By AMSAT August 30, 2024
In this day and age of cyber-attacks, you must secure all of your data at all times. We don’t know what sensitive data can be exposed. In order to secure our data, we remember to install firewalls and antiviruses, but forget about securing our web applications and services.
So, how do we go about protecting our web applications?
The process of protecting our online services, websites, and web applications against malware and cyber threats is known as web application security. These threats target numerous web applications like content management systems like WordPress, SaaS Applications like Zoom, or Administration tools like phpMyAdmin and exploit their code.
When organizations fail to safeguard their web applications, they risk highly sensitive data belonging to their customers open to interpretation and exploitation. This leads to information theft, revoked licenses, and damaged client relationships.
Without proper disinfection, organizations leave their apps open to vulnerabilities, which can lead to a number of problems. But in order to avoid these problems, it is necessary to pinpoint the vulnerable locations and acknowledge ways to mitigate them.
Here are some of the attack vectors that lead to Web Application Vulnerabilities:
When hackers use harmful SQL code to manipulate backend data, they reveal this SQL code exposure present in your web application. This malicious code helps them disclose all kinds of sensitive information. Leaving this vulnerability unchecked can lead to fatal consequences for your organization like deletion of important info and erasure of sensitive data.
An attack that may lead to unauthorized fund transfers, altered passwords, or data theft is known as Cross-Site Request Forgery. This occurs when a malicious web application forces a user’s browser to execute an unintended action on a site where the user is already logged in.
A hacker employs this type of attack to remotely inject a file onto a web application server, potentially leading to the execution of malicious scripts or code within the application, along with manipulation or data theft.
Cross-site scripting is an injection attack aimed at users to gain access to accounts, release Trojans, or change page content. Stored XSS happens when malicious code is directly injected into an application. Reflected XSS occurs when a malicious script is bounced off an application and onto a user’s browser.
Web application security is a dynamic, ever-changing field, that adapts as new vulnerabilities and threats emerge. Now, what should we do to mitigate the vulnerabilities listed above? Here are some ways that will work for your organization and work as web application security solutions:
Traffic suspected to or known to exploit web application vulnerabilities is filtered by WAFs. They are necessary as new vulnerabilities can emerge rapidly and discreetly, making it challenging for most organizations to spot them on their own.
These services are positioned between the public internet and servers. They use specialized filtering and high bandwidth capacity to prevent surges of malicious traffic from overwhelming the server.
Sometimes there are shadow APIs that go neglected by strong systems, and API gateways detect these sneaky monsters. They also block traffic targeting API vulnerabilities and assist in managing and monitoring API traffic.
This security is necessary as your clients are the most important part of your business. It involves monitoring for new third-party JavaScript dependencies and changes in third-party code, enabling companies to detect cyber-attacks more quickly.
With the use of AI bots, you utilize machine learning techniques to distinguish between human users and automated traffic, effortlessly prohibiting automated bots from accessing your web services.
When you’re attempting to secure your web applications, here’s a checklist you can follow in order to ensure that you add the best web application security solutions:
When you add this checklist to your application development and deployment, you can effortlessly add security to your applications. Additionally, effective tools for attack surface management should also offer a centralized platform to map your attack surface, identify potential security risks, and mitigate those risks with a few clicks. So, ensure that you install all necessary tools and systems before inviting guests to your business.
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By AMSAT June 2,2023
In today’s digital landscape, maintaining robust network security is paramount for businesses of all sizes. With cyber threats becoming more sophisticated, organizations need a proactive and comprehensive approach to safeguard their valuable assets. Enter Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) systems – the ultimate solution to strengthen your network defenses.
In this blog, we’ll explore the benefits of SIEM and how it can empower your organization to take control of potential threats and protect your sensitive data.
Recent years have seen a dramatic rise in the frequency and complexity of cyber-attacks, representing serious threats to individuals, businesses, and even countries. Swift advancements in technology, together with an interconnected global landscape, have created a fertile atmosphere for cybercriminals to exploit vulnerabilities and carry out sophisticated cyber-attacks.
