Author name: Sushma Singh

Businesses now face the combined challenge of rapid innovation while also guaranteeing robust cybersecurity. While the need to deliver is critical, ignoring cybersecurity can result in serious weaknesses. Establishing a solid cybersecurity foundation from the start is critical for long-term growth and secure operations. As we dig deeper into the subject, we’ll look at five basic security checks that every enginer and company should prioritize. These assessments, which range from authentication flows to file upload checks, while in no way complete form the foundation of a resilient cybersecurity infrastructure. Let us look into the significance of each assessment, the potential consequences of ignoring them, and the best strategies for efficiently implementing them. Top 5 Security Checks For Engineers #1. Authentication Flows #2. Input Field Validation #3. Open Service Ports #4. Unauthorized Open APIs #5. File Upload Checks #1. Authentication Flows Authentication mechanisms, such as Sign Up, Sign In, Change Password, and Forgot Password, play a pivotal role in safeguarding resources against unauthorized access. Potential Impact Inadequate authentication can result in unauthorized access, leading to data breaches and misuse of sensitive data. Key Check Points Identify & Test: Continuously evaluate all authentication processes. Regular testing ensures vulnerabilities are identified and rectified promptly. Email/Phone Verification: Authenticating user registration through email or phone verification reduces the risk of malicious account creations. Token Expiry: Tokens with limited validity ensure that any potential misuse is time-bound, enhancing security. #2. Input Field Validation Proper input validation is crucial to ensure that user-provided data adheres to expected formats, thereby preventing malicious data injections. Potential Impact Poor validation can lead to vulnerabilities like SQL injection, compromising system integrity and data confidentiality. Key Check Points Identify Input Fields: Recognize all user input areas to implement appropriate security checks, ensuring data integrity. Data Formats: Enforce well-defined data formats, lengths, and types to prevent unexpected or malicious data entries. Whitelists Over Blacklists: Using whitelists ensures that only specific, known inputs are accepted, reducing the risk of malicious data injections.  #3. Open Service Ports Ports serve as gateways to a network. Their regular monitoring and management are vital to prevent unauthorized access. Potential Impact Unprotected ports can be exploited, allowing unauthorized access or control over systems. Key Check Points Regular Scans: Periodically scan the network to identify and secure open ports, reducing potential entry points for attackers. Essential Ports Only: Restrict open ports to only those necessary, minimizing potential vulnerabilities. Firewalls & Rules: Implement stringent rules and firewalls for each open port, ensuring controlled and monitored access. #4. Unauthorized Open APIs APIs facilitate communication between different software applications. Ensuring their security is paramount to maintain data integrity and prevent unauthorized access. Potential Impact Exposed or insecure APIs can be exploited, leading to data breaches or unauthorized data manipulation. Key Check Points Catalog All APIs: Maintain a comprehensive inventory of all APIs, both internal and external, to effectively monitor and secure them. API Authentication: Implement robust authentication mechanisms for all APIs, ensuring that only authorized entities can access them. Monitor API Usage: Regularly track API usage patterns to detect and promptly address any anomalies or suspicious activities.   #5. File Upload Checks User file uploads introduce potential vulnerabilities if not managed correctly. Ensuring that only expected and safe file types are uploaded is of utmost importance. Potential Impact Malicious file uploads can introduce threats like malware, potentially compromising systems or leading to data breaches. Key Check Points Assumptions about security can be dangerous. Lack of knowledge about a tool’s security features and not having dedicated personnel for assessment can expose you to risks. What Can You Do? Specify File Types: Clearly define and enforce the types of files users are allowed to upload, reducing the risk of malicious file uploads. Scan Uploaded Files: Implement real-time threat scanning for all uploaded files, ensuring immediate detection and action against potential threats. Separate Storage: Store user-uploaded files in a dedicated location, separate from primary data storage, to ensure system integrity. To Conclude Balancing rapid innovation with robust cybersecurity is a challenge that modern businesses must adeptly navigate. Businesses can establish a strong security foundation by proactively addressing and prioritizing these key cybersecurity assessments. This approach mitigates potential threats and positions the business for sustainable growth in an increasingly digital world. Security Checks Start With The Very Basics! For more insights, tutorials, and a community of security-aware developers, visit BUZZ. Together, we will make security accessible to all!

