I would like to take this opportunity to share some very critical information with the self employed and home based business owners about the state of The IT Security Threats Landscape ~TITSTL~ and how it affects you. This is a discussion I have every day as more and more people in these categories are finding out the real effects and impacts of these threats are not excluding them and that they fall very much into the mix of it. As the economy tightens its grip on our lives, those who are being laid off are turning to home based and self employed business thus sparking an increased growth in this area of business. The SMB space has grown tremendously since his recession and to that end has become a serious security issue for us security professionals as we look across the IT Security Threats Landscape horizon.

Therefore, the reality of the issue must be faced thus bringing the question of, what am I to do about it.

I have published numerous articles on these threats, preventative measures and how to deal with the security issues of today and tomorrow on my blogs but I am going to do this as a summary of those here.

First let me say this, if it requires a security patch (let’s just keep it at security for now), it is vulnerable.

What does this mean?

Simple, any operating system, Microsoft, Mac, Linux, Solaris, you name it, that requires a security patch for any reason is vulnerable. The patch is to prevent exploit of the vulnerability right so it is a security risk.

I had to get that out of the way so that we wouldn’t get into the ridiculous argument of which is more secure than the other. The way I see it is simply that, if a door is left open for anyone to come through it, the length of time left open versus the threat that comes through it is just as critical. So, any open door is a threat no matter where. What comes through it may differentiate the severity. They all have their insecurities at some point but how the vendor/developer addresses it lessens the impact and wide scale visibility of the issue. While some may announce these vulnerabilities and findings, other may patch/update them behind the scenes thus limiting the visibility and knowledge of the user.

Second, anti-virus alone is NOT going to protect you from the threats of today. It takes a multi-layered approach and as such, the various layers of protection must be enforced. So telling yourself that you have anti-virus protection on your PC is being as naïve as saying the threats doesn’t affect me and i’m not worried about them. While it is true that most anti-virus vendors are bundling multiple threat protection/prevention layers into their solutions, the proper configuration becomes the caveat to that solution. While many deploy with an out of the box config, there will be tweaks needed to customize it to your environment and needs. So one must understand what is being deployed and if it will provide the layers of protection needed.

So why is IT Security so serious for me as a self employed or home based business?

Well, ask yourself these questions,

What is it that you do and how do you do it?

Do you use email?

Do you send emails to customers/clients/partners/associates/potential clients?

Do you leverage the powers of social networking/media (Twitter, LinkedIn, MySpace, Facebook, Ning and the list goes on) today?

Do you use IM for personal and/or business use?

Do you browse the internet for data/information on whatever you’re working on or researching?

Do you do online banking or shopping?

Do you download multimedia contents from the web (music, movies, flash videos, etc)?

Do you download online presentations (PDF, PowerPoint)?

Did you know that PDF files presented one of the biggest security risks over the past 2 years but is the most widely distributed online document format?

Do you have a printer or some media player connected to you system(s) at home or in the office?

Do you have any applications running on that system aside from the operating system?

Do you know of the Breach Notification Law in your state and what it means for you?

When was the last time you downloaded a keygens or crack file to open full access to that app or game you really wanted but didn’t want to buy/pay for?

Maybe you didn’t crack/keygen it but someone did and opened a backdoor which planed a rootkit or some nefarious threats on your system(s). What happens when you use that for business purposes, what are you spreading to those you collaborate with?

Well by now i’m sure you’ve caught my drift and I don’t have to get technical for you to see how you’re affected. All these questions pose security risks in various ways and are able to be stopped, prevented and protected if the proper education, awareness and measures are put in place. Don’t ask if you’re affected or if I should be taking these things seriously, you must. You are as much a risk to me as I am to you if the proper steps are not implemented to secure your system and the data/information you have sitting on it about me, you and those you collaborate with.

That system is being used for personal and business use and at some point the access to/from or by a threat is heightened because of the lack of separation of the two. A system that is used by everyone in the home should not be the same used for doing your business. When someone in the home decides to crack that app and opens that backdoor, you’ll never know what can come through it and what your risk factor will be or are. Separate the two, business is business and personal is personal. The cost of a system today is much more affordable than a few years ago so it shouldn’t be a problem to get an extra one.

You are not a small business because you have 5 people working for you. You are not a small business because you only have 5 computers in your office or where you decide to conduct your business. To me as a security professional you are not a small business (home based or in an office) when you have records/information and access to 5000 people. A doctor who has an office with 5 employees and 8 systems managing 4000 patients’ info is not a small business in my eyes. If you’re a consultant running your own business and you manage systems or information for your clients you’re now there biggest risk because it’s your responsibility to control that. Every PC must be secured whether it is connected online or not as you never know if/when it will cross the line. This is how I see security.

