Paul's Security Weekly

Dronepocalypse, Privacy, Microsoft, DLINK, Home Depot, Phishing, NIST, VenomRat, Josh Marpet, and more, are 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-376

We look into the supply chain saga of the XZ Utils backdoor. It's a wild story of a carefully planned long con to add malicious code to a commonly used package that many SSH connections rely on. It hits themes from social engineering and abuse of trust to obscuring the changes and suppressing warnings. It also has a few lessons about software development, the social and economic dynamics of open source, and strategies for patching software. It's an exciting topic partially because so much other appsec is boring. And that boring stuff is important to get right first. We also talk about what parts of this that orgs should be worried about and what types of threats they should be prioritizing instead. Segment Resources: https://tukaani.org/xz-backdoor/ https://news.risky.biz/risky-biz-news-supply-chain-attack-in-linuxland/ https://www.zdnet.com/article/this-backdoor-almost-infected-linux-everywhere-the-xz-utils-close-call/#ftag=RSSbaffb68 https://therecord.media/malicious-backdoor-code-linux-red-hat-cisa ht

In this discussion, we focus on vendor/tool challenges in infosec, from a security leader's perspective. To quote our guest, Ross, "running a security program is often confused with shopping". You can't buy an effective security program any more than you can buy respect, or a black belt in kung fu (there might be holes in these examples, but you hopefully get the point). In fact, buying too much can often create more problems than it solves, especially if you're struggling to fill your staffing needs. In this 2-part episode, we'll discuss: - The current state of vendor offerings in cybersecurity - The difficulties of measuring value and efficacy in a product - How to avoid building a security program that centers around managing products - Shelfware - Minimizing product overhead - The pros and cons of buying from different types of companies - Who to look to for product recommendations - Is making a plan to "ditch before you hitch" a good or bad idea? - What to do when you inherit a mess Visit https://www.sec

SEXi, AI Dreams, Powerhost, Acuity, Layerslider, JSOutProx, Byakugan, 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-375

As most of you have probably heard there was a scary supply chain attack against the open source compression software called "xz". The security weekly hosts will break down all the details and provide valuable insights. https://blog.qualys.com/vulnerabilities-threat-research/2024/03/29/xz-utils-sshd-backdoor https://gynvael.coldwind.pl/?id=782 https://isc.sans.edu/diary/The+xzutils+backdoor+in+security+advisories+by+national+CSIRTs/30800 https://lcamtuf.substack.com/p/technologist-vs-spy-the-xz-backdoor https://github.com/amlweems/xzbot https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/threat-brief-xz-utils-cve-2024-3094/ https://unicornriot.ninja/2024/xz-utils-software-backdoor-uncovered-in-years-long-hacking-plot/ https://gist.github.com/smx-smx/a6112d54777845d389bd7126d6e9f504 https://arstechnica.com/security/2024/04/what-we-know-about-the-xz-utils-backdoor-that-almost-infected-the-world/ https://xeiaso.net/notes/2024/xz-vuln/ https://infosec.exchange/@AndresFreundTec@mastodon.social https://github.com/notselwyn/

NVD checked out, then they came back? Maybe? Should the xz backdoor be treated as a vulnerability? Is scan-driven vulnerability management obsolete when it comes to alerting on emerging threats? What were some of the takeaways from the first-ever VulnCon? EPSS is featured in over 100 security products, but is it properly supported by those that benefit from it? How long do defenders have from the moment a vulnerability is disclosed to patch or mitigate it before working exploits are ready and in the wild? There's SO much going on in the vulnerability management space, but we'll try to get to the bottom of some of in in this episode. In this interview, we talk to Patrick Garrity about the messy state of vulnerability management and how to get it back on the rails. Segment Resources: Exploitation TImelines NVD Sources for known exploitation Exploitation in the Wild - Rockstar As we near RSA conference season, tons of security startups are coming out of stealth! The RSA Innovation Sandbox has also announce

Lena, XZ, WallEscape, AT&T, OWASP, Google, Microsoft, AI, 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-374

