Adopting Zero Trust

The key to growing a cybersecurity career are soft skills

In this episode of 'Adopting Zero Trust (AZT)', host Neal Dennis and producer Elliot Volkman delve into the often-overlooked realm of soft or 'non-tech' skills in cybersecurity.
This week, we chat with Courtney Hans, VP of Cyber Services at AmTrust Financial Services, and Evgeniy Kharam, author of Architecting Success: The Art of Soft Skills, who help us explore how non-technical skills are vital in shaping the careers of cybersecurity professionals.
Our guests share the importance of effective communication, emotional intelligence, and adaptability. The hosts and guests share personal anecdotes, training tips, and the necessity of bridging technical prowess with essential soft skills to improve stakeholder engagement and career advancement. The episode emphasizes the value of being comfortable with discomfort and soliciting feedback to enhance one’s professional journey in cybersecurity.

Behind the scenes of cybersecurity media and reporting

Season 3, Episode 15: We gather a panel of journalists, communications, and a researcher to discuss how cybersecurity news and incidents are reported.
You can read the show notes here.
In the world of cybersecurity journalism, you can broadly divide it into four competing forces: reporters, communications teams, researchers, and readers. Each requires the other to accomplish its goals, but they all have very different priorities and goals.
Journalists have a duty to inform the public about security-related events.
Communication teams have a duty to inform the public about related incidents and research, but in a controlled setting.
Researchers help provide answers to communication teams and journalists.
Readers want to be informed of information that impact them, and their habits shape what kind of reporting is invested in the most.
This week we explore some of these dynamics by bringing together a panel representing comms, journalism, and research to discuss the game of tug-of-war during incident response and incident reporting.
Danny Palmer was a long-standing cybersecurity reporter at ZDNet prior to recently joining DarkTrace, Josh Swarz is the Senior Communications Manager at Microsoft focusing on threat intelligence, our host Neal Dennis is former NSA and has lived many lives around either keeping secrets or uncovering them, and producer Elliot Volkman has been a reporter for two decades and works with Josh on elevating research at Microsoft Threat Intelligence.

GRC tool or spreadsheets, that is the question | GRC Uncensored Preview

In our final preview episode of GRC Uncensored, we explore a particularly bipolar debate: do you need a GRC tool to manage compliance, or will spreadsheets suffice?
After this, we will be back to our regularly produced AZT episodes. The last episodes of our pilot for GRC Uncensored can be found on your favorite podcast app or newsletter on Substack.

Podcast Preview: GRC Uncensored and the commoditization of compliance

We are interrupting our regularly scheduled podcast series to introduce you to a new series we developed: GRC Uncensored.
This pilot season will elevate conversations about GRC that are often buried under millions of dollars in marketing spend. No boring talks about controls or frameworks, just unfiltered discussions with auditors and practitioners in the GRC space. We'll be back to our regular AZT episodes in a couple of weeks.
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In the first episode of 'GRC Uncensored,' hosts Troy Fine, dubbed the 'GRC Meme King,' and Elliot Volkman, alongside guest Kendra Cooley dive into the complexities of Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) in cybersecurity. The discussion unravels the 'love-hate' relationship many security professionals have with compliance frameworks like SOC 2, exploring how they have become commoditized and possibly devalued over time.
The conversation touches upon the challenges security practitioners face in conveying the true value of GRC to businesses, the potential pitfalls of 'SOC in a box' offerings, and the broader implications of compliance becoming a 'check the box' exercise. Moreover, the episode delves into the broader regulatory landscape and the ongoing debates about the role of government regulations in cybersecurity compliance. This candid dialogue sets the stage for future episodes that promise further to dissect the nuances of cybersecurity audits and standards.
00:00 Welcome to GRC Uncensored
01:34 Introducing Kendra Cooley
02:05 Love-Hate Relationship with GRC
03:16 The SOC 2 Debate
04:33 Challenges with SOC 2 Audits
09:10 The Value of SOC 2 in the Industry
12:04 The Evolution of Compliance Frameworks
20:39 False Sense of Security in Compliance
24:46 The Buzz Around AI and Quantum
25:10 Staying Updated as a Security Professional
26:45 Challenges in Penetration Testing and Vendor Assessments
27:37 Compliance and Its Impact on Security
30:10 Government Regulations and Their Effectiveness
32:23 The Complexity of Privacy Laws
38:29 The Role of GRC Teams in Risk Management
42:30 Concluding Thoughts and Future Episodes

How to prepare your operations team for Zero Trust

Welcome back to Adopting Zero Trust! In this episode, hosts Elliot Volkman and Neal Dennis are joined by Rob Allen, Chief Product Officer of ThreatLocker, to dive deep into the operationalization of Zero Trust. Despite covering various aspects over three seasons, this crucial topic is addressed thoroughly.
They explore pre-adoption preparation, aligning organizational actions, and the importance of education in security. Additionally, the conversation highlights the 'assume breach' perspective and how concepts like default deny and least privilege are essential. With real-world examples and anecdotes, they provide actionable insights on implementing Zero Trust strategies effectively. Tune in to learn about the foundational steps necessary to transition into a Zero Trust environment.
This is the first of a three-part mini-series, so stay tuned as we explore more aspects of how to prepare your organization for adopting a Zero Trust strategy.

