Security Operations Center (SOC) analysts have it rough. Modern security tools generate an extraordinary number of alerts, attackers are more sophisticated than ever, and IT infrastructures are unprecedentedly complex. As a result, analysts are overwhelmed with workload and alerts, making it near-impossible to make intelligent, informed decisions. Fortunately, artificial intelligence (AI) is...

Knowing who has credentials, how those credentials are granted, and how they are being used is the foundation of any secure environment. It begins with user accounts and the credentials they use. Maintaining a thorough inventory of all accounts and verifying any changes to those accounts as authorized and intentional vs unintended is paramount to establishing a secure environment, and this...

Recently, I looked at Microsoft’s assigned CVSS v3.1 scores for Patch Tuesday vulnerabilities alongside the Microsoft assigned severity ratings. I wanted to revisit these numbers and see just how closely CVSS aligns with Microsoft’s opinion of severity.Disclaimer: I’m aware that CVSS v4.0 exists. However, Microsoft has not yet adopted it, and I wanted an apples-to-apples comparison.What Is CVSS v3...

What is the Medusa ransomware?Medusa is a ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) platform that first came to prominence in 2023. The ransomware impacts organisations running Windows, predominantly exploiting vulnerable and unpatched systems and hijacking accounts through initial access brokers.Initial access brokers?Initial access brokers (IABs) specialise in gaining unauthorised access to the networks of...

NASA is about to introduce new requirements for its contractors. These requirements will dramatically improve the cybersecurity of spacecraft and the US’ resilience to cyber threats. But what do these requirements mean for spacecraft manufacturers? What challenges will they face? And what will they need to do to comply? Keep reading to find out. Understanding the Cyber Space ThreatWhile NASA has...

The energy sector is the cornerstone of modern infrastructure, powering essential services and supporting the daily operations of economies worldwide. However, it also faces unique cybersecurity challenges, particularly in complying with the North American Electric Reliability Corporation's Critical Infrastructure Protection (NERC CIP) standards.Cyber threats keep growing in sophistication and...

Remote work isn’t just a temporary trend anymore; it has become a permanent fixture. What began as a quick response during the pandemic has evolved into the new normal for businesses worldwide. In America, 20% of people now work from home.While this has its advantages (flexibility for workers and cost savings for businesses), it’s not without its complications, having cracked open a host of issues...

Fortra’s Tripwire has always been widely known as a File Integrity Monitoring (FIM) solution, and a very good one at that. The good news is that it still is - only when you look closely, it’s a lot more. And it always has been.Besides its traditionally known role as an integrity and security configuration management tool, Tripwire’s powerful capabilities make it a comprehensive cybersecurity...

CIS Control 6 merges some aspects of CIS Control 4 (admin privileges) and CIS Control 14 (access on a need-to-know basis) into a single access control management group. Access control management is a critical component in maintaining information and system security, restricting access to assets based on role and need. It is important to grant, refuse, and remove access in a standardized, timely,...

Today’s VERT Alert addresses Microsoft’s January 2025 Security Updates. VERT is actively working on coverage for these vulnerabilities and expects to ship ASPL-1139 as soon as coverage is completed.In-The-Wild & Disclosed CVEsCVE-2025-21333The first of three Hyper-V vulnerabilities this month is a heap-based buffer overflow that leads to privilege escalation to SYSTEM. Microsoft has reported this...

Enterprise networks frequently experience changes in endpoint devices, software, and files, which can introduce risk to the organization. To mitigate this, companies can implement foundational security controls like file integrity monitoring (FIM), which tracks changes to essential files and helps restore them if unauthorized. Additionally, organizations may use these controls to monitor for...

Organizations of all types must consider and prioritize cybersecurity in order to protect against a wide range of attacks and prevent potentially catastrophic consequences. With the evolution of the threat landscape and most businesses relying more and more on technological pillars for everyday operations, cyberattacks can have impacts that extend far beyond monetary losses. However, the financial...

Tripwire's December 2024 Patch Priority Index (PPI) brings together important vulnerabilities for Microsoft and Adobe.First on the list is a notice about Windows Common Log File System Driver (CLFS). CVE-2024-49138 impacts Windows CLFS, which Microsoft released a patch for in December 2024. This vulnerability has been detected as actively exploited and has been added to the CISA Known Exploited...

What is Space Bears?Space Bear is a relatively new ransomware group that first appeared on the radar in April 2024. The gang, which is aligned to the Phobos ransomware-as-a-service group, steals sensitive data from organisations, encrypts victims' computer systems, and demands that a ransom be paid for a decryption key or the data will be published on the dark web.So far, so normal. What makes...

When it comes to cybersecurity, vulnerability management is one of the older technologies that still play a critical role in securing our assets. It is often overlooked, disregarded, or considered only for checkbox compliance needs, but a proper vulnerability management program can play a critical role in avoiding a series of data breaches.CIS Control 07 provides the minimum requirements and table...

In a team environment, it’s all about playing nice with others. The same could be said of your technology team (or stack), and its various components. The problem of disparate, complex systems – each coming from disparate, complex places – all being thrown together in an enterprise has been one the industry has been mulling over for some time.Any change to an individual service could have...

As we enter 2025, the frequency and sophistication of cyberattacks on critical national infrastructure (CNI) in the US are rising at an alarming rate. These attacks target the foundational systems that support everything from energy and water to transportation and communications, and the consequences are far-reaching and potentially catastrophic. They impact not just the operations of these...

Maintaining compliance with the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) standards is a complex process that can put significant strain on security and compliance teams. Easing this strain and ensuring compliance relies on effective preparation. As the old adage goes, fail to prepare, prepare to fail.The NERC CIP preparation process is best...

Open-source software (OSS) has become an indispensable component in many industrial environments. Just last year, 95% of companies said they increased or maintained their use of OSS. According to the Linux Foundation, 70-80% of all code in any modern solution has been directly plucked from OSS solutions,.Cost-efficiency, flexibility, and expansive development community make OSS an attractive...

So many times, we look beyond the mark. With our feeds constantly inundated with headline-grabbing news about AI-generated threats, nation states upping their cybercrime game, and sophisticated new forms of malware, we can be tempted to think that the bulk of cyberwarfare is going on "up there" somewhere.In reality, most breaches still originate from unforced errors, and threat actors are just...