These attacks have picked up momentum, wreaking havoc on a range of sectors including finance, healthcare, government institutions, and key infrastructure. Malicious actors are taking advantage of cutting-edge techniques, including social engineering, ransomware, and more, to infiltrate networks, steal sensitive data, disrupt services, and extort victims for financial benefit.
In addition, state-sanctioned cyber-attacks have emerged as a major concern, with nation-states using their hacking skills to execute espionage, sabotage, or wield influence on a mass scale. The escalating frequency and complexity of cyber-attacks necessitate sturdier cybersecurity measures, collaboration among stakeholders, and constant ingenuity to thwart any emerging threats.
Organizations are at a perennial risk of considerable data breaches and security incidents, potentially resulting in severe financial, reputational, and legal ramifications. Firstly, a data breach can lead to significant financial losses on account of the costs related to probing and remediating the incident, informing affected people, applying security measures, and potential litigation.
Moreover, organizations may suffer reputational harm, undermining customer trust and loyalty, which can affect revenue streams and long-term business viability. Legal consequences are also a concern, as organizations may face regulatory penalties and lawsuits.
Additionally, data breaches can lead to the theft or compromise of intellectual property, trade secrets, and proprietary information, eroding competitive gain and market viability. Lastly, there is a risk of operational disruptions and reduced employee efficiency as businesses divert resources towards incident response, recovery, and boosting cybersecurity measures. Organizations must, therefore, utilize strong data protection strategies to alleviate these risks and secure their sensitive data.
In today’s rapidly evolving technological landscape, the need for a proactive and efficient security solution has become more critical than ever. With the constant advancements in cyber threats, both organizations and individuals face several challenges in securing their valuable assets and sensitive information.
A reactive approach to security is no longer sufficient, as it leaves businesses prone to attacks and compromises that can have disturbing repercussions. On the other hand, a proactive security solution focuses on aggressively recognizing and addressing latent risks before they can be exploited, providing a strong defense against developing threats.
Short for Security Information and Event Management, SIEM is a wide-ranging approach to managing and monitoring an organization’s network security. SIEM systems collect and examine data from various sources, including network devices, servers, applications, and security devices, to recognize and respond to potential security threats.
The role of SIEM in network security is to provide real-time visibility into the security events happening within the network, spot and correlate security incidents, and generate alerts or notifications to enable timely incident response. By centralizing and evaluating security event data, SIEM helps organizations identify patterns, detect irregularities, and examine potential security breaches, thereby boosting the overall security posture of the network.
Implementing a SIEM system provides organizations with several key benefits. SIEM offers real-time monitoring and analysis of security events and alerts, enabling early detection and response to potential threats. It helps consolidate logs and data from various sources, allowing for centralized visibility into the organization’s security posture. SIEM also provides correlation and analysis capabilities, helping identify patterns and irregularities that may show security incidents or vulnerabilities. In general, implementing SIEM improves threat detection, incident response capabilities, and regulatory compliance, strengthening the organization’s overall security posture.
If you’re looking to apply SIEM services into your company and benefit from them, click here to get in touch with AMSAT’s cybersecurity team!
SIEM empowers security teams by providing them with a centralized platform to monitor, detect, and respond to potential security incidents. It collects and correlates data from several sources, such as network devices, servers, and applications, to identify irregular activities or patterns that may indicate a security breach.
SIEM helps security teams to swiftly discover and prioritize threats by analyzing enormous volumes of security logs and event data in real-time. This enables them to take fast action to mitigate risks and lessen the impact of any incidents. Furthermore, SIEM offers insightful information and visibility into the organization’s entire security posture, assisting security teams in making choices, improving incident response capabilities, and streamlining compliance initiatives. Overall, SIEM empowers security teams by providing them with the knowledge and tools needed to actively safeguard the digital infrastructure and assets of their organizations.
There are several critical phases involved in implementing SIEM for your business. Consider your organization’s security requirements first, then list the precise goals you wish to accomplish with SIEM. Next, compare several SIEM products on the market, taking into account elements like scalability, integration potential, and usability.
