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For most of its history, the Security Operations Center (SOC) has been a privilege of the few. Building one meant millions in technology spend and round-the-clock analyst coverage. Unsurprisingly, for years, SOCs were a privilege of the few -  large enterprises and organizations with high-risk profiles, where budgets and scale justified the investment. Everyone else was left with partial coverage or had to outsource. That reality is changing. AI has flipped the SOC equation. What was once out of reach for all but the largest enterprises is now accessible and affordable for nearly every company that needs one. The risk every company faces By now, almost any 9-year-old knows that cyberattacks threaten every company . It's no longer just banks and financial giants in the crosshairs. Over the past decade, cyberattacks have expanded into every sector, from e-commerce sites to research institutes to local hospitals. Recent data from the 'VikingCloud 2025 SMB Threat Landscape' repo...

These days, there are plenty of ways to run DDoS simulation testing and make sure you're protected against attacks. You can do it on your own using commercial software or open-source tools—whatever works best for you. That said, there are a few must-haves when it comes to running DDoS tests. For one, you'll need a platform that allows you to easily start and stop attack simulations as needed. Plus, don't forget to notify and get approval from relevant parties, such as your cloud provider or tool vendor, before you begin testing. Beyond these basics, there are some best practices that can help you get the most out of your  DDoS testing . 1 – Plan tests to validate the protection of your most critical assets  While it may be easier to run black box testing (basically launching attacks without looking at the internal structure, architecture, and configuration of your protection), a white box testing approach is much more effective when it comes to uncovering serious vulnera...

What are Ephemeral Accounts? Corporate audits today, for cyber security insurance or compliance, focus on group memberships to identify who has access to what. This process identifies who is a Domain Admin, Enterprise Admin, Local Administrator, Database Global Admin, Global Admin in Azure, and Root Access in AWS. Accounts with this level of access likely have static privilege. I like to call these accounts game-over accounts. If these accounts are compromised, the company will have a massive issue on its hands.  Other account types lurking in your environment can cause this level of damage. Many DevOps accounts and API keys can also cause this level of damage if compromised. DevOps accounts sometimes fall under the radar outside of the scope of compliance and cybersecurity insurance.  The new Privileged Access Management buzzword among vendors, analysts, and operations teams is Ephemeral Accounts . A common phrase I tend to hear is that we don't have static privileged acc...

At some point in the last decade, SIEMs turned into that one friend who always promises to help you move, then shows up late, eats all your pizza, and still expects gas money. They were supposed to deliver centralized visibility and faster investigations. Instead, most SOC teams ended up with endless alerts, eye-watering bills, and dashboards that look impressive on the big screen but don't actually stop attackers. So, how did we end up here? A short history: when SIEMs were actually useful Back when firewalls were still exciting, SIEMs solved a real problem: logs scattered everywhere, auditors breathing down your neck, and no way to answer "who logged into what, when?" Then came the "next-gen" era. Vendors promised smarter detection, correlations across your stack, and even a pinch of threat intel. The promise was fewer false positives and a faster response. But instead of taming noise, NG SIEMs just amplified it. It was like turning up the volume on a broken radio and calling ...

As AI continues to make inroads into enterprise security, it's easy to see the appeal: faster triage, smarter detection, and fewer manual workflows. From SOAR platforms streamlining alerts to AI-enhanced identity systems approving access requests in milliseconds, the value proposition is clear — greater efficiency, speed, and scale. But here's the rub: speed without scrutiny can lead to security drift. AI is a powerful enabler, not an autonomous guardian. And in corporate security — where stakes include sensitive employee data, internal intellectual property, and privileged infrastructure — the absence of human oversight isn't just risky; it's potentially catastrophic. AI as a Copilot, Not a Commander In modern corporate security environments, AI-driven tooling is increasingly embedded into day-to-day operations. Triage systems leverage AI to correlate alerts, automation scripts to remediate routine issues, and IAM platforms auto-approve low-risk access. These advancements undenia...

Starting from ground 0 Active Directory is currently installed in over 90% of the Fortune 1000 companies . Because of its prevalence, and the value of the information it maintains, we know it's a primary target for threat actors.  To protect Active Directory and other valuable assets of similar sensitivity, Microsoft introduced the concept of the Red Forest, a security architecture designed to protect Active Directory forests from cyberattack. Red Forest worked to containerize a hardened forest, separate from other forests, using buffer zones and policies to restrict activity. This concept, also known as Enhanced Security Admin Environment ESAE) came about in 2014. The separation of high value, highly sensitive forests in Active Directory from other systems and assets is critically important to protect the content housed within. Using the most modern approach available at any given time will help to thwart threat actors who are continuously searching for a way to infiltrate yo...

Multi-factor authentication has long been touted to protect accounts. Organizations implement it, feel protected and move on. But today's attackers have evolved and so should defenses. Preventing access is ideal. But in the event a bad actor gets access, containment becomes a priority. Threat actors aren't always spending their time actively forcing their way into accounts. Instead, they're taking the easy route, logging in with stolen credentials and using MFA bypass techniques.  Account takeovers (ATO) lets attackers slip into organizational environments unnoticed , where they can move laterally, escalate privileges, and quietly steal valuable information and data. And now, they're increasingly logging in even with MFA in place. From social engineering to session hijacking, the tactics have become more sophisticated and more dangerous. The Reality: MFA Can Be Bypassed Authentication is still crucial for defense, but standard MFA is quickly being outmaneuvered by bad actors....

What is Threat-Led Vulnerability Management? Threat-Led Vulnerability Management (TLVM) is a security approach that focuses on prioritizing and managing vulnerabilities based on the current threat landscape and the specific risks posed to an organization. Rather than treating all vulnerabilities equally, TLVM emphasizes understanding which vulnerabilities are most likely to be exploited by malicious actors, correlated with the configuration state and security posture of the organization's unique infrastructure and business processes. Why Now? The notion of adopting a Threat-Led Vulnerability Management (TLVM) approach has grown in popularity, particularly in the face of the escalating volume and sophistication of cyber threats, which are increasingly frequent and offer a lower cost attack alternative when supported by AI tools. The dynamic nature of the threat landscape requires organizations to stay agile in their vulnerability management processes, prioritizing efforts based on ...

As data breaches and cyber threats become the norm rather than the exception, the imperative to fortify cybersecurity measures has become critical. Microsoft 365, the leading enterprise productivity platform, is at the heart of many organizations' daily operations — and therefore is a prime target for cyber-attackers. Ransomware remains one of the most aggressive cyber threats to organizations. A reported 76% of businesses have experienced at least one attack within the last year , the results of which yielded disrupted operations, substantial financial losses, and reputational damage. For SaaS platforms like Microsoft 365, the threat is even more pronounced due to the vast amounts of sensitive data processed and stored daily.  Below, we will investigate the cybersecurity landscape surrounding Microsoft 365. As we do so, we will examine the prevalence of ransomware threats and identify many commonly implemented and robust strategies that are proven to enhance cyber resilience an...