursive server, and it’s great for data and privacy security. However, this technique has eliminated the capacity security teams had to detect malicious activities.

What you can do:

◉ Implement a bona fide VPN for personal remote working.

◉ Restrict private web browsing on an organization’s network.

Now is the time to develop a sophisticated skillset. Sign up for EC-Council’s Certified Ethical Hacker Course to win the war against cybercrime!

The Basics Are Not Enough to Combat Cyberattack Vectors

Most companies defend against cyberattacks by adopting one or two best practices. This includes implementing vulnerability scanners to search for flaws, quickly patching all applications and systems, and applying a powerful set of security controls. However, more than a few indicators have proven that these measures are hardly ever successful on their own.

Enormous amounts of security data

An average enterprise has thousands of vulnerabilities on their networks at any occasion, with innumerable policy rules entrenched in IPS, firewalls, and other security systems. However, it’s almost unfeasible for network and security analysts to capture and compare the enormous amounts of security data generated by these changes.

Intricate network topology and configurations

The most severe vulnerabilities are typically the outcome of combinations of misconfigurations and exposures of network security systems like firewalls. For instance, a malware attack may find its way into the network via a connection to a third party, despite the fact that the connection is secured with security protections like a VPN. There are hardly any methods to predict these paths into the heart of the organization.

Security silos

Nearly all IT organizations operate in silos. System operations, security networks, and applications teams apply their own point solutions. This produces inconsistent pools of security data. As such, they don’t have enough interest or visibility into fields that intersect or fall outside the range of their responsibility.

For instance, the IT staff in charge of desktops might act against a threat by spending several hours patching a vulnerability on PCs and desktop systems. However, this defense could have been offered more competently by having the network security team alter some of the IPS rules at the network edge.

How to Protect Organizations from Threat Vectors?

Cybersecurity professionals usually adopt a firefighting approach after a security intelligence source has exposed an emerging threat against businesses in their industry or when incident response teams identify indicators of compromise (IOCs), indicating a continuing attack.

Sadly, after cybersecurity teams have ascertained the weaknesses that can be exploited by emerging attack vectors, they often spend long periods finding and patching all the systems compromised by those vulnerabilities.

Nevertheless, the best response to attack vectors is a visualization solution. A visualization solution can:

◉ Enable cybersecurity teams to detect all the vulnerabilities across the organizations within hours.

◉ An attack surface visualization solution can also assist security teams in discovering less apparent but more efficient measures to remediate a threat.

◉ Administrators can rapidly identify and fix all the devices that have the same misconfiguration when it has been discovered that a security policy has been misconfigured on one device.

◉ This visualization solution can also simplify audit preparation by generating updated maps of network topology and significantly decreasing the work needed to document vulnerabilities.

One way that you can combat emerging vectors is to test your system for vulnerabilities via ethical hacking.

Source: eccouncil.org

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What Is RTO & RPO? All You Need to Know!

Your disaster recovery strategy remains incomplete without implementing the Recovery Time Objective (RTO) and Recovery Point Objective (RPO), two of the most vital data recovery protocols. In the event of a disaster, natural or otherwise, especially a cyberattack, your business is bound to experience a specific downtime, leading to significant operational and financial losses.

A robust business continuity plan (BCP) is the key to recover from a disaster event with minimum damage while picking up the pieces from where you left off.

Any successful BCP comprises RTO and RPO protocols, which might seem to be the same side of the coin but are, in fact, uniquely different in their approaches and impacts. This article will take you through the difference between RTO and RPO while deep-diving into their respective importance.

What Is Recovery Time Objective (RTO)?

Post-disaster, time is of the utmost essence to get your business back on its feet, and this is where Recovery Time Objective (RTO) comes into play. Essentially, RTO is the process that determines the extent of the downtime that a business can bear and how quickly it can be brought back online to ensure business continuity with the least losses. In simpler terms, RTO provides you with a target timeframe to restore services.

RTO example

A pertinent example of RTO application is the granular item recovery. One of the mainstays of disaster recovery strategies, granular item recovery ensures quick data recovery, mostly when employed with Exchange email applications. Say you’ve mistakenly deleted an important email permanently from your Microsoft Exchange email inbox. A backup system featuring granular backup & recovery enables your IT department to recover the deleted email in minutes, without having to construct an entire virtual machine for the recovery process.

What Is Recovery Point Objective (RPO)?