Define your data sources and set them up to deliver logs and events to the SIEM system once you’ve chosen a SIEM solution. This could entail setting up agents or syslog servers. Then, develop your SIEM policies and guidelines in accordance with your security needs and standards for legal compliance. Configure the SIEM system to meet the unique requirements of your business, including creating reports, dashboards, and real-time alerts.
Finally, implement a procedure for ongoing monitoring and fine-tuning the SIEM system to improve efficiency and performance over time. To make sure the system stays in sync with your changing security landscape, periodically evaluate and analyze the generated alerts and reports and make any necessary adjustments to the SIEM policies and rules. You may successfully install SIEM to improve your organization’s security posture and incident response capabilities by following these steps.
Organizations cannot afford to ignore the value of strong network security in an era dominated by cyberthreats. SIEM systems offer the thorough and centralized approach required to safeguard sensitive data, identify threats, and take quick action. Your company may take control of possible hazards, strengthen network defenses, and find peace of mind in a threat environment that is constantly changing by deploying SIEM.
Don’t wait until it’s too late; take action now to protect your company by embracing SIEM.
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By AMSAT May 29, 2023
In today’s interconnected environment, the significance of safeguarding the digital assets of your business cannot be held into question. Services for Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) have become an essential part of contemporary cybersecurity strategies.
This blog will examine SIEM’s advantages and how it may strengthen the security posture of your business.
SIEM offers a centralized platform for keeping track of security-related activities and events throughout the whole IT infrastructure of your company. It gathers and combines log data from countless sources, including servers, network equipment, and security appliances. Security teams can see all potential threats and vulnerabilities thanks to this thorough visibility.
The capacity of SIEM to quickly identify security incidents is one of its main advantages. SIEM services find trends and abnormalities that can point to malicious activity through advanced correlation and analytics. SIEM solutions can quickly warn security teams to possible attacks by continually monitoring events and comparing them against specified rules and threat intelligence, enabling proactive response and mitigation.
SIEM services provide efficient incident response while also detecting security events. They offer protocols and tools to speed up the investigation process, allowing security teams to evaluate an incident’s scope and impact more quickly. SIEM technologies also help with incident forensics, enabling detailed study to identify the underlying issue and stop similar incidents in the future.
A crucial component of contemporary corporate operations is complying with legal and regulatory regulations. In this regard, SIEM services help by producing compliance reports and logs. SIEM platforms can show adherence to security rules, facilitate audits, and guarantee compliance with industry standards by collecting and analyzing security data.
Organizations are at serious danger from insider threats, which can be difficult to identify. SIEM tools can be used to spot privileged users’ or workers’ patterns of suspicious behavior. SIEM services can trigger warnings when unusual or unauthorized behavior occurs and correlate it with other security events, enabling quick investigation and insider threat mitigation.
SIEM platforms have the ability to link with external threat intelligence feeds, giving users access to the most recent details on new threats and vulnerabilities. SIEM systems improve their detection capabilities and enable proactive defense against new and developing attack vectors by leveraging threat intelligence.
SIEM solutions frequently offer dashboards and graphical representations that make security incident data easily available to the eye. Security teams may more easily spot trends, patterns, and potential security flaws thanks to these visualizations, which simplify the understanding of complicated security information. Additionally, visualizations help in communication with stakeholders by allowing them to quickly understand the security situation.
SIEM services are flexible and can be customized to meet the demands of organizations of all sizes. SIEM solutions can be customized to meet your unique needs, regardless of how big or small your firm is. They ensure thorough coverage and adaptability by supporting a variety of log sources, network configurations, and security methods.
Security personnel are empowered by SIEM platforms to aggressively search for threats within the network. Security experts can find signs of compromise that may have eluded detection by conventional security measures by using historical data and behavioral analytics. This proactive strategy shortens the time between detection and response and improves the organization’s security posture.
That SIEM offers a wide range of benefits goes without saying. While SIEMs significantly improve security, they are by no means a piece of cake. SIEM implementation might be challenging. For them to perform at their best, ongoing upkeep and updates are necessary. When deployed by a well-established security operations center, SIEMs also need qualified personnel and unlock even greater potential.