Log4j Continues to act as Organizational Vulnerability

Season 3, Episode 13: Cato Network’s Etay Maor provides fresh research on the abuse of unpatched log4j libraries.
Catch this episode on YouTube, Apple, Spotify, or Amazon. You can read the show notes here.
This week on Adopting Zero Trust (AZT), we highlight a significant cybersecurity risk focused on the notorious Log4j vulnerability and the growing concern around shadow IT. Featuring expert insights from Etay Maor, the Chief Cybersecurity Strategist at Cato Networks, the conversation initially looks into the persistent exploitation methods, the importance of knowing one’s cybersecurity environment, and strategic approaches to mitigating risks.

Overturning of Chevron Deference’s Impact on Cybersecurity Regulation

Season 3, Episode 12: Could the overturning of Chevron Deference impact cybersecurity and privacy regulations?
Catch this episode on YouTube, Apple, Spotify, or Amazon. You can read the show notes here.
Welcome back to Adopting Zero Trust or AZT. In our latest episode, we assembled a distinguished panel to dig into a timely topic affecting the cybersecurity landscape but has the fog of war wrapped around it. Today’s conversation centered around the recent developments in cybersecurity regulations and their potential impacts, ignited by the Supreme Court overturning Chevron Deference. This, of course, has other potential impacts on all regulation types enforced and shaped by federal agencies, but our focus is, of course, on cybersecurity, privacy, and AI.
The Panel
We welcome back Ilona Cohen, Chief Legal and Policy Officer at HackerOne, who joined us last year to discuss the National Cybersecurity Strategy. Ilona is also the former General Counsel for OMB. We are also joined by the GRC meme king, Troy Fine, the Director of SOC and ISO Assurance Services at Gills Norton. Beyond the memes, Troy takes a practical perspective on regulations and acts as our voice for those who may be most immediately impacted.
Key Takeaways
Chevron Deference overturned: The Supreme Court's decision removes the requirement for courts to defer to federal agencies' interpretations of ambiguous statutes and now relies on the courts.
Increased regulatory uncertainty: This ruling may lead to more challenges to existing and future regulations, potentially affecting cybersecurity and AI policies.
State vs. Federal regulation: The uncertainty at the federal level might prompt states to act more quickly on issues like AI and cybersecurity, potentially creating a patchwork of regulations.
Impact on AI regulation: With about 40 federal bills addressing AI in the pipeline, the ruling could complicate the process of creating comprehensive federal AI regulations.
Cybersecurity implications: Existing and proposed cybersecurity regulations, such as the Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act, may face new challenges.
Business concerns: While some business organizations applauded the ruling, the resulting regulatory uncertainty could be problematic for companies trying to plan and comply with regulations.
Expertise concerns: There are worries that courts may lack the technical expertise to make decisions on complex technological issues like AI without deferring to agency experts.
Potential for innovation: The regulatory uncertainty might create a wild west period for AI, potentially fostering innovation before more stringent regulations are imposed.
Self-regulation importance: In the absence of clear federal regulations, industry self-regulation initiatives may become more significant, especially in rapidly evolving fields like AI.

Applying Vulnerability Management to Zero Trust

Season 3, Episode 11: Vulnerability management is critical to any Zero Trust strategy, but you probably already know that. Fortra’s Tyler Reguly breaks down severity vs. risk.
Catch this episode on YouTube, Apple, Spotify, or Amazon. You can read the show notes here.
Every organization relies on some form of technology to run, and each tool you add increases the risk of vulnerabilities causing problems. If you don’t stay on top of patching, you increase the odds of a bad actor finding their way more easily within your network.
This week, we chat with Tyler Reguly, a senior manager of security research at Fortra, who shares insights from his 18 years in vulnerability management. Tyler discusses the importance of staying on top of patching to maintain a Zero Trust strategy, the differences between vulnerability and patch management, and emphasizes that the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) measures severity, not risk.
We also briefly nerd out about the significance of groups like the Canadian Cyber Threat Exchange (CCTX) for knowledge sharing and collaboration in cybersecurity. And then, we wrap things up by exploring the efficacy of existing security policies and benchmarks, such as CIS and DISA STIGs, and the role of vendor relationships in maintaining effective security practices.