GOT is, hands down, the most iconic show ever made — most people have watched it. And those who haven’t watched it have heard of it. And why are we talking about it while focusing on cyber phishing? Well, that’s because a phishing attack and all phishing techniques are similar to GOT characters and themes! We’re not kidding! Whether it was The Red Wedding or the iconic Beheading of Ned Stark, these classic incidents had one thing in common — they happened when the characters dropped their guards. Similarly, a phishing scam happens when you least suspect it and loosen your grip on cybersecurity practices. That’s when hackers use different techniques such as email phishing, whale phishing, voice phishing, and spear phishing to catch you off-guard. Don’t see the urgency yet? Let’s talk some numbers then – these 2023 cyber phishing stats are as chilling as the massacre of the infamous GOT incident — The Red Wedding! As per reports, close to 3.4 billion phishing emails are sent daily Cloudflare has reportedly blocked about 250 million malware-laced phishing emails between May 2022 to May 2023 About 33 million records can fall victim to email phishing and ransomware attacks by the end of this year Intrigued? Want to know how phishing can affect your business? Keen to understand what is phishing in cyber security and what a phishing email tries to do? If yes, you’ve hit the jackpot. We have covered the ins and outs of all types of phishing attacks in this post. This article is an honest initiative to answer all your questions related to phishing — How to prevent phishing? What to do after clicking a phishing link? And much, much more! Dive in! What is a Phishing Attack in Cyber Security? It was shocking when The Red Woman — Melisandre — manipulated Stannis Baratheon into burning Shireen, his only child, alive. Ramifications? The entire clan came to its end in the aftermath of the incident. This incident is the exact phishing definition. Scammers use different phishing techniques and manipulate users into clicking a phishing link. Via a Phishing Link In an Email A phishing link is laced with malware that gets downloaded in the system as soon as unaware and unprepared users click on the link that usually comes as an attachment in an email. These kinds of emails are known as phishing emails. Links in a phishing email can also redirect unsuspecting users to a shady website – the results are disastrous. Any information that the user shares on the malicious website gets instantly stolen! Via a Phishing Link In SMSs & Voice Calls Also, you must know that phishing has evolved beyond emails — SMSs and voice calls are also used to carry out phishing attacks nowadays. When done via an SMS, the phishing attack is known as smishing. When done via a voice call, the phishing attack is known as vishing. Phishing intends to steal sensitive info, including — but not limited to – credit card details, login credentials, and social security numbers! How can Phishing Attacks Affect SMBs? The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center confirmed in 2021 that many small and medium-sized businesses lost approximately $7 billion to phishing scams. And we’re not talking about big fishes like Google or Microsoft — we’re talking about businesses like yours! In one such chilling event, Pat Bennett, an entrepreneur from Cleveland, fell into the trap of a phishing attack on her business Instagram account. Bennett, a seller of homemade granola, claims she receives most of her orders through Instagram DMs. And despite all efforts, she has failed to regain control of her account. Bennett was asked to pay a ransom of $10,000 if she wanted back control of her business account. She refused to pay the ransom. Result? She had to restart her business from scratch! This is just one story – there are many more. And not everybody gets a chance to restart! Phishing attacks are fairly common, and the techniques scammers use are so advanced that companies even go bankrupt! If you truly value your business and want to survive the test of cyber terrain, learning everything about cyber phishing attacks is pivotal! What does a phishing email look like? Arya Stark in GOT joined the death cult, the Faceless Men. The cult had unstoppable assassins who had magic masks. Those masks could make the killers resemble any person they wanted to. Hence, they carried out murders easily, without failing — because they could not be distinguished from the person they were pretending to be! That’s precisely what a phishing email looks like – harmless, impersonating a legit brand/firm/person. The more skilled the scammers are, the more legit the email looks. And the more legit it looks, the harder it becomes to spot the scam. Here are some real phishing examples. Paypal Phishing Paypal phishing email is a classic example of how sophisticated phishing attacks cash in after pressing the target’s panic button. Phishers impersonate PayPal and send phishing emails to customers, citing that the customer’s account has been locked. They