Cybersecurity

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity and Information Security Agency (CISA) released its Analysis of FY20 Risk and Vulnerability Assessments along with an infographic mapping from 37 of its Risk and Vulnerability Assessments (RVAs) conducted in Fiscal Year 2020 to the MITRE ATT&CK® Framework. The report identifies routinely successful attack paths CISA observed during RVAs conducted across multiple sectors.

Microsoft has detected recent limited activity emanating from the threat tracked as Nobelium which was originally responsible for the compromise of SolarWinds Orion in December. According to Microsoft, this recent activity was targeted at specific customers, primarily IT companies (57%), followed by government (20%). Microsoft is contacting all customers that were compromised or targeted through its nation-state notification process.

So much from MITRE, so little time!! The NSA has announced plans to fund the development of a new MITRE project called D3FEND. The goal of D3FEND is to provide a knowledge base of defensive countermeasures and their relationships to offensive/adversary techniques. D3FEND has a similar look and feel, and is a complement to the MITRE ATT&CK® Framework knowledgebase of cyber adversary behavior.

With all of the attention on ransomware lately, we can’t forget about phishing. Given the propensity for phishing to be the leading attack vector resulting in compromises – including ransomware – organizations need to continuously review their defense in depth strategies to combat phishing. Perry Carpenter, Chief Evangelist and Strategy Officer at KnowBe4, reviews three key elements of a good phishing defense approach that includes: policies, procedures and documentation; technical defenses; and security awareness training.