Ethical Hacking- The Perfect Reality Check

A few months ago, a team of hackers namely Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek wrought havoc by infiltrating into the entertainment system of a Jeep Cherokee. While they were at it, everything in the automobile was under their control including the brakes and the steering. The driver in question was doomed as his fate lay in the hands of his carjackers who controlled his car from the comfort of their laptops, miles away.

A nightmarish situation, isn’t it? Only, it isn’t. Yes, there were hackers. Yes, the driver was carjacked. But this was a staged environment. The purpose was to deliberately look into the flaws and the vulnerabilities of the car’s automated system. We live in a world of smart devices and the smartness is permeating into automobiles too. Chrysler, the company that owns Jeep hired Valasek and Miller to hack and expose the shortcomings of the automobile. The company has a program to test the susceptibilities of its vehicles and develop solutions for the same.

Smart devices beget smart security as well. As our surroundings get more automated and computerized, they also pose as vantage points for entities seeking unauthorized access into systems. While the world rejoices in the deluge of devices ranging from Smartphone to smart watches and looks forward to connected homes and connected cars, one can’t help but fret at the security risks that might be on offer to be exploited.

The rise of imminent security risks leaves a bad aftertaste in the sweet world of smart devices. Instead of turning a blind eye to obvious threats, could we not wholeheartedly try find out how vulnerable our systems are?

Ethical hacking- the name sounds familiar

Wait a minute. Isn’t hacking kind of nerd? Isn’t it supposed to be done by bad guys only? To most of us, hacking is either anathema or a completely arcane phenomenon. Simply put, we like to stay out of its way. Sadly, that is no longer an option if we must seek adaptive and comprehensive defenses for our data assets.

Demand for ethical hackers on the rise

According to NDTV, though there is a rising demand in government organizations for ethical hackers – hackers who purposely invade systems to study its flaws. Facebook and Google have enlisted the help of hackers, doling out handsome payments to anyone who can discover flaws in their systems and services. The Bureau of Labor Statistics, US estimates a 22% rise in information security personnel through to 2020.

The dark cloud and how ethical hacking can help

As data migrates to the cloud, corporations and individuals are exposed to unsolicited theft of sensitive data, which can have grave repercussions for everyone. It is important to have a clear understanding of the risks involved in cloud migration and they should be dealt with accordingly.

Knowing what you are up against will help you choose your weapons right. Ethical hacking can help you discern the security posture of a specific application, initiative or a system. Organizations that hire an ethical exploiter get to see a clear picture of how an attacker can infiltrate their systems. This includes the nature of threats, threat actors, their attack vectors, the commonly targeted attack surface, critical data under threat and the impact to business. By simulating an imminent attack pattern that they identify as common to your line and scope of business, ethical hackers offer insights to help in planning your risk mitigation strategy and make informed decisions to acquire only those resources that are essential and indispensable for your company.

Help is on the way

With a multitude of security risks, it is necessary to enlist the help of entities that understand the in and out of your systems and its flaws. With Aleph Tav Technologies and its comprehensive services, you are no longer in the dark for your security needs, be it unearthing hidden risks in connected systems, tracking unchecked permissions in rogue apps, monitoring unexpected flaws in legacy systems or any other need specific to your organization.

Proper cognizance of your systems’ shortcomings coupled with our expertise in dealing with them will keep rogue elements at bay, giving you complete peace of mind.

Our services include: Ethical Hacking, Managed Security Services, Application Security, Network Security, Security Testing, Enterprise Security, Security for IoT, SCADA Security, Digital Forensics

Cybersecurity challenges in the EMEA regions just got worse

Businesses in the EMEA regions are on a rocky turf with regard to cybercrimes. Even as its cybersecurity product market is set to grow at a 7.2 percent CAGR with EU’s General Data Protection Regulation goals, security concerns seem to be on an upward trend.

FireEye’s First Mandiant M-Trends EMEA Report talks about a high disparity in their mean dwell times. Organizations here have recorded a mean dwell time (the number of days an attacker can lurk undetected) that is 3 times the global average.

So what’s the problem here? Oftentimes, this happens to be a case of lack of visibility over the attack surface, points of entry and possibility of lateral movement. We see dwell times as clear-cut indicators of resilience. In fact, this one metric is singly representative how well the security strategy, related policies, procedures and controls have been formulated. A fragmentary approach to forensic analysis is often the reason behind the use of obsolete security practices. But why wait for an intruder to get in? The situation necessitates threat modelling that can help in risk-aware security operations. Knowing where to look for footholds can greatly limit attack dwell times.

The report also talks about their reluctance in seeking external guidance in detecting indicators of compromise. A decision to look for compromises by themselves means having to analyze large numbers of alerts – something that can be a mammoth task without the kind of expertise it takes to filter out false positives. Most often, Organizations in the region are targeted by persistent threat groups who are after political intelligence, intellectual property, and brand image. Besides, the issue of recurring compromise suggests that the attackers in question are not ones to pull back easily. Closing a few obvious gaps will have no effect on their strongly-motivated plans.

We observe a pronounced limitation in capabilities that will keep these advanced attack vectors out, and capture malicious payloads in their tracks. Understandably, developing context-aware methodologies can take time and attuning. But what really reduces response times is the fundamental understanding of the scope of an incident. These organizations should seek fortification through objective reviews by external advisories and analysts.              

EMEA organizations have a large gap to address in the light of mounting pressure from their governments to take control of data breaches – both by defending against them and containing the damage. The losses in billions of pounds suffered by some top UK brands last year bear testimony to the fact that business in the region cannot afford to fall behind in adopting progressive and continuous threat protection.

That said advancing to sophisticated controls can be quite overwhelming in the absence of strategies both bespoke and mature. Aleph Tav Technologies orchestrates security operations and threat discovery with flexibility and modularity so companies can progress unruffled.

Our services include: Ethical Hacking, Managed Security Services, Application Security, Network Security, Security Testing, Enterprise Security, Security for IoT, SCADA Security, Digital Forensics