In the modern world of innovations around automation, the replacement of humans with machines is talked about on a daily basis in the media. Some of the most talked about use cases include driver-less cars and automated checkout at retail outlets. Additionally, there are some not so obvious use cases such as Google, Facebook and Amazon recommending products that you are most likely be interested in purchasing based on data they collect while you shop or browse online; or Netflix putting the show or movies that you are most likely to watch at the top of your list on their app. The primary element used by all these companies to accomplish this feat is data.

The data, when aligned to real business needs, can provide great insight that is not otherwise possible. Let’s discuss why and how data plays a very important role in facilitating an automated solution suited to customer needs, specifically in the world of cybersecurity for effective defense techniques.

A Thief in the Night

Imagine a scenario where a thief is breaking into your house; similar to an attacker entering your network. The thief’s constraints in attempting to steal anything include the limited time on hand, the need to find locations where the valuables are kept, and the weight and the size of the valuables he or she plans to take, among many other constraints. The thief is likely to use abnormal means to enter the house, such as breaking the door or entering through an open window, and will be searching for valuables at random once he or she gets in. Additionally, these activities have to happen rapidly before the thief exits.

The behavior of the thief is quite different from the normal resident of the house. The normal inhabitant of the house is likely to repeat most of his or her activities to a certain degree. These regular activities can be learned and mathematically defined as a set of expected behaviors of the normal occupant of the premises. Similarly, some of the characteristics of a thief can be learned from experience and modeled for a mitigation strategy to be put in place. One real-life mitigation example we are all familiar with is the alarm system in the house –it provides the response to an unauthorized entry in some fixed amount of time. However, more sophisticated thieves diligently account for this mitigation and evolve their methods over time to bypass the alarm, allowing them to commit crimes more freely.

Like sophisticated thieves in the example above, cyber-attacks are growing in sophistication and in numbers. The damage resulting from this increase is felt in multiple circles – the political arena, financial institutions and certainly by individual citizens. The effect of some of these damages can last a lifetime and can bring the victims to the brink of disaster. Emerging modern data science techniques, when combined with myriad types of available data, can help mitigate this to a good extent.

The Importance of data

How can data help? We now have access to many multiple forms of data that can be gathered and compared to identify the attack. Consider the data we know about the thief—the method of entry to the house, the searching for an item in house, the time of entry into the house, the number of items leaving the house and the speed of collecting different items in the house. Recognize that these are only a small list of available data points.  When such characteristics are learned and compared, an attack can be determined with a very high degree of accuracy. Yes, the data is quite complex, but is also key to accurate attack detection.

Enterprise Network Complexity

When a simple situation of a robbing a house is extrapolated to an attack on a complex enterprise network environment, the defense also becomes quite complex. In the not so distance past, the cyber-attacker had to perform extensive searches in a network to identify critical and valuable information such as credit card numbers, customer identifications and private health data for a successful breach. In current times of ransomware-style attacks and the availability of cryptocurrency, the attacker does not have to search and take away anything. Instead, the attacker becomes a blackmailer and makes everything unusable unless the ransom is paid. The cryptocurrency makes the ransom transaction harder to trace and helps keep the blackmailer hidden. Clearly, such blackmailing is not very realistic in a typical house robbing scenario; however, it is imperative that the data gathering in the enterprise network environment has to be much smarter to counter such complex attacks.

Traditional tools such as perimeter devices leverage known historical information to thwart attacks. Devices like firewalls will periodically receive threat intelligence about known blacklisted attackers such as IP addresses, URLs and domains. The attacks were mitigated by actions such as blocking or rejecting such connections. These devices also received the signature of the attack artifacts such as files and used these to identify and defend against attacks. IP Addresses, URLs, domains and signatures thus make some of the dimensions of the data for security defense.

In the world of BYOD (Bring your own devices) and cloud based infrastructures, the perimeter distinction has become blurred and hence the required number of data dimensions have enlarged significantly. These data dimensions typically are proportional to the attack vectors as these dimensions represent the method used to attack. Thus, an increase in data dimensions has increased the attack surface and therefore, the complexity of the cyber defense. This increase in attack vectors must be countered by more sophisticated defense strategies.