When you decide to start doing business today you must consider the role you play with those in which you will be doing business and the kinds of interaction you will have with them. When sending an email from an infected system (whether you did or the resident worm) it is still coming from you and the possible effect on the recipient(s) can be adverse which may lead to legal issues.

When using social network can enhance your presence and what you do significantly, it is also an area of heightened risk both personally and professionally. Know the need and use it accordingly. Social networks are the future of collaboration but one must decide why the need and create the separation. If it’s for personal use one should always remember the impact on themselves as they are now putting themselves out there to the world. If for business, one should decide on how they want to be seen and what they would like the world to know about them and what they do. Social networking is a great thing to have and use, it’s the management and control of that presence that matters. The threats people face on social networks are the same they would face outside of it but just through a different medium. Educate yourself on these things and you will be ok.

As for the Breach Notification Law, most people didn’t even know of such laws about digital contents and its security. I strongly suggest you take a look at the law of your state and understand the legal and financial issues it presents for you. Learn it, know it, and understand it. If in doubt, reach out.

The active Conficker worm should be enough of an eye opener for you and if you don’t know what it is then you may have bigger problems that I thought. Security is not just about you, it’s about your way of life today both on and offline. I am not here to scare you but it is better to know before than after as the damage control, legal and financial issues after the fact is much worse and a very daunting issue.

As for the online scams, phishing and SPAM, it is only going to get worse and until you educate and make yourself more aware of and about them, you may fall victim to them as they are craftier than ever.

Ok so I have chatted enough and now you’re saying this is too much so I will leave a few articles of reference.  Feel free to contact me if you’d like to discuss further and in more details.

The Conficker Worm – my review

A grim day for browser security at hacker contest

State Security Breach Notification Laws as of December 16, 2008 and the Conficker worm

IT Security Education and Awareness 04-09 #1 – IT Security is a people problem, not an industry one

Apple Mac users warned of web-based malware threats RSPlug-F Mac Trojan horse distributed via HDTV website

TITSSN leverages the Twitter network for critical alerting, notification and network happenings (meetings and events) as of April 1st 2009

Security/Privacy Awareness 03-09 #1 – Do you understand the breach notification law is in your country/state, do you know what it means, all are affected.

Thank you and have a great day,

~Brett A. Scudder~

The IT Security Attaché

Every day I talk with people across all vertical markets, business sizes, organizations and cultures about the IT Security issues being faced in our world today and how it impacts our everyday lives, and it is becoming one of those awakening kind of issues for many. Whether they like it or not, they know they are affected in one way or another. While most people tend to try and figure out if and where they fit into this Matrix, the recent mass media explosion of the Conficker worm created somewhat of a sense of understanding as many now saw it from a non technical aspect and as what it really is, a people problem.

As a security attaché, I have relayed this message of IT Security being a people problem and not an industry one for years but it doesn’t resonate well for many because they didn’t understand the matrix and how it worked. Now that they saw and heard of it on the TV (which is an even bigger influencer on people today), the same things we IT people have been trying to tell them now makes some kind of sense. Let us take away the fact that whether the media coverage on the TV was doing much justice or help for the issue(s), it did add a well needed visibility to the scope of the problem and that was very well needed today. It would be nice if we say a segment on the news specific to The IT Security Threats Landscape ~TITSTL~ and issues in and around it. They could bring in some professionals in the field to talk about the issues and what is going on and how people can protect themselves in it. That would be a well needed thing to see at that level today as we are going into this vast technology future of ours which we’re taking head on without looking at the real implications and effects of it.

The logic behind the issue is simple, because your system(s) are up and running and have not been wiped out nor shut down by a threat doesn’t mean it is safe, secure or threat free. In many of my health assessments I have shown the owner my findings of worms, trojans and other blended threats that are sitting on their systems because of lack of proper security solutions to protect them or the improper configuration of the solution being used. The fact that they are there is one thing, what they are doing is something else and both are critical issues to ponder.

While many will refute this fact, I have seen, worked and handled enough of these cases to state as a fact that many fall into this area of The IT Security Threats Landscape. A resident rootkit, keylogger, worm or whatever the variant may be, is actively working its way through your system and causing some form of data loss/theft or compromising the state of applications, connectivity or system stability that we security professionals deem critical. Here is another way to look at this.

If you went to the doctor for a cough that has been bugging you for a while and he says to you, you have a chest or respiratory infection would you tell him no?

If he says to you that you need antibiotics and some cold medicine do you tell him no?

Why not?

Because, this is his field of expertise and study and as such he can make this assessment based on his knowledge of the issue and the facts he has from testing you.

