12/15/2023 0 Comments Encrypto malwareWhat is running in a server, which application is accessing the data and how they are accessing the data are as critical as user access control. To harden data at rest in data centers and clouds, so it can resist cyberattacks that have breached your perimeter, your encryption solution must offer additional layers of control and defense:ĭata protection must not start and end with users. For a closer examination of data center systems cyberattack risks and mitigation tradeoffs, I recommend that you read Aberdeen Group’s “Selecting Encryption for ‘Data-At-Rest’ In Back-End Systems: What Risks Are You Trying To Address”. In these threat scenarios, file-level encryption (which unlike FDE) is actively protecting the organization’s data whenever these back-end systems are online, available and accessible, even if unauthorized access has been successfully achieved. The most likely threats to data center and cloud storage.įor enterprise data on back-end systems (e.g., file servers, network servers, or cloud-based storage), the biggest threats are infiltration and unauthorized access by external attackers, fraud or theft by trusted insiders, and non-malicious errors made by authorized, well-intended users. Therefore, FDE offers no auditability or protection from advanced persistent threats, malware or rogue insiders such as administrators. Many managers and auditors may not realize that once the storage device is powered up, FDE affords no protection, all the data is in the clear. This rarely, if ever, occurs at the datacenter because the high risk isn’t the disk being physically stolen, it is remote unauthorized disk access. FDE works on endpoints because if the device is stolen the data cannot be used. All Encryption Solutions are Not Created Equalĭue to its success in securing endpoint devices, many organizations deployed or considered deploying Full Disk Encryption (FDE) to their data center. Many of these best practices are simple to implement and pack a powerful punch when it comes to keeping these attackers at bay by adding a layer defense around the data-protecting the targeted, valuable coconut milk itself, so to speak. When it comes to how to help protect against such attacks, there are several best practices every organization should follow. This focused attack poses a good question to other organizations… “Is my valuable data really secure?” Layers of Defense Mitigate These Attacks Once the attacker gained access, it was easier for the breach to move across systems and environments without raising any alarm. Using intrusion through malicious code, the attacker was able to gain the elevated privileges to the trusted Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) token-signing certificate and was able to add their own privileged credentials. The recent SolarWinds attack is a prime example of a calculated attack. These threat actors are disciplined, highly motivated and oftentimes state-sponsored with infinite resources. Microsoft’s 2020 Digital Defense Report makes it clear that threat actors have rapidly increased in sophistication and are using techniques that are very hard to detect. The hard coconut shell that was protecting your data is cracked and cybercriminals now have access to your systems, potentially draining and taking control of your data like it was coconut milk.Īs security threats evolve and adapt, so too must an organization’s response to them. Whether piercing the network security perimeter is accomplished via a sophisticated code injection into trusted software or the simple click of a well written phishing email, the result is the same. There also doesn’t seem to be a week that we don’t read about a successful large scale ransomware attack. Recently the headlines have been dominated by infected enterprise software that has resulted in malware and hackers gaining access to mission critical infrastructures, taking control of systems, and stealing data.
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