Feature Definition Process

To structure enterprise-level cyberattack defenses, the attack surface and the corresponding attack vectors should be identified. Today’s Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) progress over time, making it difficult to detect them early in their track. The attack vectors have to account for slow moving threats that use sophisticated methods to hide or stay under the radar. To account for such threats, data has to be collected over time and then translated into attack vectors. This translation of collected data over time into attack vectors is referred to as feature definition or feature engineering by some groups. The attack vectors and the corresponding features for such APTs usually include mathematical time series functions. These functions play key role in effective detection and containment of these APTs as early as possible to minimize or eliminate the damage.

One method of countering complex APTs is to define the features that will progressively evolve at a faster pace than the progression of the attack surface. It can however, start out with minimal information to track the progression and surface the threats early in its inception. Modern feature definitions are a lot more complicated and involved, making it difficult to facilitate an effective cyber defense approach to today’s attacks. In practice, features identification and tuning are the most important aspects of an effective cyber defense strategy, and correspondingly, takes up the largest portion of the machine learning team’s effort. Many of them incorporate AI to make their machine learning based cyber defense techniques more effective. Even though sophisticated algorithms are required for good cyber defense, they will fall far short of their capabilities in the absence of good feature engineering practices. One is likely to see that well-conceived and properly executed feature engineering can make even the average algorithms work quite well.

One may have heard the streetlight effect, a term sometimes used to describe a form of observational bias.  It describes a scenario where a drunkard is asked, “Did you lose the keys here?” and the answer is, “No, but the light is much better here.” In similar fashion, the data fueling the feature definition process is one of the most important aspects of an effective cyber defense strategy. Use of an incoherent approach similar to “looking for keys under a light” for addressing weakness in the attack surface is likely to put the cyber defense team off track and result in dangerous exposure, putting a company at considerable business risk for a breach. It is important to know where you are likely to be attacked from and, the corresponding attack vectors and attack surface. Blind to this information, and you are more likely to be a victim of cyberattack. The takeaway? Know that data is the secret sauce to determining effective detection and containment of threats.

Security researchers from Radware have discovered a new botnet that uses the same vulnerabilities as Satori bots to infect IoT devices through the community of Grand Theft Auto players.

Satori is a derivative version of the notorious Mirai botnet, which in 2016 paralyzed Dyn web services, the provider of DNS services that owners of some of the largest sites use.

Vulnerabilities in question are CVE-2017-17215 and CVE-2014-8361. These vulnerabilities are present in a number of models of Huawei and Realtek routers.

Researchers have discovered that the botnet’s command server was located at SanCalvicie.com; the site offered support for the multiplayer mode of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

Video games fans have created an extensive collection of additional components and modifications to make the game experience more vivid and rich. Sites like San Calvicie attract GTA players who want to host their own special versions of GTA for multiplayer mode.

What’s more interesting SanCalvicie.com offered paid DDoS attack services. The website statement started like: “The wrath of God will fall upon the IP address you give us…”

DDoS services were provided with a guaranteed throughput of 90-100 Gbit/s, with vectors such as the Valve Source Engine Query flow and 32-byte flood, TS3 scripts. Starter package price is $20 per IP and 290 to 300 Gb/s DDoS capacity.

A DDoS bot that uses the San Calvicie hosting service and named JenX, is based on the existing code but deployed in a different way than previous versions.

Unlike last year’s IoT botnets, this botnet uses its own servers to perform scanning and exploitation.

Almost all previous IoT botnets, including Mirai, Reaper, Persirai, and Satori use a distributed approach for scanning and exploitation. That is, every infected victim with performs its own search for new victims. Such distributed scanning ensures the exponential growth of the botnet. But to use such approach it is necessary to sacrifice flexibility and complicate the very malicious program.

JenX’s growth rate is relatively low but due to the centralized approach, this botnet is better protected from detection.