An RPO or Recovery Point Objective is used to assess the acceptable duration of loss of business during a disaster event, especially a cyberattack. Determining this timeframe is essential for any successful business continuity plan, as the lack of it can easily lead to unacceptable or even catastrophic losses. A company’s loss tolerance is calculated by considering the intervals between data backups and the data loss that could occur between backups due to an unforeseen disaster.

Data backups are an essential element of any successful RPO strategy, thus ensuring a timely transition from a disaster to operational status. However, any business, large or small, must ascertain and then set a certain limit on acceptable data loss in the event of a disaster.

Difference Between RTO & RPO

While both RTO and RPO are essential elements of a sound business continuity plan, their requirements and applications are uniquely different from each other. The purpose of RTO and RPO is the defining factor that differentiates between the two. While RTO focuses on the overall aspect of a business, RPO focuses only on the data aspect and a business’ data loss tolerance levels in the event of a disaster.

How to Achieve Zero RTPO (Recovery Time & Point Objectives)

Synchronous mirroring is one of the most effective means of achieving a Zero RTPO Recovery Time & Point Objectives), wherein your data loss during a disaster or a cyberattack is zero. Synchronous mirroring entails simultaneous I/O writing to a mirrored system, wherein the backup is kept in a constant state of readiness for immediate recovery.

EC-Council’s business continuity and disaster recovery training program is designed to give you the edge in a competitive domain by teaching you how to strategize and implement a disaster recovery plan. From business impact analysis to risk assessment, this program covers it all.

Source: eccouncil.org

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5 Most Common Application-Level Attacks to Look Out For

In the past decade, cybercrime has witnessed an exponential surge, leading to tremendous financial and critical data losses across nearly all domains. From smartphones to computer systems, existing and new vulnerabilities have left gaping holes in device security. Most of these security vulnerabilities are caused by powerless coding practices, driving to the program code’s low integrity. There are 5 main types of application attacks, wherein hackers control application-layer loopholes to dispatch their attacks on poorly coded systems.

The method of defending websites and online resources from numerous security attacks that target bugs in the application code is called web application security. Content management systems (e.g., WordPress), database administration solutions (e.g., phpMyAdmin), and Software as a Service (SaaS) frameworks are typical targets for web application assaults.

Types of Application Attacks

SQL Injection Attack

An SQL injection attack is essentially a code infusion method that is used to attack web-based and data-driven applications. The use of this attack methodology is aimed at getting access to sensitive/secure information. The SQL injection attack entails the embedding of malicious SQL scripts in a section field of a web application. Such attacks exploit open fields to infiltrate a database. The impact of an SQL injection attack considers the targeted database and the roles and privileges in the existing SQL policy. There are two types of SQL attacks, namely:

◉ First Order Attacks: In this attack type, a malicious string is inserted into the SQL script to modify the code for immediate execution.

◉ Second Order Attacks: In this attack form, the SQL manipulation is carried out via injecting a persistent storage module, e.g., a table row. The storage system is considered as a trusted source by the target machine, thus allowing the hacker to execute the attack via other activities.

Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) Attack

Cross-site scripting, or more commonly known as XSS, is yet another powerful attack vector that exploits a vulnerability in network protection, thus enabling an attacker to exploit compromised applications. The XSS attack allows the hacker to infiltrate the policy of origin that distinguishes multiple websites from each other. This attack type masks the attacker as an ordinary user, thus giving access to a user’s data and the space to perform activities which a typical user can using his/her login credentials.

Parameter Tampering

One of the most dangerous forms of application attacks is parameter tampering. Using this attack vector, a hacker can access the information shared between the client and the server, which typically consists of credentials and authorizations, product cost and amount, etc. Web Scarab and Paros Proxy are primarily used when conducting a parameter tampering attack.

Directory Traversal

Directory traversal, also referred to as route traversal, allows a hacker to infiltrate a web server’s root directory using a loophole and then gain access to other server file system locations. The loophole is dependent on the type of web server and the operating system in use.

For example: The webserver process can be made to access files beyond the root of the web document, if a bug is present in the system. This can lead to a path traversal loophole that can be exploited to carry out a directory traversal attack. The attacker can then gain access to a host of arbitrary files, including application source code, device files, server logs, and other files that containing sensitive information.