SIEMs are difficult to set up, but the benefits exceed the difficulties. Setting up a SOC with a reliable SIEM solution pays off immensely if you run a medium- to large-sized organization or enterprise. Cyberattacks are becoming more expensive on average. SIEM solutions are becoming more efficient and more accessible as cyberattacks become more expensive.
Data-driven threat prediction makes your security more flexible and agile. The easiest security breaches happen with rigid systems. An additional line of defense is provided by a system that monitors and foresees threats and security issues.
Early SIEM implementation can aid in corporate scalability. Early adoption makes it possible for the SIEM to easily change along with your network, and it takes a lot of work to integrate a SIEM into a network that is already very vast.
If you want to secure your company from potential threats and malicious cyber-attacks, click here to get in touch with us today!
Organizations require strong security measures to safeguard their digital assets in the face of growing cyber threats. By offering centralized monitoring, real-time threat detection, incident response capabilities, and compliance support, SIEM services offer a thorough and proactive approach to security. By adopting SIEM, your business may strengthen its security posture, protect critical data, and do a lot more.
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By AMSAT June 07,2021
What is Endpoint Security?
Endpoint security is a procedure of protecting the corporate network when accessed through laptops or other wireless and movable devices. With the spread of mobile devices like laptops, smartphones, tablets, notebooks etc., a huge surge in the number of devices being lost or stolen has been noticed. These incidences possibly translate as enormous loss of important data for companies which allow their staffs to bring in these mobile devices into their enterprise. Endpoint security is projected to protect each endpoint on the network these devices create.
Why You Need Antivirus Software
Next-generation antivirus software helps organizations spot, respond to and thwart all kinds of cyberattack strategies, methods and procedures. Antivirus software will always be needed for as long as computers have been and will be around, regardless of their connectivity to the Internet. There will never be a time when people, whether unscrupulous youths seeking an adventure or a hardened cyberthieves seeking to abuse large corporations, will no longer find ways to commit scam and cause extensive damage.
Antivirus software is a significant tool to help frustrate such attacks. While it’s hard to foil every type of cyberattack with antivirus software, it can be a great strength when trying to prevent intrusion into a computer. Although not every disruption into a computer is meant to cause damage or steal key information, that doesn’t mean that the attack isn’t risky. Once even the most innocuous of an interruption exploits a flaw, it basically sends a signal to others that this computer has been intruded.
When looking to buy antivirus software, ensure to purchase a reliable and renowned, subscription-based program. This is significant, as the creators of this type of software will be able to keep their subscribers’ computers protected with real-time updates that watch out the latest threats.
What Antivirus Software Can Protect Against
As the name indicates, antivirus safety is not just a way to block computer viruses. Some individuals believe that all disruptions into a computer are called viruses, but that is a contradiction. For example, here is a list of the ways a good antivirus program can help defend a computer with data on it:
Antivirus – Beginning with the obvious, an AP will protect against computer viruses, or attacks that mean to harm a computer.
Rootkit protection – This prevents rootkits, which are entrenched deep inside a computer in order to disguise other malware, from setting up in a computer.
Bot protection – A subscriber is warned when a hacker is trying to remotely take over a computer to use as a source for automatic spamming and other wrongdoings.
Worm safety – Typically, networks are attacked by worms rather than computers themselves. Nevertheless, worms can carry payloads of malware that can be placed onto computers, which will be damaging. Antivirus software can prevent this kind of attack.
Trojan horses – Antivirus software is unable to halt an individual from being fooled into believing that a wanted downloaded program or file is genuine. Nevertheless, antivirus software can caution them when malware is diagnosed within a Trojan horse file.
Spyware – Antivirus software is capable of detecting when spyware has infected a computer even when the source turned out to be trustworthy and authentic. It is worth noting that antivirus software is not just for computer that is attacked from the Internet; viruses can be spread through portable storage drives.
How Antivirus Works
This software scans the file equating precise bits of code against information in its database and if it discovers a pattern replicating one in the database, it is regarded as a virus, and it will isolate or erase that specific file.