provide a CTA button or a link that claims to fix the issue. Once the customers click on the link, they are redirected to an imposter PayPal website, something like PayPpal or PayyPal, instead of PayPal. Such minor changes are hard to spot in one glance. If the customers fail to recognize that the site they’ve landed on isn’t the actual PayPal site, and they enter any information, it gets promptly stolen. Apple Phishing The most common Apple phishing email that scammers send appears to be coming from either the App Store or the Apple Pay Account. You will receive a spoofed email citing that your Apple account is locked. Alongside, you will receive some sort of unlock button. And once you click the button, you will be asked for sensitive information. Here are some other common Apple Phishing scams to watch out for in 2023 — The Apple Pay suspension

“The only truly secure system is one that is powered off, cast in a block of concrete and sealed in a lead-lined room with armed guards.” ~~ Gene Spafford, Cybersecurity Advisor to the US Government Agencies Have you seen the Academy-award-winning 2019 movie, Parasite? The unpreparedness and ignorance of the owners gave intruders a chance to leech on resources that didn’t belong to them. And the exploitation continued for months! A security breach in the cyber world is no different. Attackers are always on the lookout to steal data from ill-prepared companies — both big and small — and ask for a hefty ransom in return. Companies that practice poor cybersecurity hygiene are at maximum risk of suffering from a serious security breach. Result? Insane financial losses and reputation damage. The entire process of getting prepared to face a cyberattack is known as incident response. A well-structured incident response plan includes – Prepping the company to deal with an attack in real-time Arming the company with different incident response tools to monitor systems and promptly raise an alert in case a security breach occurs. Time is of absolute essence in cyber attacks Isolating the identified threat and quickly — as quickly as possible — navigating out of the situation to minimize losses Amping up the defense after the attack to keep the company prepared for any future cyberattacks Sounds simple, right? Well, in actuality, the incident response process is anything but simple. So, we took it upon ourselves to help all of you SMBs understand the cybersecurity landscape better. Suppose this piques your interest and you want to safeguard your company assets. In that case, this post about the importance of a security incident response framework for small and medium-sized businesses is a goldmine of answers! We will walk you through the ins and outs of incident response in detail — how different security organizations classify it, its relevance for you, the incident response steps, and more. Dive in! Incident Response for SMBs – What can you expect What is Incident Response? Is Incident Response Really Relevant to SMBs? What is an Incident Response Plan? The Incident Response Process — In-depth Evaluation Of The Incident Response Steps How to Get Started — A Handy Check-list for SMBs Types Of Security Threats/ Attacks that Incident Response Tackles Top 3 Benefits of Practicing Incident Response Conclusion Frequently Asked Questions Why Choose BUZZ? What is Incident Response? Have you ever baked bread or cake? Isn’t it a meticulous procedure — you have to preheat the oven and wear heat-repelling gloves? If you won’t, you’ll burn your hands. Incident response is almost similar! It’s a plan of action that aware companies implement to be ready when facing the heat of cyber attacks. It starts from preparation and extends to monitoring, detection, threat isolation, recovery, restoration, and post-attack security strengthening measures. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the SANS Institute have classified the steps in the incident response lifecycle slightly differently. While the process and motive are the same — preparedness and quick recovery in case of a real-time attack — the number of steps varies in both types. #1. The NIST Incident Response The incident response plan nist is a 4-step process. Preparation against cyber attacks Threat detection and analysis Containing the attack, and recovery Post-incident cybersecurity strengthening measures #2. The SANS Institute Incident Response Cyber Security Plan The incident response plan by SANS has 6 steps. Preparation Identification Containing the damage Eliminating the threat Fixing the security breach, recovering the compromised data Carrying forward the lessons learnt in order to strengthen the security No matter the difference in the number of steps in these IR plans, the incident response lifecycle starts with preparation and ends with taking lessons from an attack, further strengthening cybersecurity. Did you know? A few security institutes identify an incident response plan template as a 7-step process — the first 6 steps are the same as the incident response