Although the circle of persons threatened by JenX is mostly made up of GTA San Andreas users, nothing prevents using this cheap service (only $20 per victim) to launch attacks of 290 Gbit/s against business or government websites. The appearance of this IoT botnet should be seen as a serious warning.

Radware sent out notices of misuse related to JenX, which limited the activity of the botnet, but it still works. The JenX network is implemented in such a way that it is very difficult to turn it off.

As crooks chose a centralized scan and exploit approach, they can easily transfer their malicious activities to bullet-proof hosting services that provide anonymous VPS and dedicated servers in offshore zones. Such suppliers do not care about complaints and abuse and host even the deadliest threats like extortion viruses. Some of such services offer darknet hosting options. If the servers carrying out the exploit are moved to the darknet, it will be much more difficult to track and stop them.

Is IoT just a fashion trend or technology of the future?

The Internet of Things is a new round of the penetration of digital technologies into the everyday life of man. The Internet is becoming more accessible, things become smarter. The modern fashion to “digitize” everything plays an important role in the development of IoT. Its origin is associated with real demand, and the development of technology has made it possible to translate it into reality. This is a logical stage in the evolution of automation of processes in industry and household life.

The Internet of Things has quickly increased its coverage, but it is not too late to think about possible violations of current legislation, privacy, and other human rights in case of uncontrolled penetration of such technologies into all spheres of our life.

The rapidly developing IoT, which does not implement proper security rules threatens both soulless machines and living beings. All different types of connected devices can be used as attack platforms. Time zones, state borders, and international law will not pose a serious problem for cyberattacks without proper implementation of protection functions. Modern conveniences and fashion for digitalization are not so bad, but it is necessary to remember about security.

Is IoT better for B2B or B2C?

The Internet of Things is applicable in both spheres, but security requirements for smart things in B2B, of course, must be higher than for B2C devices. There are numerous use cases. A home user, who decides to put a web camera in his garage to monitor it from a PC or smartphone; a hypothetical local TransService LLC, which uses GPS to monitor the location of its trucks, or hypothetical NetMediaGroup JSC with sensors and cameras throughout the country – all will use the Internet of Things, but the requirements for their equipment and infrastructure will differ greatly.

A home user with a high degree of probability will not even think about the possibility of securing the traffic traveling between the smartphone and the web camera, except for changing the default password. TransService LLC at best will install special sensors and SIM cards into its trucks. It will also possibly get the cellular provider to set up a separate network through a dedicated access point (APN). NetMediaGroup JSC, in addition to the APN, will also require a separate VPN to ensure secure cross-platform interactions of its infrastructure components and in order to protect the transmitted data from interception or modification, as well as from unauthorized access.

Is it safe to use IoT at home?

The security of household IoT, judging by the number of compromised devices participating in DDoS attacks, is not a priority either for manufacturers or for consumers themselves. The end user does not think about security issues and prioritizes his own convenience. The manufacturer wants to avoid damage to user-friendliness that influences sales. World technological associations and standardization institutions have only recently developed methodological recommendations for the security of the Internet of Things, such as the GSMA IoT Security Guidelines, NIST, and SANS publications.

Given the growing interest of the industry in building a secure Internet of Things, let’s hope things will change over time. We all remember the case of the first Wi-Fi routers, where by default Wi-Fi was open with the PSK key value set to 12345678. Today modern Wi-Fi routers are often shipped with a unique SSID and its own hard-to-guess key. A similar development path awaits other IoT devices in the mass market.

Are consumers ready for smart cities, cars, homes?

As mentioned above, consumers who put emphasis on convenience, and manufacturers who just started conquering the market are ready for IoT quite formally. Users may enjoy the new functionality, maybe sell and buy things, but only on condition that the Internet to which things are connected will be a trusted environment.

Are we ready for smart cities?

Critical infrastructure interfaces can be safely connected to the Internet only if there are no cybercriminals. But it is impossible to eliminate all crooks. To limit the threat coming from them, you need to use dedicated network segments, access to which is strictly controlled. This way you can be less afraid of scenarios in which the city is paralyzed by an attack from the outside.

