Security | Threat Detection | Cyberattacks | DevSecOps | Compliance

The COVID-19 pandemic has spurred a significant increase in the adoption of remote access, resulting in a substantial portion of the workforce transitioning to remote work. This requires employees to heavily rely on their employer’s virtual private network (VPN) to connect to their company's IT systems. This shift to working from home (WFH) is expected to continue well into the foreseeable future.

Anyone who’s ever misplaced their wallet knows that horrible moment where their stomach drops, the beads of perspiration begin to form on their forehead, and they start mulling over worst-case scenarios. In that worst case scenario, someone used the cash and cards in the wallet to go on a personal spending spree. In a company’s IT environment, a missing device or shadow IT represents that missing wallet.

As cloud applications and services gain prominence amongst organizations, adversaries are evolving their toolset to target these cloud networks. The surge in remote work and teleconferencing presents unprecedented opportunities for nefarious activities. Enter the MITRE ATT&CK Framework, also known as a MITRE ATT&CK Matrix—a treasure trove for defending cloud infrastructure and on-premises infrastructure against the newest adversary tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs).

When you think about security, it's usually from external factors. We lock the doors to our homes and businesses, when we go to the gym our belongings are kept safe in locked lockers from theft, and our computers and phones have security measures in place to keep people out. Our focus is on external threats but the biggest danger can come from within — insider threats. Consider the classic thriller When a Stranger Calls.

NjRAT (also known as Bladabindi) malware is a Remote Access Trojan (RAT) that was first discovered in 2012. This malware strain has persisted in the threat landscape up to the present day, most recently earning notoriety for its active campaigns against agencies and organizations located in the Middle East and North Africa. Upon successful infiltration into a target host or system, NjRAT can allow the attacker to remotely access and exercise control over the compromised system.

As most folks who work in the US Federal Civilian space are aware, we are now past the August 2023 date to meet Enterprise Logging Level 3 (EL3) in support of the M-21-31 OMB Mandate. As part of the Advanced Requirements in EL3, Logging Orchestration, Automation, & Response enters Finalizing Implementation, meaning agencies should be completing and rolling out automated incident response playbooks.

A SOC analyst role is equal parts fulfilling and overwhelming. On one hand, the landscape is dynamic and the work is critical to protecting organizations. On the other, the weight of continual responsibility can lead to stress, anxiety, and cybersecurity burnout. Understanding the importance of your mental health is crucial to maintaining productivity and preventing cybersecurity burnout.