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Thorough, independent tests are a vital resource as cybersecurity leaders and their teams evaluate vendors' abilities to guard against increasingly sophisticated threats to their organization. And perhaps no assessment is more widely trusted than the annual  MITRE Engenuity ATT&CK Evaluations: Enterprise .  This testing is critical for evaluating vendors because it's virtually impossible to evaluate cybersecurity vendors based on their own performance claims. Along with vendor reference checks and proof of value evaluations (POV) — a live trial — in their environment, the MITRE results add additional objective input to holistically assess cybersecurity vendors. Let's dive into the 2023 results. In this blog, we'll unpack MITRE's methodology to test security vendors against real-world threats, offer our interpretation of the results and identify top takeaways emerging from Cynet's evaluation. How does MITRE Engenuity test vendors during the evaluation? The MITRE ATT&CK

A hospital with 2,000 employees in the E.U. deployed Cynet protections across its environment. The hospital was in the process of upgrading several expensive imaging systems that were still supported by Windows XP and Windows 7 machines. Cynet protections were in place on most of the Windows XP and Windows 7 machines during the upgrade process, ensuring that legacy operating systems would not cause vulnerabilities or delay the activation of an  incident response plan . The hospital's I.T. security team appreciated this coverage after their previous provider abandoned support for Windows XP and Windows 7. "One of the many reasons we chose Cynet was their support of legacy Windows machines. It's expensive, difficult and time consuming to upgrade our imaging system software, but we needed protections as we slowly migrated to more current Windows environments. Cynet was one of the few providers that continue to protect these older Windows environments." The Attack Alo

Imagine a world where the software that powers your favorite apps, secures your online transactions, and keeps your digital life could be outsmarted and taken over by a cleverly disguised piece of code. This isn't a plot from the latest cyber-thriller; it's actually been a reality for years now. How this will change – in a positive or negative direction – as artificial intelligence (AI) takes on a larger role in software development is one of the big uncertainties related to this brave new world. In an era where AI promises to revolutionize how we live and work, the conversation about its security implications cannot be sidelined. As we increasingly rely on AI for tasks ranging from mundane to mission-critical, the question is no longer just, "Can AI  boost cybersecurity ?" (sure!), but also "Can AI  be hacked? " (yes!), "Can one use AI  to hack? " (of course!), and "Will AI  produce secure software ?" (well…). This thought leadership article is about the latter. Cydrill  (a

IT and cybersecurity teams are so inundated with security notifications and alerts within their own systems, it's difficult to monitor external malicious environments – which only makes them that much more threatening.  In March, a high-profile data breach hit national headlines when personally identifiable information connected to hundreds of lawmakers and staff was leaked on the dark web. The cybersecurity incident involved the DC Health Link, an online marketplace that administers health plans for members of Congress and Capitol Hill staff. According to news reports, the FBI had successfully purchased a portion of the data – which included social security numbers and other sensitive information – on the dark web.  Because of the prominence of the victims, the story was picked up by a slew of media outlets that rarely cover dark web-related cybersecurity crimes. The story not only shed light on one of the most dangerous aspects of the internet, it reminded us that the dark web con

Rapid technological evolution requires security that is resilient, up to date and adaptable. In this article, we will cover the transformation in the field of DFIR (digital forensics and incident response) in the last couple years, focusing on the digital forensics' aspect and how XDR fits into the picture. Before we dive into the details, let's first break down the main components of DFIR and define the differences between them. Digital Forensics vs Incident Response Digital forensics:  the practice of using scientific techniques and tools to identify, preserve, and analyze digital evidence from various sources, such as computers, smartphones, and other electronic devices, in a way that is admissible in a court of law. Incident response:  the process of responding to and managing the aftermath of a security breach or cyberattack. This involves identifying the nature and scope of the incident, containing the damage, eradicating the threat, and restoring the affected syst

Organizations rely on Incident response to ensure they are immediately aware of security incidents, allowing for quick action to minimize damage. They also aim to avoid follow on attacks or future related incidents. The SANS Institute provides research and education on information security. In the upcoming webinar, we'll outline , in detail, six components of a SANS incident response plan, including elements such as preparation, identification, containment, and eradication. The 6 steps of a complete IR Preparation:  This is the first phase and involves reviewing existing security measures and policies; performing risk assessments to find potential vulnerabilities; and establishing a communication plan that lays out protocols and alerts staff to potential security risks. During the holidays, the preparation stage of your IR plan is crucial as it gives you the opportunity to communicate holiday-specific threats and put the wheels in motion to address such threats as they are identif

H0lyGh0st, Magecart, and a slew of state-sponsored hacker groups are diversifying their tactics and shifting their focus to… You. That is, if you're in charge of cybersecurity for a small-to-midsize enterprise (SME). Why? Bad actors know that SMEs typically have a smaller security budget, less infosec manpower, and possibly weak or missing security controls to protect their data and infrastructure. So, how can you prepare for the imminent onslaught from new and emerging threat groups?  You need a plan. Start with the NIST Cyber Security Framework The good news is you don't have to create your security strategy from scratch. The National Institute of Standards and Technology Cyber Security Framework (NIST CSF) is one of the most respected and widely used standards in the world. While originally designed for critical infrastructure industries, the NIST CSF is flexible enough for organizations of all sizes, sectors, and maturities to use in large part because the framewor

