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25 Jan 2012Complacency, meet APT – How basic oversights lead to complex malware infections
Low-hanging fruit – that is, the missing patches, default passwords, lack of full disk encryption and so on present in practically every environment – is something I’ve ranted about time and again because there’s no reason to have it on your network. Why? Well, for one thing, rogue insiders may just exploit it for ill-gotten gains. But even worse, low-hanging fruit can be the target of malware exploitations that you’re ...
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20 Jan 2012
The role of IT in fighting today’s malware
It seems ever since I wrote my paper The Malware Threat Businesses are Ignoring and How Damballa Failsafe Fits In I’m seeing more and more vendors jump on the bandwagon. Today’s malware impacts everything from the network infrastructure to the endpoint and everyone wants a piece of the pie. I know the market is growing so I can’t blame people for wanting to capitalize on the opportunity.Vendors aside, what is ...
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03 Jan 2012
Damballa’s Fight Against Advanced Malware
Malware being out of sight and out of mind often creates the perception that risks aren't present. Just because there’s no perceived risk, doesn’t mean it’s not there. Heads buried in the sand over the real malware threat leads to breaches that most organizations aren't prepared to handle. Having worked on a project involving an APT infection, I’ve seen first-hand how ugly this stuff can get.Endpoint protection isn’t enough. Analyzing ...
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05 Dec 2011
What happens when third-party patches are ignored
The majority of people I speak with claim they have no means for patching third-party software. As Kelly Jackson Higgins mentions in her recent Dark Reading blog post regarding the rash of Java exploitations, when third-party software goes unmanaged, bad things can happen.It's great that Metasploit has a a module for Java exploitation - something that'll not only benefit me in my security assessments but will also help bring to ...
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04 Oct 2011
Should You Ban Facebook at the Office?
In the whitepaper To Block or Not. Is that the Question?, Palo Alto Networks explores the issue of "Enterprise 2.0" applications such as Facebook, Skype, Twitter and YouTube and how users are now in control of the network. Meanwhile, IT staff is saying "just block it!" and users say "just don't block it!," but it's not that simple. As the whitepaper points out, the real answer lies in your ability ...
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19 Sep 2011
Windows ASLR, APTs, server malware protection and common patching gaps
Here are some new pieces I've written for the TechTarget sites SearchWindowsServer.com and SearchEnterpriseDesktop.com on Windows (in)securities in the enterprise including a bit on the over-hyped and misunderstood APT threat (is that like "ATM machine"?) which I got to see first hand while working on a project that involved one of the Operation Shady Rat victims:The APT threat to Windows environmentsWhy you need address space layout randomization in Windows Server ...
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17 Jun 2011
Hacking tools & malware creation illegal – what’s next?
With all the criminal behavior taking place on computers around the world, it appears that politicians are seeking some solutions. For instance, European Union Justice Ministers are proposing a ban on hacking tools. I suspect this law will work just as well as gun laws in the U.S. Simply criminalize the inanimate object (or code) and only the law-abiding citizens will comply. It creates the perfect storm for criminals to ...
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13 Jun 2011
New WebsiteDefender from @Acunetix worth a look-see
The folks at Acunetix have a neat new product/service called WebsiteDefender. I've yet to try it myself but it looks promising - fills a nice niche.WebsiteDefender is an agent-based tool for websites and WordPress-based blogs that:Scans your site for security flawsDetects malware running on your siteAlerts you to suspicious web site activity including file changesThe obvious benefit is to have a more secure online presence but as Acunetix is marketing ...
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04 May 2011
From culture to products to malware to breaches – where do you stand?
Here are some new opinion pieces on information security management that I wrote for Security Technology Executive magazine that you may be interested in:Don’t end up on the wrong side of a data breachFighting the malware fight all over again9 good reasons not to buy information security productsSecurity best practices without question?How's your security culture?Enjoy!As always, be sure to check out www.principlelogic.com/resources.html for links to all of my information security ...
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21 Feb 2011
New issue of Security Technology Executive @secinfowatch
The new edition of a very solid and unique magazine on security (both physical and IT) - Security Technology Executive - is now online.Be sure to check out the column I wrote in this issue entitled "Fighting the Malware Fight All Over Again" on page 21....
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Resources
Client Testimonials
“A business associate referred our company to Principle Logic when we were seeking a resource to perform vulnerability /penetration testing for our external and internal networks. We found Kevin Beaver to be professional, well informed, and easy to work with. His testing did not disrupt our networks, and his progress updates were timely.
His final report was very thorough and included security recommendations for our network environment. The executive leadership was so impressed with Kevin’s security expertise, they have extended their agreement to continue to perform periodic testing. We highly recommend Kevin Beaver and Principle Logic as a resource for network security testing.”
(IT managed services firm)
Kevin has written/co-written 12 books on information security including one of the best-sellers of all time:
