Tag Archive for: Framework

NIST Releases New “Cybersecurity Framework Profile for Ransomware Risk Management” to Battle Growing Threat of Ransomware Attacks | Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

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Ransomware incidents continue to be on the rise, wreaking havoc for organizations globally. Ransomware attacks target an organization’s data or infrastructure, and, in exchange for releasing the captured data or infrastructure, the attacker demands a ransom. This creates a dilemma for organizations — the decision to pay the ransom, relying on the attacker to release the data as they say, or to reject the ransom demand and try to restore the data or operations on their own.

On the heels of new federal actions related to cyber security, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recently issued a Cybersecurity Framework Profile for Ransomware Risk Management (Ransomware Profile), currently designated as “NISTIR 8374.” This new Ransomware Profile “maps security objectives” from the Framework for Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity, Version 1.1 (Cybersecurity Framework). The Ransomware Profile “can be used as a guide to managing the risk of ransomware events” and can help “gauge an organization’s level of readiness to mitigate ransomware threats and to react to the potential impact of events.”

This is the second cybersecurity framework profile recently released by NIST to help reverse ransomware attacks. In late 2020, NIST released its “Zero Trust Architecture” framework as an additional alternative to ransomware defense. To learn more about NIST’s Zero Trust Architecture model,  read here.

This new NIST Ransomware Cybersecurity Framework Profile is composed of three unique parts:

  • The Framework Core
  • The Framework Implementation Tiers
  • The Framework Profile

Additionally, the Framework Core includes five parts, intended to be concurrent and continuous functions that adopting entities should employ:

  • Identify
  • Protect
  • Detect
  • Respond
  • Recover

These functions “provide a high-level, strategic view of the lifecycle of an organization’s management of cybersecurity risk” and, to simplify what NIST is propounding, the Ransomware Profile expands on the Cybersecurity Framework by using the five parts of the Framework Core to offer practical steps that organizations can take to safeguard their networks from potential…

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Tackling the many (sur)faces of a zero trust security framework

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By Vijay Jayaraman – Director – System Engineering, India & SAARC, Citrix

For a business to thrive in today’s world, it is critical for it to have innovation and technology at its core. However, it is also important to understand that the more we try to diversify the technology we use and rely on it to carry out work, the more vulnerable we are to external threats and attacks. It is therefore important for every organization to not only use technology to ease processes but also create a robust security framework that safeguards the entire business.

So, what is the best way to protect your business from malicious threats?

Let’s take a look at our own homes. Everyone has a lock on their front door which provides a certain level of security. This security improves significantly once complemented with an alarm and video surveillance system that is capable of tracking movement through the house. But this won’t stop criminals from trying to break a window, deactivate the alarm system or even just monitor your every move to gather any sensitive information. Now, translating this to businesses – a zero-trust network architecture (ZTNA) is an important first step to enhance workplace security. As opposed to a VPN based security system, zero trust adds multiple layers and restricts access to the critical business resources whether they are on premise or on cloud. It employs multi-factor authentication, machine learning-based analysis, and continuous monitoring that ensures optimum security in the network.

However, just implementing this architecture is not enough. In many companies, it has been observed that most vulnerabilities reported are in applications and not in the network. Businesses, therefore, need to take additional steps for a comprehensive strategy that not only understands vulnerabilities in the network but in the applications as well. With applications moving away from being monolithic and progressing towards cloud-based micro service architectures, it becomes important for organizations to focus on in-house applications and on the new public cloud or hybrid cloud-based micro services.

While doing so, emerging technologies like Artificial…

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An ideal framework for the accountable use of personal data by law enforcement and state security agencies

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Image: Andrea Estafanía for APC

By Koliwe Majama


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The world is increasingly becoming digitised, with a significant amount of personal data being collected, stored and mined by different public and private sector players, in the various countries and communities, for one purpose or the other. Digitisation has increased efficiency of services and enhanced customer experiences of the same, as service providers take advantage of data-driven customer insights to improve what they offer to the public. Digital technologies have also provided law enforcement and intelligence services with new methods to tackle crime as they make use of personal data, in the form of communication, transaction or location data, to investigate unlawful acts.

However, while digitisation is enhancing law and order, there are increasing concerns over the manner in which some of the data collected through automated digital technologies and data mining is being manipulated or misused. This has prompted calls for more accountable use of personal data by law enforcement and state security agencies to protect the rights of citizens.

Collection of personal data by law enforcement and state security

Law enforcement agents collect digitised personal data of targeted individuals or organisations to aid in criminal investigations at different stages and in various ways. Evidence gathered can be used in a court of law against the targeted individual. However, there are also instances where some state agents collect vast amounts of data, which is not targeted at specific individuals, but as an intelligence gathering process and for use by government in decision making.

In a recent meeting of the Global Encryption Coalition on government hacking, panellists shared forms of government hacking for either criminal investigation or intelligence gathering, with three methods most relevant to our African context. The first…

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How application shielding fits into the DevSecOps framework

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The post How application shielding fits into the DevSecOps framework appeared first on Intertrust Technologies.

  • The DevSecOps framework takes a “shift-left” approach to security, integrating it into the software development lifecycle (SDLC) from the start.
  • The pressure to release apps to market quickly can result in software with fundamental security flaws that are much harder to fix later.
  • By baking information security objectives into the development process, a DevSecOps framework can improve ROI, user trust, and the speed of security fixes.
  • Incorporating a strong application shielding solution into the SDLC helps developers strengthen core security and make the security testing and development process more efficient.

What is a DevSecOps framework?

The DevSecOps framework integrates security into the standard DevOps cycle for application and program development. A more traditional approach to development positions security as a discrete department that protects an organization’s systems overall, under which security testing of applications is one role among many. DevSecOps embraces the shift-left approach to security, making it an integral part of the software development lifecycle (SDLC) from the start.

Within a DevSecOps framework, security best practices get baked in at every phase of development, so apps are more secure, have fewer vulnerabilities, and require less patching. Notably, an Agile DevSecOps framework focuses on maintaining development velocity without incurring security debt which will have to be paid down by the organization later.

The need for DevSecOps

The focus on speed-to-market in the software world puts constant pressure on development teams. The pressure to keep up with changing demands, continuously improve features, yet ship apps quickly, often undercuts security concerns and testing. Intertrust’s research on mobile app security found that 83% of apps are distributed with at least one security flaw. 

This constant time pressure lures some dev teams into taking a ship now, patch later attitude. However, as most teams know, once one project is finalized, it’s straight onto the next one, and the time and resources to…

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