How to do away with malware?
• Signature-based detection
• Heuristic-based detection
• Behavioral-based detection
• Sandbox detection
• Data mining techniques
Signature-based detection – This is most common antivirus software that checks all the .EXE files and authenticates it with the recognized list of viruses and other types of malware. Files, programs and applications are essentially skimmed when they are being used. Once an executable file is downloaded, it is scanned for any malware promptly.
Heuristic-based detection – This type of uncovering is most usually used alongside signature-based detection. Heuristic technology is used in most of the antivirus programs, which helps the antivirus software to perceive new or a modified or an altered version of malware.
Behavioral-based detection – Used in Intrusion Detection mechanism, behavioral-based detection focusses more on detecting the features of the malware during implementation. This mechanism senses malware only while the malware executes malware actions.
Sandbox detection – It works most possibly to that of behavioral-based detection technique, executing any applications in the virtual setting to track what kind of actions it conducts. Confirming the actions of the program that are logged in, the antivirus software can recognize whether or not the program is malicious.
Data mining methods – Data mining is one of the up-to-date trends in detecting a malware. With a set of program features, data mining helps find if the program is malicious or not.
Conclusion
Next-generation firewalls play a critical role in cybersecurity architectures the all over the globe. Antivirus software works by recognizing parallel designs from its database, or using equipment to help forecast when an attack will happen—and halting it before it does. It exploits a multi-dimensional technique, because viruses can adjust, convert, and get stronger over time. Therefore, your risk of exposure doesn’t reduce over time, but only surges dramatically.
The software isn’t always foolproof, however. There are numerous malicious programs that disguise as something that will help you in order to actually damage you. That’s why it’s absolutely important to only use the best antivirus software on the market. Using mediocre software to save a few bucks is counterproductive. The best form of protection is to prevent it from happening in the first place. The internet has offered several ways for virus attacks and thousands of threats do exist. To be secure from these, it is important to monitor the computer and protect at all times. The significance of antivirus software cannot be taken for granted.
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By AMSAT Feb 1,2021
Based on the theory of least privilege, hardening is about reducing the attack surface available to the threat actors and other malicious hackers. Hardening is a vital component of information security and includes the principles of deterrence, denial, delay and detection.
This is the act of putting together an OS strongly, updating it, making rules and strategies to help supervise the system securely, eliminating unnecessary applications and services. The purpose of this exercise is to reduce a computer OS’s contact to threats and to alleviate possible risk. OS hardening is one of the most significant steps toward thorough information security, since operating systems evolve over time and add more features and capabilities.
Windows is packed with a collection of features, applications and software that ought to be properly configured to guarantee the system is as hardened as possible.
Windows 10 must be installed fresh on a system. It’s important to create or find an appropriate installation media for your Windows 10 system (a reliable USB drive, preferably).
Even in fresh installations of Windows 10, a system is expected to have unnecessary programs installed, which expand the attack surface, making it easy for hackers to unleash attacks. Make sure you confirm that all installed programs are authentic and not bootlegged software, which could be filled with bloat and malware.
It’s essential to encode hard drives. Windows 10 is equipped with BitLocker and hasan easy encryption process. Trusted Platform Module (TPM) must be empowered to encode with BitLocker. Advanced editions of Windows 10 are equipped with TPM aided by default, while secure boot should be used together with encryption, linking the hard drive to the system hardware and ensuring that only Microsoft-trusted firmware is used upon boot.
Windows 10 systems come laden with a Basic Input Output System (BIOS) like previous versions of Windows. The BIOS has a DOS-ish interface but doesn’t require wide-ranging coding experience to operate. Before working with the BIOS, research whether your Windows 10 variant has any BIOS configuration applicable to it, then configure away.
Most systems have confidential data that should be protected. To do this, we need to protect our Linux system, by physically taking security measures to prevent unauthorized people from access the system in the first place. Then installation should be done properly, so a strong foundation is there. Finally, a set of common security measures need to be applied. Once it’s all done, your server or desktop system should be effectively secured.
System hardening can be divided into a few core principles. These include the principle of least privilege, segmentation, and reduction.