Denial-of-Service (DoS) Attack

A Denial-of-Service (DoS) attack is carried out to shut down a system or network, thus making it unavailable to the intended users. DoS attacks overwhelm the target with traffic, giving it information that causes a crash. In all cases, the DoS attack deprives legal users of the facility or resource they were anticipating. DoS attack victims also threaten high-profile organizations’ web servers, spanning sectors such as finance, trade, media, and government. While DoS attacks usually do not result in fraud or destruction of valuable data or other assets, they will cost the victim a lot of time and resources.

Why Applications Become Vulnerable to Attacks

Web apps do pose a range of security issues arising from inappropriate coding, notwithstanding their benefits. In a web application attack, significant weaknesses or flaws allow hackers to obtain direct and public access to databases.

Web apps are an easy target when programmers make mistakes that allow confidential data to be obtained by unauthorized persons or permit them to receive administrative access privileges to the web application itself or even the server. Attacks commonly exploit the reality that web applications recognize user feedback and will not screen this input for malicious content. Web apps are particularly vulnerable to design threats and firewalls do not secure them. If they are on the internet, they must be open all the time. Malicious hackers will, however, attempt to access them quickly.

Many of these databases have useful data that makes them a popular target for attacks. While such acts of vandalism as defacing company websites are still prevalent, perpetrators now tend to gain access to the confidential data residing on the database server because of the large payoffs in selling the results of data breaches.

Most Common Reasons for Application Attacks

1. To deliver the required support to consumers, staff, vendors, and other stakeholders, websites and associated software apps must be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

2. No security against a web application attack is offered by firewalls and SSL solely because links to the website must be made public.

3. All modern database systems may be easy to access through specific ports. Anyone can attempt direct connections to the databases, effectively bypassing the operating system’s security mechanisms, and can access both the current database through particular ports. Anyone can try to easily circumvent the operating system’s protection protocols through direct links to the databases. This allows contact with legal traffic, and so these ports remain open and constitute a significant weakness.

4. Web apps also have direct access to backend information such as client databases, which possess sensitive information and are far more challenging to protect. Some scripts facilitate data collection and dissemination and would be accessible to those who do not have access. They will easily divert unsuspecting traffic to another location and illegitimately hive off sensitive information if an intruder becomes aware of such writing vulnerabilities.

5. Many web applications are custom-made and thus need a lower level of review than off-the-shelf software. Custom programs are, however, more vulnerable to attacks.

Therefore, web applications are a gateway to databases, especially personalized applications that are not established in compliance with security best practices and do not undergo routine security audits.    

Source: eccouncil.org

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What Is Defense in Depth?

Defense in depth (DiD) is an information assurance approach where several layers of defense are stationed all through an IT system. It tackles security vulnerabilities in technology, human resources, and operations throughout the system’s life cycle.

DiD derives from a military approach that tries to slow down the progress of an attack, instead of overwhelming it with a robust line of defense, in order to buy more time. The idea of the multi-layered defense approach is that if one approach fails, another would replace it. This increases the network defense of a system and addresses several attack vectors.

Join us as we unpeel the layers of defense in depth and get to the root of why it’s an essential component of a network defense strategy, along with the certifications that you would need as a professional  to perform this important role for Employers across the globe.

Why Is Defense in Depth Important?

Today, everything that connects one device to another needs a robust network defense strategy. Understanding and implementing defense in depth is essential, whether you’re a CISO looking to train your employees or cybersecurity professionals seeking new ways to battle old enemies.

Poor network defense practices without a robust defense in depth strategy can lead to businesses suffering malware attacks and phishing cons, leading to damages worth millions and theft of customer data as well as confidential information.

According to IBM, the global average cost of a data breach in 2020 was $3.86 million [1].

As data breaches are set to remain persistent and destructive in the future, the demand for strong network defense and solutions is increasing concurrently.

◉ Businesses can suffer malware attacks, phishing, and human mistakes leading to damages worth millions. Poor network defense practices lead to these issues. Almost every industry sector has been a victim of an attack like this in 2020. Attackers misuse customer data as well as confidential information for their malicious intentions. To ensure that their operations continue with ease, they should always take help from network defense experts.

◉ Professionals need to learn about network defense strategies because it helps raise awareness and improves their online practices. Multiple attacks worldwide have happened because the unaware employees of an organization mistakenly share confidential information with hackers. Through better network security policies, professionals will understand how to avoid such attacks and inform the cybersecurity team before a major incident happens.

◉ Understanding network security practices is also important for students, especially those who are planning to pursue a career in IT or cybersecurity. Initial understanding of network security will help them stay a step ahead during their learning stage as well as in their professional career.

What Are the Key Layers of Defense in Depth?

