On March 6, 2019, Cisco released a bundle of Security Alerts aimed at their Cisco Nexus/NX-OS line of switches. And by bundle, I mean 25 separate alerts! If you have any of the affected devices in your network, you better get some coffee brewing…(for me, that means lots of Dr. Pepper!!). The Security Alert bundle can be found here, and Cisco’s main webpage for Security Alerts can be found here.
Enjoy!
I get these emails somewhat regularly, as I’m sure you do too. I usually just laugh…how stupid do you have to be to fall for this stuff??? However…I then realize there must be enough people that do fall for it, otherwise these criminals would not be sending the emails out. Ugh!!
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
For Your Prompt Attention:
I am Peter Douglas, United Nations Inspection Agent in Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport Atlanta GA. We are conducting second phase audition, all abandoned Consignment in USA Airports are being transferred to our facilities here for inspection and confiscation. During our investigation, I discovered an abandoned luggage on your name which was transferred to our facility here in Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport and when scanned it, it revealed an undisclosed sum of money in a Metal Trunk Box. The consignment was abandoned because the Content was not properly declared by the consignee as money, rather it was declared as personal effect to avoid diversion by the Diplomatic Agent also the Diplomat inability to pay for Non Inspection Fees.
On my assumption, the box will contain more that $6M and the consignment is left in storage house till today through a Courier Dispatch Service. The Consignment is a metal box with weight of about 162LBS (Internal dimension:
W61 x H156 x D73 (cm) Effective capacity: 680 L)Approximately.
The details of the consignment includes your name, the official document from United Nations office in London all are tagged on the Metal Trunk box.
< etc, etc >
Verizon 2018 DBIR
Last week, Verizon released its annual Data Breach Investigations Report for 2018. It’s another very good read…lots of insights in the world of hacking and nation-state activities. It is well written with some good humor thrown in too.
And it is very scary.
Sometimes I just want to unplug my network from the Internet…I know that I would sleep better, that is for sure. But…business depends on the Internet…so that is not an option. I just need to research and implement security as best as I can. And be prepared as best as I can for the inevitable security event…it will happen. It might be this year or next…or it might be happening right now.
You can download a copy of the report here: Verizon 2018 DBIR
Note…you will be asked to register, but it is optional…just click the “View only” button.
If you have subscribed to the US-CERT alerts (and I sure hope you have!!), then you will have received today’s alert on “Ongoing Threat of Ransomware“. PLEASE read it!! Ransomware is getting worse…and it’s not going away anytime soon. This alert is more of a friendly reminder…a tap on your shoulder…to double check your policies and procedures, and make sure you are ready for a Ransomware event. I’m being very honest here…if you haven’t been hit yet, you will.
The alert mentions three main best practices…(with some of my thoughts)…
And I want to add one more “best practice”… Segment your network: This is a huge undertaking…one that is a pain in the butt to be honest. But it can pay huge dividends if done right. Most of you will have a Ransomware event at some point (or other security event)…it’s going to happen. However, if you segment your network, you can greatly reduce the impact of an attack or hack.
Segmenting simply means to put in place policies that restrict what type of network traffic can flow where. A simple example is printers…every company has them (lots of them!). Yet most companies place them on the same network segments as the users…not good. You should place all of your printers in their own VLAN, and then apply a policy, such as an ACL (Access Control List) that allows the printers to talk just to the print-servers, and nowhere else. Another example is SQL servers…they should not be accessible to everyone. Apply an ACL that limits communications to only the application servers that need that data (IP addresses and ports).
If you decide to implement network segmentation, take your time! This is a complex undertaking…and if done incorrectly can break things very quickly!
Hope this helps you in your security planning! And have a great week!
While researching some security stuff, I stumbled across the Peerlyst website…and wow!! This is a great resource for security professionals…lots of helpful information and discussions. Make sure you check out their list of security cheat sheets…this is a treasure trove of information all in one place!!
If you see this screen, then you will wanna cry!!
If you have not heard about the WannaCry ransomware that is (and perhaps was) running rampant over the past weekend, then you must have been in a cave or on your honeymoon! This one is a doozie, let me tell you!! Some quick facts…
An excellent analysis of WannaCry can be found here…
WannaCry no more: ransomware worm IOC’s, Tor C2 and technical analysis + SIEM rules
Stay informed…AND patch your systems!!
https://shattered.io Website Logo
This blog is for us true geeks!! (All others will be bored.)
It was announced today that the cryptographic hash function SHA-1 is susceptible to collisions. Although this has been theorized for a number of years, there has been no proof of a collision. Well…until today, that is. Teams from CWI Amsterdam and Google have been working together for the last couple of years, and have demonstrated an actual collision.
What is a cryptographic collision? It’s when two different files have the same hash signature. In other words, if you run a hash function against a file, the resulting hash is a “signature” for that file. Change anything in that file, and the hash result will be very different. However, these teams were able to manipulate two different files and get the same hash signature. NOT good at all. The security implications for this is HUGE!
SHA-1 has already been deprecated, and is on it’s way out…today’s announcement adds urgency to it. You should move to SHA-256 or SHA-3.
For some really good reading on this, check out the following links…
At death’s door for years, widely used SHA1 function is now dead
Enjoy!!
Greetings…
Yes, I know…it has been a long time since my last post. Sorry…I’ve been busy.
This afternoon, I was doing some configuration work on one of my Internet facing routers, and I noticed a large amount of scanning, looking for an open Telnet port (scanning for ports 23 and 2323)…take a look…
A lot of “knocking” on ports 23 and 2323
I was wondering if it was just this router, so I checked several other routers on my network and they are all seeing exactly the same thing, and it all started at roughly the same time. VERY interesting! (Note…you may notice that there are two different ACL’s involved…that’s because I have two Internet facing ports…a primary circuit and a backup circuit, each with their own custom ACL.)
This activity might be related to the recent Mirai malware attacks on the “Internet of Things” (IoT), and the use of port 23 for C&C (Command & Control) traffic. Hard to say really…maybe it’s just ET trying to phone home…
Have a great day!!
Adding one little letter should be easy!!
There is a large push for all websites to move to HTTPS, instead of the traditional HTTP. Although there is just one letter difference, it’s a big move…ultimately affecting 10’s of thousands of websites, including the one you are reading now.
Why the big push? Security!! (Hence the letter “S” in HTTPS.) Is this really necessary? Do readers care if my static website blogs are sent in plain text? Should I have to worry about fixing a BUNCH of links in my website? Ugh…and it begs the question…is it even worth trying to fix?
I could write a large blog on the pros and cons of HTTPS, but I don’t have the time or energy, and I doubt it would be that good. However, Ars Technica already did…today in fact. I would encourage you to read HTTPS is not a magic bullet for Web security, by Scott Gilbertson! He did a great job of detailing out the reasons for the move to HTTPS, as well as reasons not too….it will make you think.
As for me…I have a feeling I will be moving to HTTPS one of these days. Probably sooner rather than later.
And…let’s be kind to one another.
Verizon 2016 DBIR
Verizon has released their 2016 Data Breach Investigations Report. (You can download it without registering…note the “Download Only” link.) It’s a big read (and getting bigger every year), but there is a lot of good data in there if you take the time to dig through it. And once again, the level of growth and sophistication of nation-state and organized crime players is incredible…and scary.
Why didn’t I become a farmer?? I should have been a farmer…out in the middle of Kansas somewhere…