During a penetration test, login credentials are a highly sought-after item. While it is common to harvest that information via email scams (phishing attacks), it is not always the most practical or effective tactic to gain unauthorized access. That access, however, still requires a valid set of credentials. This poses a challenge. How does an attacker find valid accounts without social engineering? There are two main options: breached credentials and password spraying.
Topics: Cybersecurity, Network Security, Data Protection, Personal Data Protection, Security Awareness Training, Passwords, Monitoring
A cybersecurity risk assessment helps you expose and prioritize issues that could undermine your organization’s security. The risk assessment process starts with a series of interviews during which a cybersecurity consultant will meet with key members of your organization to analyze your policies, procedures, and controls. The consultant will tailor the assessment to your organization’s size, industry regulations, business operations, and other special considerations. You’ll work through scenarios to forecast the consequences of vulnerabilities that are common in businesses like yours. One of the main benefits of a cybersecurity risk assessment is an increased ability to identify and prevent cyber incidents from impacting your organization.
Topics: Cybersecurity, Network Security, Risk Assessment
Security information and event management, or “SIEM,” is a tool that assimilates all of your log data to give you an all-encompassing overview of the activity on your network. SIEM tools watch over your network and help you stop trouble in its tracks. Whether your organization has 200 or 20,000 employees, SIEM software can be a vital part of any company’s cybersecurity posture.
Topics: Cybersecurity, Network Security, SIEM, Monitoring
As a cybersecurity engineer and an unapologetically enthusiastic “web guy,” I have both a personal and professional interest in finding new exploitation methods. Recently, I found an interesting and creative way to control a browser by exploiting a cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability. I learn by doing, so I executed the concept to see it work in practice. Without spoiling too much, I was very pleased with the results! This attack uses nothing more than Netcat and some clever XSS injection code. For those unfamiliar with Netcat, it’s a networking utility that reads and writes data across network connections.
Topics: Network Security, Data Protection, Penetration Testing, hacking
In 1974, the great Mohammed Ali said of his opponent, George Foreman, “His hands can’t hit what his eyes can’t see.” The same principle rings true in the cybersecurity world; we can't stop an attack until we know it is happening. That is why SIEM experts, like ProCircular’s Josh Resch, dedicate themselves to monitoring our clients’ networks for suspicious activity. Although each SIEM product works a little differently, they are all designed to help identify and track early signs of malicious activity on your network. A well-maintained SIEM can drastically reduce recovery time from a security incident by showing exactly where the attacker has been.
Topics: Cybersecurity, Network Security, security incident handling, SIEM, Monitoring