Administrative controls: These are security essentials that comprise the procedures or policies directed at an organization’s personnel, such as charging users to tag sensitive information as “classified.”

Any control: These controls are directed at an organization’s employees and vendors. Examples include:

◉ Information security policies

◉ Vendor risk management

◉ Third-party risk management frameworks

◉ Cybersecurity risk assessments

◉ Information risk management strategies.

Technical controls: These comprise security essentials that secure network systems or resources through specified hardware or software. Technical controls refer to the software security measures that are installed in the IT infrastructure, such as:

◉ Intrusion protection systems

◉ Web application firewalls

◉ Configuration management

◉ Web scanners

◉ Two-factor authentication

◉ Biometrics

◉ Timed access

◉ Password managers

◉ Virtual private networks

◉ At rest encryption

◉ Hashing

◉ Encrypted backups

Physical controls: These comprise security solutions that block physical access to IT systems. Some of the essential elements of physical controls include:

◉ Locks

◉ Security guards

◉ Surveillance cameras

◉ Keycards

◉ Motion detectors

◉ Demilitarized zones

Network Security Policies

An organization’s network security policy is a document that specifies the security outlooks of the organization. It is an official guideline that mandates users authorized to an organization’s resources, technology, and assets to comply with the laid down rules.

In order to implement a security policy, it is important to outline the precise policy that you intend to implement. Sometimes, these security measures turn out to be exceptionally restricting.

The following policies are enforced by organizations to protect their systems and other critical assets:

◉ Internet access

◉ Device security

◉ Wireless LAN

◉ Remote connection

◉ Intrusion

◉ VPN

◉ Port communication

◉ Firewall rules

◉ DMZ policy

◉ Secure communication policy

◉ Proxy server policy

Network Security Techniques

You need to possess the right techniques and tools to protect your network data from malicious threats and save your organization from destructive losses. Your technique requires you to know how to protect, detect, respond, and predict a broad range of attacks. Defense in depth solutions fall under the protective technique. Key techniques and tools include:

◉ Access control: This allows you to improve your network security by restricting user access and resources to just the sections of the network that clearly relate to the user.

◉ Antimalware and antivirus software: These are network security software created to detect vampiric programs and stop them from spreading.

◉ Anomaly detection: A standard understanding of how networks help you recognize anomalies. You can implement network anomaly detection engines (ADE) to evaluate your network. When you notice an anomaly, you can quickly respond to them.

◉ Application security: This establishes security considerations for critical applications to your network security.

◉ Data loss prevention (DLP): This helps prevent personnel and other users from abusing and potentially compromising valuable data.

◉ Endpoint security: This includes an additional layer of defense between organizational networks and remote devices.

◉ Intrusion prevention systems: IPD/IDS protect the database of known attack vectors so threats can be recognized instantly.

◉ Network segmentation: This helps you give the appropriate access to the appropriate traffic while controlling the traffic from suspicious sources.

◉ Web security: This helps prevent web-based threats such as malicious websites, malicious scripts, or adware programs from leveraging browsers as access points to penetrate a network.

Why Do We Need Hybrid Network Security?

Security threats have progressed from being single attacks to becoming an intricate blend of threats. For instance, Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks are currently introduced by tens of thousands of Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

Even with more traffic being encrypted, security applications still find it hard to detect threats. Cybersecurity professionals and teams are saddled with the overwhelming responsibility to recognize and protect against multifaceted threats.

Hybrid network security includes virtualization, software-defined networking (SDN), and application support across all layers of the service mesh, spanning various hardware devices and data centers. Many applications are applied collectively as a joint solution for defense in depth. It often includes a series of active and passive security applications.

One recognized method of tackling security threats is to construct a visibility fabric through network packet broker (NPB) appliances and virtual agents, alongside network tapping.

Verizon’s 2020 Data Breach Investigations Report states that 2020 has seen major cyberattacks across different verticals.

The worst-affected sectors were:

Gear Up for the Next Stage of Cyber Defense

Every IT position today requires a certain degree of cybersecurity expertise to protect and defend apps, data, devices, and information. With defense in depth taking its position as the next stage of cyber defense, you need to equip yourself with the latest intel that will prepare you to overcome any challenge. A network security certification course with a dedicated module on defense in depth is your best bet forward, but make sure it aligns with your needs.