The principle of least privileges suggests that you give users and processes the bare minimum of consent to do their job. It is like granting a visitor access to a building. You could give full access to the building, including all sensitive areas. The other option is to only let your guest access a single floor where they need to be. The choice is easy, right?
The next principle is that you divide greater areas into smaller ones. If we look at that building again, we have split it into numerous floors. Each floor can be additionally divided into diverse regions. Perhaps you visitor is only permitted on floor 4, in the blue zone. If we interpret this to Linux security, this code would apply to memory usage. Each process can only access their own memory sections.
The objective of this principle is to eliminate something that is not sternly needed for the system to work. It appears like the principle of least privilege, yet it focuses on averting something altogether.
1. Install security updates and patches
2. Use strong passwords
3. Bind processes to local host
4. Implement a firewall
5. Keep things clean
6. Security configurations
7. Limit access
8. Monitor your systems
9. Create backups (and test!)
10. Perform system auditing
Contemporary computing environments are discrete infrastructures which need any organization to develop interruption finding plans for the servers. An organization must similarly update its computer arrangement plan when relevant changes occur. The environment will only work efficiently if the process is centralized. Therefore, it’s incumbent upon financial institutions to develop, execute and monitor suitable information security programs. Whether systems are maintained in-house or by a third-party vendor, appropriate security controls and risk management systems should be put into place.
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By AMSAT Jan 11,2020
As applications become more intricate and software development timelines narrow, developers are under pressure to trot out new features at the earliest. Consequently, developers count more profoundly on third-party libraries, mostly open-source components, to attain distinguished and convincing application functionality. This rise in open-source components drives companies to regulate their security practices. One of the ways organizations can protect their software is by espousing application security best practices and combining them into their software development life cycle.
To this end, here are the top 10 application security best practices you should use in your organization.
You can’t secure what you don’t know you have.
Keeping track of your assets helps you preempt mishaps and disasters in the future. You should ensure you automate the process as much as possible, as it’s a Herculean task for organizations to continue to scale their development. As well as tracking your assets, take the time to categorize them, observing which ones are important to your business roles and which are of less importance.
Once you have a list of what needs to be protected, you can start to understand what your threats are and how to alleviate them. You also need to know the paths that cybercriminals use to breach your application, while ensuring you have the right security measures in place to spot or thwart an attack. At the same time, you also need to be realistic about expectations for how secure you can be. This implies that even if you take the highest level of defense available, nothing is ever unhackable. You also need to be truthful about what kind of measures you believe your team can maintain in the long term.
Fixing your software with updates either from commercial vendors or the open-source community is one of the most significant initiatives you can take to ensure the security of your software. When a flaw is correctly exposed and reported to the owners of the product or project, the flaw is then published on security manuals and databases for public consumption. Developers may be cautious to upgrade to the latest version of the software if it could break your product, but automated tools can help enormously here.
Over the last few years, containers have gained immense traction as more organizations adopt the technology for its flexibility, making it easier to build, test, and arrange across several environments throughout the SDLC.
In recent years, vulnerabilities have seen a sharp rise, and this trend shows no sign of abating anytime soon. Developers have a hard time when it comes to remediation. Given the magnitude of the task at hand, prioritization is vital for teams that expect to keep their applications safe while upholding their rationality.
Doing so requires carrying out a threat evaluation based on the severity of a flaw, how serious the affected application is to your operations, and many other factors. When it comes to open-source flaws, you ought to know whether your registered code is actually using the susceptible functionality in the open-source component. If the susceptible component’s functionality is not receiving calls from your product, then it is unproductive and not a high risk even if its CVSS rating is grave. A shrewd approach is one that automatically prioritizes the most demanding threats first, taking into account the factors at play, and leaves the low-risk ones for later.
Staying ahead of cybercriminals is mostly circumventing the common errors that others are likely to make, making yourself a stiffer target to exploit than others. While no perimeter or application security measures are ever fully hack-proof, following these basic best practices goes a long way in making your application not worth the hassle for the hackers, thereby keeping you and your data safe for another day.
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