phases in SANS. The 7th additional step is re-testing after implementing new security measures post an attack. Is Incident Response Really Relevant to SMBs? “There are only two types of organizations: Those that have been hacked and those that don’t know it yet.” ~~ John Chambers, CEO and Chairman of Cisco Systems And we couldn’t agree more with Mr Chambers! Most SMBs think that cyberattacks and security breaches happen only at bigger firms. Why would hackers even look at their company when so many bigger fishes are in the pond? How hackers have evolved and intensified phishing and malware attacks has left even giants such as Google, Facebook, and Microsoft gasping, second-guessing their preparedness. But these giants have a fleet of cybersecurity experts and a highly trained incident response team at their beck and call — do you? The chances that their business will cease to exist in the aftermath of a cyber attack are close to nil; they have insane funds — do you? Most SMBs and startups lack even the basic knowledge of damage control when dealing with a security breach in real time. And the more time hackers get to fiddle with your data, the more damage they will do. So, until and unless you’re prepared with a solid cyber incident response plan, there’s no way you will be able to protect your assets from being misused. While there’s no way to have unbreachable immunity against cyber attacks, it’s the readiness that matters the most.   What is an Incident Response Plan? “You can never protect yourself 100%. What you do is protect yourself as much as possible and mitigate risk to an acceptable degree. You can never remove all risk.” ~~ Kevin Mitnick, Convicted American Hacker and Security Consultant Cyber security incident response is the process that aims to safeguard your assets when hackers launch an attack. Simply Explained In layman’s terms, the IR plan is a broad-spectrum approach. It focuses on the What and Which, Who, When, and How involved in case unethical hackers find their

For many Small and Medium Business (SMB) leaders, the term “secure architecture principles” might seem like a high-tech jargon, perhaps a domain exclusive to the largest corporations. Yet, in our digital-first era, where software intricacies weave the fabric of most businesses, understanding these principles is no longer a luxury—it’s a necessity. Every day, new vulnerabilities emerge, putting businesses of all sizes in the sights of cyber adversaries. This guide tries to simplify secure design for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), pointing out how important it is for both protecting against today’s cyber threats and building a strong base for the future. Through this guide, we will equip you with the knowledge and skills to build a secure foundational architecture so you can protect and secure your business against ever-evolving cyber threats. Secure Architecture for SMBs – What can you expect Review Of Recent Cyber Incidents Building Blocks Of A Secure Architecture A Deep Dive Into Secure Architecture and Its Relevance to SMBs How To Prioritize Effectively With Limited Resources? Conclusion Review Of Recent Cyber Incidents Incident 1: Open S3 Bucket Fiasco Amazon S3, a widely used cloud storage service, has been the epicenter of multiple security breaches, primarily due to misconfigured buckets. In multiple incidents, a vast amount of sensitive data, including personal information and confidential business documents, was inadvertently exposed to the public. These were a direct result of an S3 bucket that wasn’t securely configured. The aftermath saw significant financial losses, reputational damage, and potential legal ramifications for the involved entities. Such an oversight highlights the critical need for thorough security reviews and the implementation of secure architecture practices. Incident 2: The Log4j Vulnerability Another incident that shook the tech world was the Log4j vulnerability. Log4j, a popular Java logging library, had a critical flaw that allowed attackers to execute arbitrary code remotely. Given its widespread use across numerous applications and services, this vulnerability had a far-reaching impact. Many businesses were left scrambling to patch their systems and mitigate potential threats. This incident underscored the importance of secure coding practices and the need for regular dependency checks and updates in the software development lifecycle. be proactive, know your weak spots, and focus on a secure foundation! These incidents serve as a stark reminder of the challenges we face in today’s digital world. It’s not enough to just react to threats; we need to be ahead of the game. Regularly reviewing our tech setup and making sure we’re building things securely from the get-go is essential. Building Blocks Of A Secure Architecture Secure Architecture is the foundational framework for designing and implementing digital systems that prioritize the protection of data, assets, and operations. It ensures that every aspect of an organization’s