Paul's Security Weekly

This week, in the enterprise security news, A funding that looks like an acquisition And two for-sure acquisitions Rumors that there are funding problems for early stage cyber startups, and we’ll see a lot more acquisitions before the end of the year Speaking of rumors, Crowdstrike did NOT like last week’s Action1 acquisition rumor! Shortening detection engineering feedback loops HoneyAgents More reflections on Black Hat 2024 The attacker does NOT just have to get it right once and the defender does NOT have to get it right every time Remember BEC scams? Yeah, they’re still enterprise enemy #1 All that and more, in the news this week on Enterprise Security Weekly! SquareX With employees spending most of their working hours on the browser, web attacks are one of the biggest attack vectors today. Yet, both enterprises and security vendors today aren’t focused on securing the browser – a huge risk given that attackers can easily bypass Secure Web Gateways, SASE and SSE solutions. This segment will demonstrate

Every week here on the show we talk about vulnerabilities and exploits. Typically we recommend that organizations remediate these vulnerabilities in some way. But how? And more importantly, which ones? Some tools we have to help us are actually not all that helpful at time, such as: Mitre Att&ck - Don't get me wrong, this is a great project and Adam and team is doing a great job. However, its not a complete picture as we can't possibly know about every attack vector (or can we?). People seem to think if they cover everything in the framework they will be secure. You can't cover everything in the framework because each technique can be utilized by an attack in a hundred different ways. CVSS - Anyone can apply a score, but who is correct? Good that we have a way to score things, but then people will just use this as a basis for what they patch and what they do not. Also, chaining vulnerabilities is a thing, but we seem to lack any way to assign a score to multiple vulnerabilities at once (different from a

This week, Jeff Pollard and Allie Mellen join us to discuss the fallout and lessons learned from the CrowdStrike fiasco. They explore the reasons behind running in the kernel, the challenges of software quality, and the distinction between a security incident and an IT incident. They also touch on the need to reduce the attack surface and the importance of clear definitions in the cybersecurity industry. The conversation explores the need for a product security revolution and the importance of transparency and trust in security vendors. As development cycles shorten and more responsibilities shift to developers, application security (AppSec) is rapidly evolving. Organizations are increasingly building mature programs that automate and enhance AppSec, moving beyond manual processes. In this discussion, we explore how organizations are adapting their AppSec practices, highlighting the challenges and milestones encountered along the way. Key topics include the integration of security into the development lifecyc

Dangerous books, Microsoft Plus, NPD, Solar Winds, Jenkins, and more, on this Edition of the Security Weekly News. Visit https://www.securityweekly.com/swn for all the latest episodes! Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/swn-408

What are the barriers to cyber resilience today? Why is it so difficult? And what is coming next, that will generate resilience challenges further down the line? After five years of focusing on the short- and medium-term future of cybersecurity and edge, this year, LevelBlue wanted to understand what is preventing cyber resilience—and what business leaders are doing about it. Theresa Lanowitz, Chief Evangelist at LevelBlue, joins us to discuss the results of their research. Segment Resources: LevelBlue.com/futuresreport This segment is sponsored by LevelBlue. Visit https://securityweekly.com/levelblue to learn more about them! While CISOs are often responsible for technology implementation, they are not getting the support they need at a strategic level. The Accelerator found that 73% of CISOs expressed concern over cybersecurity becoming unwieldy, requiring risk-laden tradeoffs, compared to only 58% of both CIOs and CTOs. Understanding the C-suite’s business priorities is critical for shaping effective cyber

Quantum AI Drones, Ransomhub, Pixel, Mad Liberator, the return of Russ Beauchemin, and More on the Security Weekly News Visit https://www.securityweekly.com/swn for all the latest episodes! Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/swn-407

Early on in his career Spaf was working with microcode and continued to work on technical projects. As time went on he realized that focusing on the non-technical work, such as policies and shaping our thinking, would help move the needle. Borrowing concepts from his book on the subject, we will delve into some cybersecurity myths such as: Are users really the weakest link? Are cybersecurity vendors truly incentivized to provide better security? Do we agree on what cybersecurity really means? - Do not miss this segment! This week: Option ROMS are a novel way to compromise a system at the lowest level, Sinkclose opens AMD processors up to attacks, at home in your firmware exploiting SMM complete with examples, Sonos speakers get hacked and enable attackers to listen in on your conversations, DEF CON badges use new chips and are not without controversy, lasers that can steal your passwords, it was a regex, Larry updates us on some IoT research, attackers have your SSN, and more updates from last week's hacker s

