Neither Pointless Nor Boring: Pop It and Lock It Down with CIS Controls

I’m delighted to share that I will be speaking for the first time at SecTor this year. The talk will be in Theatre 1 at 1:15pm on October 5th. In the session Neither Pointless Nor Boring: Pop It And Lock It Down With CIS Controls, I will be discussing the ... Read More

CIS Control 18 Penetration Testing

Penetration testing is something that more companies and organizations should be considering a necessary expense. I say this because over the years the cost of data breaches and other forms of malicious intrusions and disruptions are getting costlier. Per IBM Security’s “Cost of a Data Breach Report 2021,” the average ... Read More

CIS Control 16 Application Software Security

The way in which we interact with applications has changed dramatically over years. Enterprises use applications in day-to-day operations to manage their most sensitive data and control access to system resources. Instead of traversing a labyrinth of networks and systems, attackers today see an opening to turn an organizations applications ... Read More

CIS Control 15: Service Provider Management

Enterprises today rely on partners and vendors to help manage their data. Some companies depend on third-party infrastructure for day-to-day operations, so understanding the regulations and protection standards that a service provider is promising to uphold is very important. Key Takeaways from Control 15 Identify your business needs and create ... Read More

CIS Control 4: Secure Configuration of Enterprise Assets and Software

Key Takeaways for Control 4 Most fresh installs of operating systems or applications come with pre-configured settings that are usually insecure or not properly configured with security in mind. Use the leverage provided by multiple frameworks such as CIS Benchmarks or NIST NCP to find out if your organization needs ... Read More

CIS Control 2: Inventory and Control of Software Assets

Today, I will be going over CIS Control 2 from version 8 of the top 18 CIS Controls – Inventory and Control of Software Assets. Version 7 of CIS Controls had 10 requirements, but in version 8, it’s simplified down to seven safeguards. I will go over those safeguards and ... Read More

CIS Control 1: Inventory and Control of Enterprise Assets

Since 2008, the CIS Controls have been through many iterations of refinement and improvement, leading up to what we are presented with today in CIS Controls version 8. CIS Controls reflect the combined knowledge of experts from every part of the ecosystem (companies, governments, and individuals). The controls reflect consideration ... Read More

What is Asset Discovery? A Look Beneath the Surface

The corporate network can be a busy place with devices connecting, reconnecting and disconnecting every day. With the ever-growing landscape of today’s corporate networks, the difficulty of knowing and understanding what is on an enterprise network has highlighted the importance of effective asset discovery. So what does asset discovery involve? ... Read More

4 Things a Good Vulnerability Management Policy Should Include

Organizations face an ever-evolving threat landscape. With this in mind, it is imperative that organizations keep an up-to-date vulnerability management policy for remediating and controlling security vulnerabilities that may lead to a breach. A good vulnerability management policy should contain the following: An Overview of what the policy is intended ... Read More
Figure 1 Top 25 CWE 2020

Identifying the Most Dangerous Common Software and Hardware Weaknesses and Vulnerabilities – The CWE Top 25 (2020 Edition)

So far, there has not been a perfect solution to ridding the world of software and hardware weaknesses. Keeping up-to-date with which weaknesses have are most common and impactful can be a daunting task. Thankfully, a list has been made to do just that the Common Weakness Enumeration Top 25 ... Read More