23 NYCRR 500

Training Wheels are Off – NYS DFS Transitional Period Finished

cybersecurity, Network Security

The two-year transitional period implemented by the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYS DFS) regarding their Cybersecurity framework, 23 NYCRR 500, finished this past March 1, 2019. This doesn’t mean the work ends here, but essentially it’s just getting started. The state of New York allowed institutions, or covered entities, a 24 month break in period before having to adhere to all phases per year. The training wheels are off and all phases will have to be obtained yearly moving forward.

law firms

Legally Dangerous Attackers

cybersecurity, Ransomware

Malicious actors are consistently and persistently looking for new avenues to compromise sensitive data and they’ve found one such entry through legal firms.

Legal firms play a unique role within the economy by being at the center of personal and business-related transactions. Legal firms are involved with large enterprises, governments, small businesses and individual cases. The data maintained by legal firms is both sensitive and valuable and attackers have taken notice. Legal firms are under a barrage of attacks due to the data and relationships they maintain. Many of these firms are focusing on user endpoints when it comes to reducing their risk.

Vulnerability Management

Podcast: CISO Speak – Vulnerability Management in the Cloud

Cloud Computing, cybersecurity, podcast

This months podcast features Matthew Pascucci, cybersecurity practice manager at CCSI, speaking with guest CISO Patricia Smith from Cox Automotive, on vulnerability management in the Cloud. Does vulnerability management change depending on deployment model? How to you measure cloud vulnerability metrics? Patricia Smith and Matthew Pascucci touch upon these and more in this podcast episode.

cybersecurity career

So You want to Work in Cybersecurity, eh?!

cybersecurity, education

There is a massive need for cybersecurity professionals today and the need is only growing. We’ve seen estimates of anywhere between 2-3 million vacant jobs over the next three years. The demand is definitely bullish and showing no signs of stopping. With this being said, breaking into an industry is always a difficult thing to do and nothing should be assumed, even with the massive demand of unfilled positions. Here are a few areas I’d suggest if you’re looking to not only get into security, but become successful.

MTTD and MTTR

What You Should Know About Driving Down MTTD and MTTR

cybersecurity, Network Security

Effectively connect people, process and technology to minimize MTTD and MTTR

There’s a reason it’s said that what gets measured gets managed. In order to successfully achieve a goal, you have to be able to measure progress. It’s the only way to know if you’re heading in the right direction.

That’s why any security operations team worth their salt will be paying close attention to both their mean time to detect (MTTD) and mean time to respond (MTTR) metrics when it comes to resolving incidents.

The average dwell time for attackers still sits somewhere within the ranges of 100 – 140 days and frankly, we can do better. Security operations teams need to be fanatical when it comes to lowering these metrics within their organizations.

Significantly reducing dwell time, MTTD and MTTR starts with an understanding of attacks. From there, you need multiple groups working together in harmony enabled by technology to automate and orchestrate incident response processes.

Vulnerability assessment

Vulnerability Assessment versus Penetration Assessment

cybersecurity, Network Security

We get asked this question frequently, “What the difference between a vulnerability assessment and penetration assessment?”. It’s a great question and one we’d like to shed a bit more light on throughout this blog. Both engagements are aimed towards shedding light on areas within your cybersecurity posture that need improvement. We regularly perform vulnerability assessments and penetration tests for our clients tasked by regulatory compliance to adhere to a particular standard or to increase their security posture. Both of these tests play an important role within your organization by enlightening you on areas of weakness and decreasing risk from adversaries.

authentication

Why a Zero-trust Network with Authentication is Essential

cybersecurity, Network Security

Zero-trust networks are often deemed compromised and untrusted, making authentication variables essential to security. Expert Matthew Pascucci explains a zero-trust security model. In the past, we’ve done a great job of making networks accessible. But with this increased availability, we’ve opened the door for attackers to move more easily around networks. However, as we introduce…