Are you a medical person to dispute his statement and will you seek a second opinion from someone else?

The fact that you’re still alive and well (somewhat, depending on how you define well) does not negate the reality of the issue that you are infected with something that is causing some kind of issue/effect on the body resulting in that cough which in our field of IT we would call an early warning. So, this is the same way in which we look at the IT Security issues of today and how people tend not to look at it. They haven’t gotten that early warning of a cough because the system hasn’t picked up on it yet and when it does happen, because they have not fallen and can’t get up this is not a critical issue. The system becoming slow and unresponsive is that early warning and at that stage most people tend to seek professional help depending on the need/use of the system and how critical it may be for business or even personal use.

So here we stand dealing with people who are harvesters of thousands of people’s information and things about them (whether you know or like it) and they rest idle to this decadent behavior and mindset. Yet, unchecked, their systems sit comfortably hosting these blended threats which are sending/stealing critical private, personal, financial data/information to these hackers unbeknownst to them. The careless whisper of ignorance to these issues is the driving force behind the growing success of such threats today. A hacker have so much more to gain from you giving it to them than for them having to go through getting it from you and is why the botnet issue is such a growing one today. The use of keygens, crack files, peer to peer (P2P), unpatched applications and systems makes it so much easier to exploit what is available that one tends to wonder when and where does it end. It ends with user education and awareness on and about the threats landscape and what these issues are. It end when people start taking this seriously and realizes that you’re just as much a victim as anyone anywhere if you’re not protected properly.

It ends when you stop saying I have anti-virus protection and so i’m ok when you know you haven’ renewed that subscription over six months ago and so you’re missing all the latest and greatest signature based protection that it should provide. Anti-virus alone CANNOT protect you from the threats out there today, it has to be a layered approach where various solutions are in play to cover the needed layers.

It ends when you wake up from this illusion that my OS is more secure than the other and so I don’t have to worry about these security issues.

It ends when we stop underestimating the knowledge of your youths and start educating them much early on the proper use of the internet and the functions and features of it. IT Security must be a part of the school curriculum today as technology is our future for tomorrow and they are our next generation of professionals and leaders.

It ends when you start accepting the fact that you are as much a risk to me as I am to you if we’re not practicing basic IT Security best practices.

It ends when you stop taking the cheap way out of operating a business when hosting people’s private and confidential information which is priceless to them and they trust you to keep it secure. Have some respect for your customers and let them rest comfortable knowing that you have their best interests at heart in properly protecting your infrastructure.

It ends when you realize that these threats are released in the wild with no specific targets but the system(s) you’re using which unfortunately is in the homes, schools, workplaces and places of general interest.

The treats are not specific to government and their systems. It is not specific to the private or public sectors. It is not specific to the educational institutions and it certainly isn’t targeting the healthcare sector only. All are affected and are in the path of these threats because, they are all sharing the same interconnectivity transport medium, the internet and the internet respects no one and has no boundaries.

It is time that people take this as a basic part of their lives where one does not get consumed on questioning the validity or severity of the threat but questioning the readiness of themselves and their systems to face them. While our government may understand the real scope of these issues, their efforts to create effective management and policies to protect the country’s infrastructure are missing critical elements, the people and the roles they play in strengthening the protective layers or being a weak link and point of entry/compromise for what is being implemented. Unless we strengthen the people through education and awareness they will always be a weak link in the chain of protection.

When a company is hacked or they lose their data by whatever means there is, who suffers the most, the employees, the end users. The company suffers a data loss or has a breach but the actual data may be your private and confidential information. Even if the company loses its financial data, it has a much better recovery rate through insurance and such than an individual who now suffers from the loss of privacy and here in the US, credit ratings.

Think about the many places that have information about you that you consider to be private and confidential. Your employer has your social security info (and possibly family members who are covered by you), some financial info for direct depositing of your paychecks. Your 401K info. Health and life insurance info.

Your doctor has your private health records and, results. They have your family’s private info as well as some kind of visit may have been had over the years and that info is in the system.

Your bank has all your financial info and records. They may have your mortgage info as well (if you own a home). The car loan and all the info in it. Student loans and the works.

So think on these things and when you look at all of them, who is most affected in the event of a data loss or breach at any one of those kinds of organizations or businesses, you, the end user, consumer, employee.

IT Security is a people problem and must be dealt with accordingly. It is not about selling security, it’s about creating greater education and awareness about it so we can all contribute towards upholding the strengths of the protective security layers that are there for our protection.

Stop asking if this is real, ask yourself, how do I protect myself, my family, my business, my country from these elements and there effects. This is REAL.

When in doubt, reach out.

~Brett A. Scudder~

The IT Security Attaché