What are the main problems of the faster introduction of the Internet of Things?

The main problem is the lack of a common integrated approach ensuring the safety of devices. This approach should list rules and regulations, which would be followed by all parties involved: manufacturers of IoT devices, consumers of smart city technologies, communication providers, etc.

What steps should vendors make to better protect their IoT device and us?

• Marketing materials and user manuals should include instructions on necessary information security measures and explain the risks of connecting the device to the Internet.
• Device Hardening: disabling unused services and functions in order to reduce the vulnerability surface.
• Enforce the default password change. Implement password policies that prevent the use of simple passwords.
• Implement software code security control.
• Conduct thorough security testing of devices and applications before mass production.
• Enforce auto updates that fix security issues. Develop user-friendly and fast software update process.

In addition to the obvious benefits to the consumer, the manufacturer can use the above steps as a competitive advantage. The implementation of such measures will not solve all the problems, but it will make the world of IoT and the real world connected to it much safer.

The cloud has immense positive aspects, allowing cloud service customers to utilize the precise amount of computing resources needed at any particular time. It makes collaboration a lot easier. In practice, cloud often proves more desirable than on-premise security owing to a plethora of factors, the majority of which involve decreased cost. Consequently, it makes cloud an important milestone for the means of customer identity administration.

A lot rides on the cloud provider you select. If you go for a cloud provider that doesn’t prioritize security, does not utilize secure transport mechanisms, does not utilize encryption, doesn’t have a well-defined security policy, and doesn’t have a safe facility, your data are going to be in danger. The most suitable cloud computing provider should use SSL from an established, dependable and secure independent certificate authority.

Cloud computing also permits you to access content and services, run applications, or develop custom extensions on tools supplied by other businesses in cloud marketplace. Gain assurance which you can retrieve your data when you require it and in the format you want. For instance, today you cannot be certain that you are able to transfer data between two cloud based software applications even if they’re operating in exactly the same cloud.

What You Can Do About Cloud Security

Since security is an important problem, a corporation’s security architecture should consist of encryption, auto-recovery, and intrusion detection so the customer will be comfortable. Cloud security must concentrate on the data as opposed to the infrastructure. The cloud provider’s security is just as great as the trustworthiness of the security technology they use. Simply little changes to the manner in which you do things on the internet can possibly improve your online security an incredible arrangement. Security on the public cloud is among the most crucial concerns for CIOs. Cloud service security may also be compromised as a result of attacks on co-tenant services.

Whether you are looking for a service with increased flexibility or security, there’s a cloud service available for you. Private cloud services are usually built and customized for a particular firm. The kind of cloud security service you choose really depends upon the degree of security your company requires, your business’s in-house IT expertise and the kind of applications you’d like to have accessibility to. The general public cloud security service is also inexpensive and flexible, since it allows increased availability and access to several networks that otherwise wouldn’t have been available to a little business.

With the arrival of Cloud Computing a business can have reliable and secure small business computing delivered like a utility support. Companies like VMware are also supplying a large selection of tutorials on virtualization, furthering the effort to cause a better comprehension of cloud hosting and everything it has to offer you. With the proliferation of cloud offerings in the current marketplace, many businesses are leveraging cloud-based small business applications.

The cloud security market has been in existence for decades, and so have a number of the best-known certifications. The IT industry is growing too at a rapid pace and it’s cloud computing that’s helping organizations to access infrastructural resources and company applications.

Whether revolution or evolution, industrial production is all about to turn a great deal more efficient. On the flip side, production in a lot of sectors like white goods, aerospace and electronics are extremely near the standards of the third revolution. The digital revolution isn’t restricted to just manufacturing and logistics. It’s an elaborate revolution taking place in multiple industries simultaneously.

The Second Industrial Revolution was a mass manufacturing revolution depending on the use of electricity. Actually, the phrase the fourth Industrial Revolution has existed for a very long time. As much as we like the promise of the digital era, it is going to be a period immense social consequences. Ultimately, the national and worldwide workforce landscape will change dramatically.

