Meeting summary for SIP Study Group - 26th February 2025

Quick recap

The meeting focused on the SolarWinds supply chain attack, discussing its impact, lessons learned, and implications for cybersecurity practices. Key topics included the importance of early detection, incident response, asset management, and implementing security best practices such as zero-trust architecture and least privilege access. The discussion also covered vulnerability management, backup strategies, and the integration of security measures throughout the software development lifecycle, emphasizing the need for a comprehensive approach to cybersecurity.

Next steps

• Winton to provide sample performance-based questions on network topology for future sessions.

• Winton to include the tie-in between the SolarWinds incident and CompTIA Security+ Domain 4.0 subdomains in the live session notes.

• Winton to prepare content for Domain 5 for the next session.

• Winton to prepare exam preparation tips and guidance for the final wrap-up session.

• Winton to verify availability of resources from last week's session.

Summary

Solarwinds Supply Chain Attack Lessons

Winton discussed the Solarwinds supply chain attack, which occurred in 2020 and had a significant impact on thousands of organizations. He highlighted the financial impact, widespread compromise, and long-term undetected access as negative consequences. However, he also emphasized the lessons learned from the attack, including swift remediation, enhanced security measures, improved patch management, and increased focus on supply chain security. Winton indicated that these aspects would be tied into the main 4 of the security plus, with a few key takeaways to be discussed later.

Detection Mechanisms and Incident Response

Winton discussed the importance of detection mechanisms to prevent long dwell times, which can allow attacks to go unnoticed. He emphasized the need for preparedness and incident response to minimize the impact of security incidents. Winton also highlighted the importance of validation before confirming an incident. He referred to the NIST SP 800-61 incident response model and mentioned the need for lessons learned during the response process.

Addressing Vulnerabilities and Security Measures

Winton discussed the vulnerabilities exploited by attackers in the organization's password policies. He highlighted the importance of limiting unnecessary information from being released into the public. Winton also stressed the need for a robust identity and access management system, particularly in light of the recent SolarWinds supply chain attack. He explained the concept of credential stuffing and phishing, emphasizing the need for regular security awareness and training. Winton also discussed the compromise of the software build environment and the bypass of code signing verification, which allowed malicious code to be inserted. He concluded by emphasizing the importance of secure coding practices and automation failures in their devops processes.

Solarwinds Attack and Supply Chain Security

Winton discussed the Solarwinds attack, emphasizing the importance of early detection and prevention in software development. He highlighted the use of DLL side loading and Living Off the Land tactics by the malware, which allowed it to blend in with normal system operations and evade traditional antivirus alerts. Winton also stressed the need for supply chain security, particularly in software asset management, and the importance of verifying trust in third-party code and libraries. He concluded by cautioning against the misuse of terminology in tests.

Domain 4.2 and Advanced Persistent Threats

Winton discussed the importance of proper hardware, software, and data asset management in relation to Domain 4.2, which highlights the security implications of the software development lifecycle and supply chain. He also addressed the challenges of advanced persistent threats, including gaps in log aggregation, missing endpoint detection and response, and alert fatigue. Winton emphasized the need for proper data collection and analysis for incident response and the importance of maintaining the integrity of evidence for legal purposes. He concluded by stressing the need to go beyond just knowing concepts and to apply them in real-world scenarios to become fluent in cybersecurity.

Memory Analysis in Cybersecurity Importance

Winton discussed the importance of memory analysis in cybersecurity, emphasizing its volatility and the need to collect data quickly. He compared memory to core memory, explaining that it's more likely to be lost and less stable than other data. Winton also highlighted the importance of network traffic reviews and log analysis in identifying potential issues. He used the example of the SolarWinds breach to illustrate the impact of a cyber attack, noting that 18,000 organizations were affected, leading to significant financial losses and operational disruptions. Winton stressed the importance of considering the cost of running a business daily when evaluating the impact of a cyber attack.

Implementing Best Practices for Security

Winton discussed the importance of implementing best practices and a zero-trust architecture to enhance security. He emphasized the need for timely and thorough vendor risk management and software verification processes before deployment. Winton also highlighted the importance of implementing security enhancements and learning from past mistakes to improve security. He stressed the need for proper management of users, least privilege access, and swift offboarding of employees. Winton also touched on network segmentation, firewall configuration, and defense in depth.

Security Principles and SIM Technologies

Winton discussed the importance of security principles such as least privilege and 0 trust, emphasizing their application in various contexts. He also highlighted the role of SIM technologies like Splunk in correlating information and providing a holistic view of enterprise security. Winton stressed the need for understanding normal behavior to identify anomalies and the importance of vulnerability management, using the SolarWinds incident as an example. He concluded by emphasizing the need for comprehensive vulnerability scanning to assess network security.

Proactive Security Management and Automation

Winton discussed the importance of regular vulnerability scans and bug bounty programs for proactive security management. He emphasized the need for integrating these scans into the software development lifecycle and the human side of the business to reduce errors. Winton also highlighted the benefits of automation and orchestration in improving efficiency, aggregating information, and reducing the likelihood of incidents. He mentioned the use of tools like Ansible for configuration management and the potential for more automation tools in the future.

Effective Asset Tracking and Backup Strategy

Winton discussed the importance of inventorying and tracking assets throughout their entire life cycle for effective protection. He highlighted the need for a 3, 2, 1 backup strategy, which involves having at least three copies of data in two different storage types and one off-site. Winton emphasized the importance of validating the availability of this information in case of a failure, using the example of ensuring phone data is backed up to the cloud on a frequent basis.

Solarwinds Incident and Training Improvements

In the meeting, Winton discussed training improvements and key takeaways from the session, emphasizing the relevance of the Solarwinds incident to the concepts in 4.0. He mentioned the relatability of the Solarwinds incident to the security techniques discussed, including mitigation steps in 0 trust architecture, defense in depth, application security controls, and appropriate incident response activities. He also planned to have the tie-in from this particular event as part of the live session notes. Winton expressed gratitude for the participants and encouraged them to reach out for any further assistance.