In this conversation, the hosts discuss patchless patching, vulnerabilities in the Windows TCP/IP stack, and the trustworthiness of Microsoft. They highlight the challenges of marketing in the cybersecurity industry and the importance of building trust with customers. The conversation also touches on the need for vendors to prioritize security and code quality over rushing products to market. Overall, the hosts express concerns about the frequency of security vulnerabilities and the potential impact on customer trust. Other topics of discussion include the Innovators and Investors Summit at Black Hat, the potential sale of Trend Micro, layoffs in the industry, and the controversy surrounding room searches at DEF CON. They also touch on the concept of time on the moon and its implications for future lunar missions. Devo, the security analytics company, recently launched data orchestration, a data analytics cloud, and security operations center (SOC) workflow enhancements. Enterprise security teams are struggli

Startups and small orgs don't have the luxury of massive budgets and large teams. How do you choose an appsec approach that complements a startup's needs while keeping it secure. Kalyani Pawar shares her experience at different ends of an appsec maturity spectrum. In complex software ecosystems, individual application risks are compounded. When it comes to mitigating supply chain risk, identifying backdoors or unintended vulnerabilities that can be exploited in your environment is just as critical as staying current with the latest hacking intel. Understand how to spot and reduce the risk to your environment and prevent disruption to your operation. This segment is sponsored by Threatlocker. Visit https://securityweekly.com/threatlockerbh for a free trial! Every mobile device connecting to enterprise assets hosts a unique blend of work and personal apps, creating a complex landscape of innumerable vulnerabilities. Thankfully, methods exist to provide security teams with the real-world insights necessary to pr

DEFCON Hijinx, AMD, Ukraine, FreeBSD, OpenVPN, the Pwnie Awards, Josh Marpet, and more, on this Edition of the Security Weekly News. Visit https://www.securityweekly.com/swn for all the latest episodes! Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/swn-406

This week, it’s time for security money, our quarterly review of the money of security, including public companies, IPOs, funding rounds and acquisitions from the previous quarter. This quarter, Crowdstrike crashes the index, as Thoma Bravo acquires another index company. The index is currently made up of the following 25 pure play cybersecurity public companies: Secureworks Corp Palo Alto Networks Inc Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. Rubrik Inc Gen Digital Inc Fortinet Inc Akamai Technologies, Inc. F5 Inc Zscaler Inc Onespan Inc Leidos Holdings Inc Qualys Inc Verint Systems Inc. Cyberark Software Ltd Tenable Holdings Inc Darktrace PLC SentinelOne Inc Cloudflare Inc Crowdstrike Holdings Inc NetScout Systems, Inc. Varonis Systems Inc Rapid7 Inc Fastly Inc Radware Ltd A10 Networks Inc In the leadership and communications segment, The Cybersecurity Leadership Crisis Dooming America’s Companies, Judge Rejects SEC’s Aggressive Approach to Cybersecurity Enforcement, Is It Time to Pivot Your Strategy?, and m

0.0.0.0, Blacksuit, OpenAI, AWS, Cisco Phones, Win 10, Aaran Leyland, and More on the Security Weekly News. Visit https://www.securityweekly.com/swn for all the latest episodes! Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/swn-405

In this interview we explore the new and sometimes strange world of redteaming AI. I have SO many questions, like what is AI safety? We'll discuss her presence at Black Hat, where she delivered two days of training and participated on an AI safety panel. We'll also discuss the process of pentesting an AI. Will pentesters just have giant cheatsheets or text files full of adversarial prompts? How can we automate this? Will an AI generate adversarial prompts you can use against another AI? And finally, what do we do with the results? Resources: PyRIT AI redteaming tool Microsoft's AI redteaming guide We chat with Sounil Yu, co-founder of LLM access control startup, Knostic. We discuss both the experience of participating in Black Hat's startup competition, and what his company, Knostic, is all about. Knostic was one of four finalists for Black Hat's Startup Spotlight competition and was announced as the winner on August 6th. References DarkReading: Knostic Wins 2024 Black Hat Startup Spotlight Competition Kn