While technology will alter the way we work, the capability to apply knowledge in various contexts and adapt transferable skills will get increasingly crucial. There are lots of technologies to embrace. Labor-saving technology won’t influence all workers equally. In some cases, it will displace existing workers. In reality, digital and cloud technologies, a big part of 4th industrial revolution, have been part of our everyday lives for a while now.

Technology has become the reason incomes have lately failed to grow in high income countries. On the flip side, technologies are rising employment in other job families. In truth, it is precisely the absence of a single enabling technology which makes the most recent revolution so different and much more complex than its predecessors.

Learn more about Fourth Industrial Revolution

If you operate a company in the fourth industrial revolution, you will need to be ready to go the additional mile for your customers. With an intricate data overload ahead, businesses want to get started considering their adoption of technologies to make sure they are fit to fulfill the changing demands of IoT and cellular applications. In order to achieve a true revolution, companies must be able to make sense of massive quantities of data. More than a few companies feel that in the future the greatest revenue stream they’ll have is going to come from using their data smartly and enabling manufacturing efficiency around their very own equipment. The amount of data that we now have access to, provides amazing opportunities to create entirely new business models.

As much as we enjoy the 3 industrial revolutions before it, the fourth has the capability to change virtually every element of our everyday lives. In a recent study, only a quarter (26%) of global respondents were found to be extremely confident they have the proper workforce composition and abilities necessary for the future. The people of developed economies, which form the vast majority of current technology user bases, is anticipated to change minimally. With the arrival of electronics and IT we moved into the time of automated production, and we are presently going into the area of cyber systems.

We realized the significance of a solid industrial capacity after the 2008 financial crisis. Society is currently in the throngs of what’s being called the fourth industrial revolution, also called the second machine age or industry 4.0. By which time it’s going to have changed society in such a manner it is almost not possible to remember what your life was like before all of it changed. Innovative education will give a sensible and enhanced learning experience to come up with advanced technologies like science, nanotechnology and artificial intelligence. At this point, nations around the world aren’t only at quite different phases of digital evolution, they’re also moving at quite different speeds.

Other folks think it’s merely a matter of waiting for the technology to mature. But the reality is that there are already myriad of applications of blockchain technology. An integral part of a blockchain is it is decentralized. There are all kinds of applications. They need to acquire users, one at a time. Transformative applications are still some time away.

Bitcoin’s software was not designed to deal with different forms of applications. Blockchain applications need new algorithms to deal with the exceptional character of decentralized systems. Another blockchain application that’s very likely to play a substantial part in the future are what is known as smart contracts. These platforms will allow businesses to make and manage their very own smart contracts based on the current Hyperledger system when operating as a part of the firm’s cloud computing facilities.

Medical information methods struggle to stay informed about the time-sensitive nature of several medical procedures. The blockchain based system can enable a wide selection of possible customers, from individuals to professional providers.

Brazil is seeking a more customary blockchain payment system, but the majority of the developing countries would like to have the potential for crypto exchanges. Some blockchain businesses, like Ripple and Brave, have their own tokens. A consortium of the biggest banks on earth, and several insurance businesses, led by few startups, is seeking to construct a platform to set up new digital relationships between banks themselves.

As you may see, there are lots of ways that blockchain technology may be used. With blockchain applications, there’s an interesting application for auto industry. The technology enables access authorizations for the vehicle in a safe manner. At the same time, it also has a great potential in other industries. A couple of the industries where blockchain technology is anticipated to cause the best positive change are capital markets and trade. It is extremely powerful when it comes to victims of identity theft. 

The very first organization to avail using blockchain for voting proved to be a political party in Denmark, referred to as the Liberal Alliance. The majority of the projects aim at offering community help. Blockchain apps development requires a developer to know not only programming languages, but in addition have a deep comprehension of the fundamentals of decentralized applications, along with cryptography.

Blockchain technologies provide auto manufacturers, in addition to numerous different constituencies across the automotive ecosystem, a selection of likely future advantages. Blockchain technology has a massive capacity to transform business operating models in the long run.

