Link: http://theitsecurityattache.com

Good day to you,

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

Link: http://theitsecurityattache.com/blogs/2009/03/29/the-conficker-worm-%e2%80%93-my-review/

Good day to you,

He is my review of the Conficker worm as it applies to us today.

http://theitsecurityattache.com/blogs/2009/03/29/the-conficker-worm-%e2%80%93-my-review/

~Brett A. Scudder~
The IT Security Attaché

Link: http://titssn.net

TITSSN has always been a network of, for and about the community and we have always tried to find ways of working within it to make it the most valuable and successful experience ever for our members. In working with our communities in and outside of IT, we have found similar issues that reflected upon the need for creating a more resourceful and aggregated system that would put people, processes and things together, making it a more seamless integration for all. Our education and awareness training and development initiatives built on these findings so that we would address the issues on a more personal level as a team. The extensive experience and qualifications of the network members in their areas of business provides invaluable impact on what we see, hear, say and how we react to them.

It is for this reason that we are enacting a new initiative to aggregate all these issues, programs and initiatives under one umbrella that I believe will fix these problems, ENGAGED. ENGAGED, ENabling Greater Awareness, Growth and Educational Development, is an initiative that will take our education, awareness, training and development initiatives to a whole new level. Through ENGAGED, we are working with businesses, schools, libraries, churches and other institutions to deliver the needed resources for addressing the IT Security Threats Landscape of today for tomorrow.

As a network of technical professionals, consultants, specialists, VARs and business executives, the ENGAGED initiative will add the much needed collaboration between the organization members and those we serve. One such enhancement will be a bi-weekly Live Meetings via Microsoft’s Live Meeting service to help with the adoption, training and development of its members on new and existing products and solutions in the security space. This will add the needed value of increased training on specialized products and services provided by the network. Our integration of working with the vendors directly will allow the additional benefit of having their high level technical people in the session to help with the understanding of the products and any problems and support we may need. TITSSN believes that it is through the proper training, understanding and knowledge of these products that we will be successful in supporting, deploying and managing them, and so we are adding more value through the use of live meetings.

On Monday April 20th, TITSSN will enhance the ENGAGED initiative by starting an IT Security Training and Development course for the youths in our local schools through their local office in Arverne NY. This course will be geared towards working with the youths of today who are growing up to be our professionals of tomorrow to give them a better look and feel of the space and what to expect from it. We are working with the local schools in the community to select a number of students who will participate in this course and get the needed exposure to today’s IT Security Threats Landscape ~ITSTL~ and how they can be valuable resources in making it better for tomorrow. This training course will not be the end all, be all for them as we plan on helping them throughout their professional development as mentors in the space. The initiative does not want them learning and forgetting and so future involvement on different levels will follow after the course is completed. Certifications will be awarded to each student that completes the course and passes a final hands-on test.

The training and development course will introduce them to the world of IT Security and all the factors that are in and around it. They will have hands-on access to the latest and greatest security hardware and software products ranging from Biometrics, IDS/IPS, UTM “Unified Threat Management” devices, anti-virus, anti-malware, firewalls and general IT products that are available today across the various operating system environments. This is an extension of our Secure Minds Initiative where we are trying to get the integration of IT Security into the school’s curriculum to enhance the preparedness of this needed area of specialty for the future. We need the realization of IT Security as a people problem to be one that resonates across all borders and cultures. We are on the brink of a global network catastrophe if this realization is not understood.

Through ENGAGED, we have negotiated special vendor pricing and offers to help get the needed security products and solutions out to the general public. As this have been a major issue for many, we are always working on ways in which to bring the networks power to use in negotiating special programs, offerings and incentives from the vendors for our initiatives. A part of our Secure Minds Initiative is to provide security products and solutions to the schools and this will help to make that more readily available through special programs we are hosting there. We are reaching out to our local government resources to funds this initiative through grants and other financial resources in an effort to minimize the costs and offer the products freely when and where we can.

To the business community, ENGAGED provides the needed sales, support and training and development to better prepare you, your company and employees to deal with the issues of the IT Security Threats Landscape. Leveraging our network and resources will be beneficial for you as we provide in-house training and development workshops to further build on this. As your local technology/security professionals, you can reach out to the network to find a resource in your area that can and will work with you. We have customized solutions that will work for you and your company no matter the size or location, if we’re needed we’ll make it there.

With so many resources now being forced online even from the government levels, using the internet and its resource is now a mandatory issues as local offices and resources are being cut as this new online presence becomes more useful. That being said, the use of the internet and its resources has increased significantly over the past year as social networking and other social media have played a key role in this new age of collaboration and networking. The future belongs to networkers and if you’re not a part of the new trend one tends to feel left out when asked if they are on a popular network like Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

The present economic crisis adds a dire need for this engagement as more people are using the internet resources for job hunting and finding new homes to live. This is just the start of a change that will never go back to what it used to be, the internet is here to stay and is more than what it used to be 2 years ago.

TITSSN activates the ENGAGED initiative on April 1st 2009 with a series of kick off events for the month. On April 9th at TITSSN’s monthly meeting at the Microsoft Briefing Center in NYC, president/chairman/security attaché Mr. Brett A. Scudder will officially present the initiative to the organization and outlining a few additional aspects of it and how it will be executed. He will also cover the members ENGAGED aspects as well. Registration is open and available here http://www.clicktoattend.com/?id=137146

On Monday April 13th from 3-5pm, TITSSN will host a local reception at our office at 331 Beach 70th St, Arverne, NY, 11692 to highlight some of the technologies that will be a part of the initiative. This is a RSVP/registration event. Interested persons are asked to register here http://www.clicktoattend.com/?id=137140.

The first ENGAGED members Live Meeting session will be on Wednesday April 22nd from 7-9pm and the info will be sent to active members.

As food and refreshments will be provided at our local meetings and events and we need to ensure that we have enough to cover our guests so registration for these events is a must.

Thank you very much and have a great day.

TITSSN ~The IT Security Suite Network~
We are Security - your Security - our Security - IT Security. Our Security is Safe and Secure.