Drawing from its vast range of experience, EC-Council’s network security certification courses offer you cutting-edge content that covers everything from defense in depth to threat intelligence. The programs have been designed by a team of industry experts keeping real-world examples in mind. Blue Team Security Certifications like Network Security Fundamentals (NSF) and Certified Network Defender (CND) will provide the right guidance to climb the ladders of success as a cybersecurity expert.

Blue Team Security Certifications

You need security certificates to verify your expertise and improve your employability. Blue Team Security Certifications offer elaborate training in major defensive measures that prove useful for the internal security of modern businesses. Some of the top blue team security certifications include:

Network Security Fundamentals

This one’s for the students and cyber beginners out there! If you want to get a solid grasp of the basics, EC-Council’s Network Security Fundamentals (NSF) course is the way to go. As an entry-level security program, you will get a holistic overview of the vital elements of network security.

Once you’re done with the basics and have decided this is the right career path for you, it’s time to level up with…

Certified Network Defender

If you’re looking to up your network security game, EC-Council’s Certified Network Defender (CND) is the program for you. Not only will it offer you a comprehensive approach to efficiently tackle security issues in today’s modern network, it also maps to the National Initiative of Cybersecurity Education (NICE) and the Department of Defense (DoD) roles for system/network administrators. Rest assured, CISOs can breathe easy knowing their employees are fully equipped to tackle attacks, while students and working professionals will be ready with the job-ready skills they need to fulfill their ambitions.

Source: eccouncil.org

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OCTAVE Threat Modeling – All You Need to Know

With the increase in advanced persistent threats (APTs), defenders are constantly trying to safeguard an organization’s information systems by tailoring their defense mechanisms to preempt future attacks. As a result, organizations are recognizing the value of cyber threat intelligence and are planning to increase threat intelligence spending in upcoming quarters.

In cybersecurity, no prediction is perfect, but if we have the correct threat modeling protocols in place, then it provides a context to the gathered intelligence and helps analysts to identify, classify, and prioritize threats.

What Is the OCTAVE Threat Model?

OCTAVE is a threat modeling framework to assess and manage risks in an organization in the event of a data breach. It follows a comprehensive assessment methodology that allows an organization to identify the assets that are important and the threats and vulnerabilities in those assets. What information is at risk can be determined by putting the information on assets, threats, and vulnerabilities together. This helps the organization to design and implement a defense strategy to minimize the overall risk exposure of its information assets.

OCTAVE Threat Model Background

OCTAVE was developed in 2001 at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) Software Engineering Institute (SEI) in collaboration with CERT for the U.S. Department of Defense. It’s useful for creating a risk-aware corporate culture and is highly customizable as per the organization’s specific security objectives and risk environment. There are 2 versions of OCTAVE:

1. OCTAVE-S, a simplified methodology for smaller organizations that have flat hierarchical structures, and

2. OCTAVE Allegro, a more comprehensive version for large organizations or those with multilevel structures.

Importance of OCTAVE Threat Model

OCTAVE is a flexible and self-operated risk assessment method. People from the business units and the IT department work together to address the security needs of the organization. The team defines the current state of security, identify risks to critical assets, and create a security strategy. Unlike other risk assessment methodologies, the OCTAVE model is driven by operational risk and security practices — not technology. The purpose of the OCTAVE model is to allow organizations to:

1. Assess and manage information security risks.

2. Take decisions based on the risks.

3. Protect key information assets.

4. Effectively communicate security information.

How to Implement the OCTAVE Threat Model

Phases of the OCTAVE Threat Model

OCTAVE threat modeling is implemented in three phases:

1. Build an asset-based threat profile

In this phase, the team determines what IT assets are important to the organization and how they are safeguarded. Next comes selecting those assets that are critical and highly important to the organization and establishing security requirements for each asset. Last is identifying threats to each asset, creating a threat profile based on that.

2. Identify infrastructure vulnerabilities

In this phase, the analysis team identify important infrastructure vulnerabilities and develop policies and practices to address these vulnerabilities. This is done by:

◉ Examining the organization’s information infrastructure configuration, data flows, and network access paths.

◉ Performing infrastructure vulnerability assessments by selecting and analyzing intrusion scenarios.

3. Develop security strategies and plans

During this phase, the team of analysts identify and prioritize the risks based on how critical the asset is for the organization. This is achieved by determining vulnerable points in potential intrusion scenarios and examining assets exposed by these vulnerabilities. Finally, the team creates a protection strategy for the organization and defines mitigation plans to address the risks to the critical assets, based upon on the analysis of the intelligence gathered.

Source: eccouncil.org

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