Introducing Smart Home

When you eventually sell your house, smart devices can pay off in a variety of ways. Finding a house automation process is on the exact level as remodeling your house in cost and complexity. Generally, if your home uses a lot of electricity you will start to conserve cash with solar energy promptly.

Receive emails, text messages and perhaps even real time videos whenever someone enters and leaves your residence. Your house can customize itself to your habits, and help you save money in the approach. In the past, Intelligent homes were a discretionary spend limited to selected few, but today smart homes have become much more affordable.

Some systems will permit you to interact with your home security system, giving you the capability to arm and disarm your house remotely. Home automation methods strive for simplicity of usage. The very best home automation system wouldn’t be complete without some kind of security apparatus. When you’ve setup the very best home automation system possible, the chances are truly endless.

As you think that a phone activated security process is overkill, you might reconsider when you have school-aged children that come home from school before you come home from work, or in case you travel often. Quite a few of the home security systems are a breeze to install, and you can usually do it yourself in a couple of hours and save the cost of experiencing a security company monitor the premises for you. Smart home security methods offer exceptional security solutions which is likely to make you, and your family members, feel more in control of your house. Some smart home systems can be made from scratch, utilizing a Raspberry Pi or other prototyping board. Needless to say, it’s undeniable that the very best smart home system will supply you with a variety of benefits.

Smart home technology is a style of connecting your house through innovative technology to control and give homeowners an on-demand accessibility to different systems throughout your residence.

Smart Home in a Nutshell

While some individuals want to know more about home automation, the majority cannot justify the price tag. If you are only starting out in home automation, deciphering which smart home process is ideal for your requirements can be a bit daunting. Perhaps you’re just curious about what home automation has to offer you. Total home automation may sound complex and pricey, but a lot of systems are surprisingly inexpensive and easy to install.

You may be seeking out the definition of data governance and if it is a service you should invest in because someone else in your business peer circle has dealt with a lawsuit. Unfortunately, there are several good reasons to hire an information governance steward to help your company avoid multi-million dollar lawsuits. Many of these lawsuits are related to not following ethics laws, and the ability to avoid a lack of information governance is easily accessible. On top of this, you can ensure the long-term health of your company by always having information governance compliance data ready for any investigation that may erroneously come your way.

What is data governance?

When you fill out forms online, you may not realize they are the result of information governance. Whether you are filling out a single application or several on the same website, the organization, coordination and storing of that information is called governance. Having information stored in particular ways to keep it safe from prying eyes (virtual or physical) is a top ethics concern in the legal field. In the past, keeping a lock on a file cabinet for sensitive materials behind another locked door was a good way to keep thieves from accessing legally private medical information, for instance. However, in the age of computers, archiving means keeping hackers out of data systems, and is not only a matter of ethics; it is also the law.

What can I expect from information governance services?

When you sign up with an information governance steward, they will focus on four main themes with the work they do. The first one is the most obvious to customers and employees, and it involves aligning all of the computerized systems you have at your company. This ultimately makes them more user-friendly. Despite this, organizing your data may also bring to light that certain roles or responsibilities need to be redefined and created. The third and fourth objectives of a new information governance role at your company include data life progression balancing and process documentation. This means all tasks are completed on time, and can be immediately verified.

Why should my company or organization use information governance?

Along with private businesses, healthcare facilities and schools are also at risk for having a lack of information governance. For example, a medical office that has an issue with information governance may not have evidence to show they have a signed HIPAA compliance order from every single patient they have served. Ultimately, the main issues that a company or organization can avoid with information governance are regulatory fines, data-related security breaches or lawsuits. The other problem is not having any evidence to turn in for a legal discovery. In the end, these situations can be expensive, and they can also cause a loss of reputation.

How will security increases help my business in the short-term?

When you have a company that is following every law and has the paperwork to prove it, you may be able to ask for discounts. This includes paying for clauses in your legal services contract you no longer need. You may also be able to get discounts on bankruptcy and other types of business insurance. After all, if you are avoiding getting sued over data governance, your ability to be a good investment is apparent to others.