Employee well-being has become a primary focus for many businesses. Even before the pandemic, the C-suite was acutely aware of how employee mental health impacts business outcomes.  But for cybersecurity professionals, stress has always been a part of the job. A  new survey  revealed that one of the most concerning aspects of employee mental health is how it impacts cybersecurity programs and, more broadly, a business' ability to protect itself from cyberattacks. CISOs and their teams appear to be taking the brunt of unmitigated work-related stress levels and it's affecting the entire organization.  CISOs at small to midsize businesses with teams of five employees or fewer were surveyed to better understand how work-related stress is impacting CISOs – from their ability to do their job and lead their team to how it's affecting their own professional outlook and personal life. Here's what the survey results revealed.  The Impact of CISO Work-Stress Levels on Small

To succeed as a cybersecurity analyst, you need to understand the traits, values, and thought processes of hackers, along with the tools they use to launch their attacks.  During a  webinar called The Hacker Mindset,  a Red Team Researcher shared how you can use some of these tools for your own detection and prevention of breaches. He also demonstrated how an attack takes place using the  Follina exploit  as an example. So, what does "the hacker mindset" mean?  The hacker mindset can be characterized by three core values: a strong sense of curiosity, an adversarial attitude, and persistence.  3 core values of a hacker's mindset  1  —  "Curiosity might have killed the cat, but it had nine lives." Curiosity drives hackers to explore and understand systems, networks, and software in order to identify vulnerabilities. Not only are they constantly seeking new knowledge and skills to improve their abilities and stay ahead of security measures, they're cons

Tis the season for security and IT teams to send out that company-wide email: "No, our CEO does NOT want you to buy gift cards."  As much of the workforce signs off for the holidays, hackers are stepping up their game. We'll no doubt see an increase in activity as hackers continue to unleash e-commerce scams and holiday-themed phishing attacks. Hackers love to use these tactics to trick end users into compromising not only their personal data but also their organization's data.  But that doesn't mean you should spend the next couple of weeks in a constant state of anxiety.  Instead, use this moment as an opportunity to ensure that your incident response (IR) plan is rock solid.  Where to start?  First, make sure that your strategy follows the six steps to complete incident response.  Here's a refresher: The 6 steps of a complete IR Preparation:  This is the first phase and involves reviewing existing security measures and policies; performing risk assessments to find potentia

More zero knowledge attacks, more leaked credentials, more Gen-Z cyber crimes - 2022 trends and 2023 predictions. Cybercrime remains a major threat to individuals, businesses, and governments around the world. Cybercriminals continue to take advantage of the prevalence of digital devices and the internet to perpetrate their crimes. As the internet of things continues to develop, cybercriminals will have access to a greater number of vulnerable devices, allowing them to carry out more sophisticated attacks. Cybercrime is expected to become increasingly profitable as criminals continue to find new and better ways to monetize their attack as entry barriers to cybercrime keep going down.  This article discusses key trends we've noticed in 2022 that will likely continue in 2023, which we'll also elaborate on in the upcoming webinar " The Rise of the Rookie Hacker - a new trend to reckon with " on January 11th. Leaked credentials will continue to be the main attack vect

Businesses know they need cybersecurity, but it seems like a new acronym and system is popping up every day. Professionals that aren't actively researching these technologies can struggle to keep up. As the cybersecurity landscape becomes more complicated, organizations are desperate to simplify it. Frustrated with the inefficiencies that come with using multiple vendors for cybersecurity, often stemming from a lack of integration of a heterogenous security stack, approximately  75% of organizations  are looking to consolidate their cybersecurity technology in 2022 — a 29% increase from 2020. Surprisingly, reducing spend isn't the number one goal for these organizations.  Of the businesses that are consolidating, 65% are doing so to improve their risk posture. Having more cybersecurity tools means a larger threat surface. And when cybersecurity products don't integrate easily, businesses end up with gaps in their protection. Why Companies Need To Consolidate Cybersecurity Technolog

Ransomware attacks keep increasing in volume and impact largely due to organizations' weak security controls. Mid-market companies are targeted as they possess a significant amount of valuable data but lack the level of protective controls and staffing of larger organizations. According to a recent RSM survey, 62% of mid-market companies believe they are at risk of ransomware in the next 12 months. Cybersecurity leaders' sentiment is somewhere on the spectrum between "top-of-mind" to "this gives me serious migraines." As ransomware is still the preferred way for actors to monetize their access, there's a dire need to understand organizational levels of preparedness, and to identify and remediate gaps before an attacker can exploit them. Lean cybersecurity teams can quickly gauge their ransomware readiness by following the NIST CSF framework, asking themselves, "Do we have something like this in place?" for each of the core functions: "