Sometimes infosec problems can be summarized succinctly, like "patching is hard". Sometimes a succinct summary sounds convincing, but is based on old data, irrelevant data, or made up data. Adrian Sanabria walks through some of the archeological work he's done to dig up the source of some myths. We talk about some of our favorite (as in most disliked) myths to point out how oversimplified slogans and oversimplified threat models lead to bad advice -- and why bad advice can make users less secure. Segment resources: https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/cybersecurity-myths-and/9780137929214/ The OWASP Top 10 gets its first update after a year, Metasploit gets its first rewrite (but it's still in Perl), PHP adds support for prepared statements, RSA Conference puts passwords on notice while patching remains hard, and more! Visit https://www.securityweekly.com/asw for all the latest episodes! Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/asw-279

Harold Rivas has held multiple CISO roles. In his current CISO role, he's championing Trellix's overall mission to address the issues CISOs face every day, encouraging information sharing and collaborative discussions among the CISO community to help address challenges and solve real problems together - part of this is through Trellix's Mind of the CISO Initiative and the Trellix CISO Council. In this interview, we do a little CISO soul-searching. Harold will bring insights from the initiative to cover some of the top challenges CISOs face in this ever-evolving role, including: Earning a seat at the table Talking the language of business Addressing the risks and opportunities of business evolution Reading the tea leaves of the future and more! If you're a CISO or want to be a CISO, don't miss this episode. Segment Resources: https://www.trellix.com/blogs/perspectives/introducing-trellixs-mind-of-the-ciso-initiative/ https://www.trellix.com/solutions/mind-of-the-ciso-report/ https://www.trellix.com/solutio

Many years ago, I fielded a survey focused on the culture of cybersecurity. One of the questions asked what initially drew folks to cybersecurity as a career. The most common response was a deep sense of curiosity. Throughout my career, I noticed another major factor in folks that brought a lot of value to security teams: diversity. Diversity of people, diversity of background, and diversity of experience. I've seen auto mechanics, biologists, and finance experts bring the most interesting insights and forehead-slapping observations to the table. I think part of the reason diversity is so necessary is that security itself is incredibly broad. It covers everything that technology, processes, and people touch. As such, cybersecurity workers need to have a similarly broad skillsets and background. Today, we talk to someone that embodies both this non-typical cybersecurity background and sense of curiosity - Clea Ostendorf. We'll discuss: The importance for organizations to actively seek and welcome curious newc

AI Dreams of Electric Sheep, Exchange, Darcula, NuGet, Rockwell, FTX, Aaran Leyland, 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-373

Jason Healey comes on the show to discuss new ideas on whether the new national cybersecurity strategy is working. Segment Resources: DEFRAG Hacker Film Festival short documentary (https://youtu.be/NYvHWcQsIRE) on hackers and their favorite films. For educational purposes only, as we don’t have the rights to the clips. YouTube link to Wargames event with Jen Easterly, Matt Devost, Amelia Koran and Kevin Huyck (head of ops for NORAD) (https://youtu.be/iqx6STDYJ7c?si=73WQtSG4RnCGsBcT). https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/which-cyber-regulations-fit-which-sectors https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/the-national-cybersecurity-strategy-breaking-a-50-year-losing-streak https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/twenty-five-years-of-white-house-cyber-policies https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/understanding-offenses-systemwide-advantage-cyberspace The PSW crew discusses some crypto topics, such as post-quantum and GoFetch, new Flipper Zero projects, RFID hacking and hotel locks, BlueDucky, side channel attacks a

Patrick Stewart, Colorama, Strelastealer, CVSS scores, CHUDS, 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-372

