Gartner has just released its latest Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Network Firewalls and once again named Palo Alto Networks a Leader. This marks the fourth consecutive year that Palo Alto Networks has been named a Leader, a designation shared only with Check Point. All other vendors were named either Challengers or Niche Players in Gartner’s four-quadrant system. I invite you to download the report at http://connect.paloaltonetworks.com/gartner-mq-2015.
At Palo Alto Networks we have maintained a steadfast commitment to innovation. Just recently we introduced a disruptive new endpoint protection technology named Traps, and a new cyberthreat intelligence service named AutoFocus. These new innovations are not only a testament to that commitment, they’re proof points in our continued ability to execute. We believe this record of innovation and execution has moved Palo Alto Networks further along the x-axis within Leaders quadrant.
DISCLAIMER: This graphic was published by Gartner, Inc. as part of a larger research document and should be evaluated in the context of the entire document. The Gartner document is available from Palo Alto Networks at http://connect.paloaltonetworks.com/gartner-mq-2015. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.
Thanks to everyone who’s joined us so far at RSA 2015. It’s been a lot of fun, and we’ve still got another day!
Palo Alto Networks cybersecurity experts – ranging from Nir Zuk and Rick Howard, to Ryan Olson and Scott Simkin, and many more – have been showcasing the importance of prevention. It’s not sufficient to simply detect and remediate; we help our customers protect their networks and make the cost of attack prohibitively high for cybercriminals.
This week has been busy for Palo Alto Networks at RSA, with breakout sessions from Rick Howard, Ryan Gillis, and Ryan Olson, focusing on the role of the CISO, cybersecurity legislation, and building a threat intel team. At the booth, we’ve had a packed house for sessions on mobile security, advanced attacks, endpoint protection, and more. And we capped it all off by treating our customers to the hottest after party at RSA last night.
The excitement continued today, with attendees packing our booth for hands-on demos of the Palo Alto Networks enterprise security platform, which enables organizations to prevent attacks before they occur. Presentations from our experts and partners continued to drive crowds to the booth. In fact, Nir’s presentation was so popular we added two encore presentations this afternoon.
Here’s a look at some of the action so far. And remember, stop by our booth (N4120) tomorrow for more presentations, giveaways, hands-on demos, and more!
Recently, ISACA announced the release of its free “Overview of Digital Forensics” white paper to illustrate the role of digital forensics as it relates to cybersecurity. Organizations need to discuss the role of digital forensics, even to those in non-technical roles. Without holistic consideration, there will not be data to utilize in a cybersecurity investigation.
Digital forensics is used in conjunction with other business areas to investigate issues such as insider threats. In 2014, insider threats composed up to 35 percent of information security incidents. Digital forensics and compliance becomes increasingly difficult if IT policies are not practiced as suggested under ISO 27001:2013 or NIST 800-53.
As mentioned in the white paper: In 2013, US President Barack Obama issued Executive Order (EO) 13636 to improve critical infrastructure cybersecurity. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) spearheaded this framework, along with international partnerships. ISACA’s COBIT 5 framework aids businesses in managing their systems, following the values embedded within the Cybersecurity Framework (CSF). This is another way to support digital forensics investigators.
Investigators also benefit from information sharing, especially indicators of compromise. These can be collected by network traffic, memory images, and from other host-based forensic methods. This “is the lifeblood of effective cyber defense and response. Pulling together this information allows defenders to identify anomalies or patterns and recognize dangerous activity before it can do significant damage,” as stated by the US Department of Homeland Security.
Below are a few tips on how everyone within a business can help defend against significant damage and help investigators.
Tip 1 : Enable logging and network monitoring. Network traffic logs are critical during a breach. If an endpoint appliance breaks, hopefully that company still has monitoring in place.
Tip 2 : Establish and follow through with record retention. The US State Department was in the news recently for a recent record policy mishap. No business wants to see its name in the news for either not having a policy or failing to comply with established procedures. Human resource (HR) record retention policies should be in place so that when needed, HR complaints and whistleblower allegations may be pulled. Always be court ready. Email servers should have backups and a deletion policy in anticipation of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) or electronic discovery requests. For instance, any email deleted on a user’s machine should still be recoverable on the mail server, regardless of the host facility. Exchange servers have default settings that can be modified to fit the needs of an organization. Gmail and other business applications have similar settings as well.
Tip 3 :Establish standard operating procedures and images. Without standard baseline images for end-user systems (e.g., laptops, desktops, servers, mobile devices), digital forensic investigators may not recover security event logs. Security event logging does not occur by default, so this needs to be turned on by administrators. VPN and system event logs are helpful to determine a series of events, but every little bit counts towards a successful investigation. TSA-13-1004-SG from the US National Security Administration(NSA) dives into this topic in more detail.
As for the term cybersecurity, it is one of those multifaceted, sexy buzz words. It is appealing to both the bad guys and the defenders, but it is as broad as it is vague. Maybe you are interested in cybersecurity, but do not know where to begin. It is difficult to narrow down the breadth of information out there. You can start with an ISACA course or begin reading up on a topic of interest, beginning in the weeds then working your way out of the trenches. Some material you might find helpful includes:
Advanced Persistent Threat: Understanding the Danger and How to Protect Your Organization by Eric Cole Syngress Publishing (c) 2013 ISBN: 9781597499491
Wireshark Network Analysis: The Official Wireshark Certified Network Analyst Study Guide by Laura Chappell (Author), Gerald Combs (Foreword) 2010 ISBN-13: 978-1893939998
Hacking Exposed 6: Network Security Secrets and Solutions by Stuart McClure, Joel Scambray and George Kurtz McGraw-Hill/Osborne (c) 2009 9780071613743
Handbook of Digital Forensics and Investigation by Eoghan Casey et al., Academic Press (c) 2010 9780123742674
Practical Malware Analysis: The Hands-On Guide to Dissecting Malicious Software by Michael Sikorski and Andrew Honig, No Starch Press (c) 2012 9781593272906
Malware Analyst’s Cookbook: Tools and Techniques for Fighting Malicious Code by Michael Hale Ligh, Steven Adair, Blake Hartstein and Matthew Richard, John Wiley & Sons (c) 2011 9780470613030
The Art of Memory Forensics: Detecting Malware and Threats in Windows, Linux, and Mac Memory by Michael Hale-Ligh, Andrew Case, Jamie Levy and Aaron Walters, John Wiley & Sons (c) 2014 9781118825099
You have seen cybersecurity in the news. PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Game of Threats illustrates it through gamification. Hackers expose it as an illustrious career path for a get rich quick scheme. We no longer question if an insider will steal data or an outsider will breach a network, but rather, when.
Businesses need to prepare themselves for battle, arming themselves with knowledge of how security works, training their team to understand threats in a realistic manner, and grabbing weapons to protect their information and reputation. Imagine the “battlefield” like a game of DotA or Magic the Gathering. The attacks do not stop. If businesses do not prepare beforehand, by investing and maintaining these weapons, they may not make it out alive.