The Unstoppable Phish: A Discussion with Vivek Ramachandran

Season 3, Episode 10: Elliot chat’s with Vivek Ramachandran of SquareX about his approach to tackling the impossible: Social engineering.
Catch this episode on YouTube, Apple, Spotify, Amazon, or Google. You can read the show notes here.
For nearly three decades, social engineering, particularly phishing, has been one of the most impactful and financially draining cyber threats. Between security awareness training, email security gateways, generative AI, enterprise browsers, and a slew of other tech like EDRs and XDRs, social engineering has yet to be thoroughly thwarted. The reason for that is straightforward enough: social engineering is a psychological threat, not just a technological one.
In our last round of interviews from RSA, we chatted with Vivek Ramachandran, the founder of SquareX, who is attempting to tackle the challenge. Vivek also walks us through a more realistic perspective of how threat actors use generative AI today, which goes beyond the more unique what-if scenarios we’ve seen in headlines in the past two years.
Key Takeaways
Social engineering and phishing attacks remain a significant threat, and everyone can be a target. The sophistication of these attacks has increased due to advances in AI.
AI can craft messages that sound remarkably like someone the recipient knows, enabling rapid scalability.
Social media platforms are becoming common channels for launching phishing attacks. Attackers exploit the trust that users place in these platforms and their contacts.
Vivek Ramachandran's company, SquareX, deploys a browser extension that can attribute attacks and detect and block them in real-time, providing valuable information to the enterprise.
Traditional technologies like Secure Web Gateways (SWG) have matured, and attackers can easily bypass them.
Enterprise browsers solve the problem for a small niche group of websites but have adoption friction due to the inconvenience of having a dedicated browser.

Breaking Down the SMB Threat Landscape and The Value of MSPs with SonicWall

Season 3, Episode 9: We chat with SonicWall’s Doug McKee about the top 5 threats targeting SMBs based on recent research.
Catch this episode on YouTube, Apple, Spotify, Amazon, or Google. You can read the show notes here.
Cybersecurity challenges come in many different flavors regardless of how old your company is or how many employees it houses. Larger companies have to deal with layers upon layers of technology, processes, and the people who support it. Smaller organizations are resource-constrained, often lack the experience or expertise to build a proper program, and typically rely on external support systems.
While larger companies may not be nimble, typically, they employ and understand the value of threat intelligence to hone in on risks that could impact the business. They also have larger targets on their back because they are seen as more valuable targets for data, financial drain, and other nefarious purposes. In the same, smaller organizations may not be as valuable as a direct target, but they can be seen as a doorway into these larger companies. It’s for these reasons that supply chain attacks, even older ones, are among the top threats targeting small businesses and startups.
This week on AZT, we examine the top five threats targeting startups and small businesses and chat with SonicWall’s Executive Director of Threat Research about the WHY behind them. As a researcher and educator through SANS, Doug McKee shares his perspective on why smaller shops need to consider threat intelligence as part of their cybersecurity program and how MSPs can help fulfill that capability.
Top 5 threats to SMBs (According to SonicWall)
Log4j (2021) more than 43% of organizations were under attack
Fortinet SSL VPN CVE-2018-13379 - 35% of orgs were under attack
Heartbleed (2012) - 35% of organizations
Atlassian CVE-2021- 26085 - 32 %
Vmware CVE-2021 - 21975 - 28% of orgs
The Guest: Douglas McKee
Doug is an experienced information security professional who possesses extensive technical expertise acquired through involvement in application and system security testing, hardware and software vulnerability research, malware analysis, forensics, penetration testing, red team exercises, protocol analysis, application development, and risk mitigation activities. These technical proficiencies are complemented by adept leadership and communication skills, honed through the leadership of teams and projects, collaboration within both large and small teams, and the composition of technical reports for clients.
Doug is recognized for discovering numerous CVEs and regularly speaks at prominent security conferences such as Blackhat, DEFCON, RSA, Hardware.io, and Ekoparty. Additionally, Douglas's research is frequently featured in publications with a wide readership, including Wired, Politico, Bleeping Computer, Security Boulevard, Venture Beat, CSO, Politico Morning eHealth, Tech Republic, and Axios.
Key Takeaways
None of these vulnerabilities in SonicWall’s research were found or disclosed between 2022-2024, and yet we’re still dealing with them
Old vulnerabilities remain a significant threat
The most widespread attacks for SMBs include Heartbleed and Log4j vulnerabilities
Many widespread vulnerabilities are supply chain vulnerabilities
These vulnerabilities are embedded in multiple products and systems
Patching vulnerabilities can be complex and costly
Compliance and regulatory standards can complicate the process
Attackers are becoming increasingly nuanced in their approaches