With hundreds or thousands of SaaS apps to secure with no traditional perimeter, Identity becomes the focal point for SaaS Security in the modern enterprise. Yet with Shadow IT, now recast as Business-Led IT, quickly becoming normal practice, it’s more complicated than trying to centralize all identities with an Identity Provider (IdP) for Single Sign-On (SSO). So the question becomes, “How do you enable the business while still providing security oversight and governance?” This segment is sponsored by Savvy. Visit https://securityweekly.com/savvy to learn more about them! In the leadership and communications section, The CISO Role Is Changing. Can CISOs Themselves Keep Up? , Why do 60% of SEC Cybersecurity Filings Omit CSO, CISO Info?, How Co-Leaders Succeed, and more! Visit https://www.securityweekly.com/bsw for all the latest episodes! Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/bsw-343

One of the biggest failures in appsec is an attitude that blames users for security problems. A lot of processes and workflows break down because of an insecure design or insecure defaults. Benedek Gagyi chats with us about the impact of the user experience (UX) on security and why it's not only important to understand how to make a user's life easier, but in defining who that user is in the first place. Segment resources: https://www.usenix.org/conference/8th-usenix-security-symposium/why-johnny-cant-encrypt-usability-evaluation-pgp-50 The GoFetch side channel in Apple CPUs, OpenSSF's plan for secure software developer education, fuzzing vs. formal verification as a security strategy, hard problems in InfoSec (and AppSec), and more! Visit https://www.securityweekly.com/asw for all the latest episodes! Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/asw-278

While awareness and attention towards cybersecurity are on the rise, some popular and persistent myths about cybersecurity have almost become threats themselves. API security requires a modern understanding of the threat landscape, with the context that most API providers desire to be more open and accessible to all. We will debunk the 5 worst myths about protecting your APIs. Segment Resources: API Security Basics - Everything You Need to Know Graylog API Security - Gain Visibility & Control Over Your API Attack Surface This segment is sponsored by Graylog. Visit https://securityweekly.com/graylog to learn more about API security! In the enterprise security news, Lots of funding news, including: - Nozomi Networks Raises $100 Million to Expand Industrial Cybersecurity Business - BigID Raises $60 Million at $1 Billion Valuation - J.P. Morgan Growth Leads $39 Million Investment in Eye Security - CyberSaint raises $21 million to accelerate market expansion Zscaler Acquires Avalor for $350 Million Cisco com

Robots gone wild, UDP, GoFetch, Domain Controllers, Pwn2Own, Verner Vinge, Reddit, Aaran Leyland, 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-371

Josh Corman joins us to explore how we can make things more secure, making companies make things more secure, and making regulations that make us make things more secure! We will also touch on supply chain security and the state of vulnerability tracking and scoring. We discuss the always controversial Flipper Zero devices the hidden risks in the undersea cables, and the landscape of government oversight, revealing the intricacies of CVE, KEV, and NVD systems that are the linchpins of our digital safety. The conversation takes a turn to the practicalities of risk management and the impact of individuals on the industry, like Daniel from the curl project, striking a chord with the significance of cybersecurity vulnerabilities compared to environmental pollution. We tackle the challenges of vulnerability prioritization and the importance of a comprehensive approach to managing the ever-evolving threats that target our digital infrastructure. (00:01) Security Practices and Flipper Zero (07:01) Technology and Pri

Sick Jokes, WEBGPU, Fortra, Azorult, Fujitsu, Conversation Overflow, Phishing, 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-370

Lots of companies need cybersecurity programs, as do non-profits. Tyler Von Moll talks about how to get small organizations started on security and how to prioritize initial investments. While an appsec program likely isn't going to be one of the first steps, it's going to be an early one. What decisions can you make at the start that will benefit the program in the years that follow? What does an appsec program look like at a small scale? Segment Resources: "Cybersecurity for Nonprofits", https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/18HuKtwgwGMtEJ87CgkMqHp1JDVRUXPP--zptjMpF0/edit?usp=sharing https://www.verizon.com/business/resources/reports/dbir/2023/master-guide/ Insecure defaults and insecure design in smart locks, FCC adopts Cyber Trust Mark labels for IoT devices, the ZAP project gets a new home, and more! Visit https://www.securityweekly.com/asw for all the latest episodes! Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/asw-277