A well-run security operations center (SOC) stands as the central nervous system of an effective cybersecurity program. SOCs serve as a hub of organization-wide detection and response capabilities for the people tasked with stopping cyber threats within their organization.
As states begin to lift shelter in place orders and businesses reopen their doors, there is a lot of speculation as to what “the new normal” will look like. And so far, there are still more questions than answers for those of us working from home.
Small businesses are significant contributors to the economy. According to the U.S. Small Administration, they generate approximately 44% of the gross domestic product (GDP) in the U.S. However, small to medium enterprises (SMEs) are also frequently more vulnerable to the threats of our contemporary digital landscape.
Whether they were prepared for it or not, schools around the world have been forced to adopt an online learning model for students thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the biggest concerns educators need to have in this situation is exactly how to create a fully secure remote learning environment in order to keep sensitive information for both the schools and individual students safe from hackers.
What would we do without Bluetooth these days? Our earbuds and headphones would have to use annoying wires. We would have one less way to transfer files between your laptop and your phone. And how would you connect your phone to your car? But as a wireless data transfer standard, of course Bluetooth has some associated cybersecurity risks.
The COVID-19 pandemic has unveiled numerous vulnerabilities and shortcomings in the airline industry. What’s worse for aviation in particular over other industries is how airports have essentially served as the portal for the virus traveling from one country to another across the globe. As a result of severe travel restrictions implemented by nearly every country, airline companies have been hit hard and forced into a dire financial situation.
This Investigation was initiated on the basis of several Network Anomaly alarms triggered by ongoing suspicious activity on an employee device owned by a financial institution. During the discovery phase of the Investigation, we identified abnormal egress traffic to a known Indicator of Compromise (IOC) based on intelligence from the Open Threat Exchange™ (OTX®).
As we all know by now, the Internet is an excellent tool for business, learning, and entertainment. Not only is it a tool, but it's also an essential part of our lives. Information, connections, and opportunities at the touch or swipe of a finger. As more and more people go online, the age of the average user becomes lower and lower. What is the responsibility we have to safeguard the wellbeing of those that come after us into this new digital age?
Ervin McBride IV – TDP Engineer II contributed to this article. Stories from the SOC is a blog series that describes recent real-world security incident investigations conducted and reported by the AT&T SOC analyst team for AT&T Managed Threat Detection and Response customers.
The process of threat hunting involves proactively searching for malware or attackers that are hiding within a network. Rather than simply relying on security solutions or services to detect threats, threat hunting is a predictive element to a layered security strategy, empowering organizations to go on the offensive looking for threats.