This week, Downgrade attacks, bootloader fun, check your firmware before you wreck your firmware, you've got mail server issues, Ivanti is the new Rhianna, you should update your BIOS, Openwrt dominates, and attacking the security tools for fun and profit! Learn what is most interesting at hacker summer camp this year! Visit https://www.securityweekly.com/psw for all the latest episodes! Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/psw-838

Fake IDS, Storm Bamboo, uBlock, Rhysida, Snake, Delta, TikTok, Josh Marpet, and more, on this Edition of the Security Weekly News. Visit https://www.securityweekly.com/swn for all the latest episodes! Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/swn-404

Even though Security Champions programs look very different across organizations and maturity levels, they share core principles for becoming successful. Marisa shares her experience in building these programs to foster a positive security culture within companies. She explains the incentives and rewards that lead to more engagement from champions and the benefits that come from so many people being engaged with security. Segment Resources: OWASP Security Champions Guide - Get Involved! - https://owasp.org/www-project-security-champions-guidebook/#div-getinvolved OWASP Security Champions Guide - LinkedIn page - https://www.linkedin.com/company/owasp-security-champions-guide/ The Security Champions Success Guide - https://securitychampionsuccessguide.org/ "Building a Successful Security Champions Program... What Does it Take?" - https://www.katilyst.com/post/building-a-successful-security-champions-program-what-does-it-take The code curation considerations of removing abandoned protocols in OpenSSL, kernel

Inspired by my co-host Jason Albuquerque, this quarter's Say Easy, Do Hard segment is Job Search Strategies for CISOs. In part 1, we discuss the challenges facing the CISO role and it's hiring. As CISOs leave the role, the position is not necessarily being refilled. How will this impact future CISO hiring? Inspired by my co-host Jason Albuquerque, this quarter's Say Easy, Do Hard segment is Job Search Strategies for CISOs. In part 2, Jason proposes we blow it all up, while Ben recommends a certification board for CISOs. We have no shortage of suggestions for how to fix the CISO hiring problem. Visit https://www.securityweekly.com/bsw for all the latest episodes! Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/bsw-359

Remember 20 years ago? When we were certain SIEMs would grant our cybersecurity teams superpowers? Or 10 years ago, when we were sure that NGAV would put an end to malware as we knew it? Or 15 years ago, when we were sure that application control would put an end to malware as we knew it? Or 18 years ago, when NAC would put an end to unauthorized network access? Why do we keep thinking that the next vendor offering is going to solve all our problems? In this interview, we talk with Fred Wilmot about the hard work of building effective processes and resilient architectures that will actually yield reductions in risk and detection/response capabilities that actually work. We'll discuss shifts in thinking that can move us past the latest distractions, and keep security teams focused on work that moves the needle. Fred may also mention his past transgressions against the industry and what he's doing to "wipe out the red from his ledger". There's plenty of content out there detailing how vendors fall short: scumm

Taco Bell AI, Azure, Scams, AI Emails, IBM, Crowdstrike, I try to be more succinct, Aaran Leyland, and More on the Security Weekly News. Visit https://www.securityweekly.com/swn for all the latest episodes! Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/swn-403

John is one of the foremost experts in UEFI and joins us to talk about PK Fail! What happens when a vendor in the supply chain accidentally loses a key? It's one of the things that keeps me up at night. Well, now my nightmare scenario has come true as a key has been leaked. Learn how and why and what you can do about it in this segment! Hacking traffic lights (for real this time), the Docker API strikes again, access Github deleted data, using EDR to elevate privileges on Windows, computers I need in my life, failed experiments and Raspberry PI access points, sitting ducks and TuDoor - its always DNS times 2, null sessions and a blast from the past, chaining UEFI vulnerabilities, pirates exposed, revoking SSL certificates, and using AI to analyze your brain: Multimodal Automated Interpretability Agent! Visit https://www.securityweekly.com/psw for all the latest episodes! Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/psw-837