Sumo Logic released findings from its fifth annual report. ”The Continuous Intelligence Report: The State of Modern Applications, DevSecOps and the Impact of COVID-19” provides an inside look into the state of the modern application technology stack, including changing trends in cloud and application adoption and usage by customers, and the impact of COVID-19 as an accelerant for digital transformation efforts.
Few cybersecurity components are as familiar as the next-generation firewall (NGFW) for enterprise protection. Despite this ubiquity, it is common for security teams to operate their NGFW in a suboptimal manner. The TAG Cyber team has observed, for example, that many enterprise teams operate their NGFW more like a traditional firewall. This can result in a reduction of traffic visibility, which in turn degrades prevention, detection, and response.
There is an opportunity here for IT teams to stabilize their work-from-home situations while also preparing for the future back in the office, or for many, supporting a hybrid model. Long term solutions are needed for organizational success. There are many steps that can be taken to ensure infrastructure is properly cared for and ready to be used when teams are able to return to the office.
KnowBe4 announced it is partnering with the Center for Cyber Safety and Education to launch a Women in Cybersecurity Scholarship to offer $10,000 to be applied to tuition, fees, books and required electronics for the recipient.
The Chemical Security Summit will be hosted by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) in collaboration with the Chemical Sector Coordinating Council (SCC). The summit is the signature industry event for chemical representatives across the chemical and interconnected sectors—including energy, communications, transportation, and water—to learn, share perspectives, and engage in dialogue. Securing chemicals in an evolving threat environment requires cross collaboration between facility owners and operators, industry, law enforcement, community members, and all levels of government.
Facebook has fixed a critical flaw in the Facebook Messenger for Android messaging app. Natalie Silvanovich of Google’s Project Zero reported the bug to the Facebook bug bounty program. The bug could have allowed a sophisticated attacker logged in on Messenger for Android to simultaneously initiate a call and send an unintended message type to someone logged in on Messenger for Android and another Messenger client (i.e. web browser).
During a time where hospitals are already strapped for resources, Mercy Iowa City hospital reported that an internal email compromise and phishing email incident led to the exposure of personal information of some 60,473 individuals.
Over the weekend, the European football club Manchester United was forced to shut down IT systems and confirmed that it had been hit by a sophisticated cyberattack, but said the organization is confident that personal data of fans was not breached and its preparation for such cyberattacks allowed it to react swiftly and efficiently.
Working at home poses many challenges. One smart solution for enterprises that continues to help maintain business continuity is Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI). It enables IT organizations to deliver a corporate endpoint experience on relatively inexpensive hardware while maintaining strict IT standards that will provide benefits well into the future.
The Principle of Least Privilege is one of the longest standing principles of security. People (as well as applications) should only have access to the things they need to do their job, and nothing else. While being overly permissive may make life a bit easier in the short-term, it can easily come back to haunt you long-term, whether due to a malicious attack, misplaced credentials, or even an honest mistake.