digital business is protected against potential threats. The core components include: Secure Coding Writing software that’s both efficient and free from vulnerabilities. Architecture Review Evaluating the digital infrastructure to ensure secure integration of all components. Supply Chain Reviews Examining third-party components for potential security risks. Threat Modeling Proactively understanding and anticipating potential cyber threats. Deployment Review Ensuring software deployments are optimized for security. A Deep Dive Into Secure Architecture and Its Relevance to SMBs Now that the basics are clear, let’s get into the specifics – Secure Coding Secure Coding is the practice of writing computer programs in a way that protects them against malicious attacks and vulnerabilities. This involves adhering to coding standards, avoiding known pitfalls in programming languages, and regularly testing code for vulnerabilities. Technical Insight: Tools like SonarQube or Checkmarx scan the codebase for patterns that are known to be problematic, flagging potential issues like buffer overflows or race conditions or security misconfigurations. Relevance for SMBs – When customizing platforms, it’s easy to introduce vulnerabilities. Automated scanners can identify issues in the code that might be exploited, ensuring robust security. Architecture Review An Architecture Review assesses the overall structure of a system, ensuring that all components, from databases to user interfaces, are designed and integrated with security in mind. Technical Insight: This might involve ensuring that databases are not directly exposed to the internet, using Virtual Private Clouds (VPC) in cloud environments like AWS, or ensuring proper encryption is in place for data at rest and in transit using protocols like TLS. Relevance for SMBs: With services like AWS or Azure, SMBs can inadvertently misconfigure settings. Tools like AWS Inspector can highlight insecure configurations, ensuring data remains protected. Supply Chain Reviews Every external component, library, or service that an organization integrates into its digital operations can introduce vulnerabilities. Technical Insight: For example, using an outdated third-party library with known vulnerabilities can expose the system to attacks. Regularly updating these libraries and using tools like Dependabot can help in identifying and updating vulnerable dependencies. Relevance for SMBs: SMBs often integrate multiple third-party tools. Regular scans with tools like Snyk ensure that these integrations don’t introduce vulnerabilities. Threat Modeling Threat Modeling is a systematic approach to identify and prioritize potential threats in a system. By understanding the system’s architecture and data flow, possible vulnerabilities are pinpointed. Technical Insight: Using tools like Microsoft’s Threat Modeling Tool, teams can create data flow diagrams, highlighting potential attack vectors, such as unauthorized data access or system breaches. Relevance for SMBs: SMBs can focus on significant threats to their operations, like customer data breaches, ensuring effective resource allocation and robust protection. Deployment Review Before any software or update is deployed, it undergoes a thorough review to ensure that it doesn’t introduce new vulnerabilities and is optimized for performance. Technical Insight: This involves checking for insecure configurations, ensuring proper access controls, and validating that the software behaves as expected in a production-like environment. Automated CI/CD pipelines using tools like Jenkins or GitLab CI can run a series of tests and scans before any deployment. Relevance for SMBs: When rolling out updates or new tools, automated deployment pipelines can ensure that security checks are consistently applied, reducing the risk of deploying vulnerable software. For SMBs, navigating the different aspects of Secure Architecture might

Many Small and Medium Business (SMB) owners associate “penetration testing” with high-tech espionage or intricate cyber operations. Although known as “pen testing” or “ethical hacking,” this approach is crucial to protecting your business’s digital assets and the first line of defence to protect your apps against increasing cyber-attacks. This guide explains penetration testing and how SMBs can apply it to their businesses using their resources optimally. Penetration Testing for SMBs – What can you expect Truth Behind Two Popular Cyber Attacks What is Penetration Testing? A Simple Explanation Five Reasons For SMB Owners To Prioritize Penetration Testing Let’s Dive Deeper Into Types of Penetration Testing Tools, Skills, and Processes: The Essentials for SMBs to Run Penetration Tests How To Prioritize Effectively With Limited Resources? Conclusion Truth Behind Two Popular Cyber Attacks In 2023, two well-known entities, Discord.io and Duolingo, faced cyber-attacks that sent shockwaves through the online community. Discord.io, a platform cherished by many for creating personalized Discord invites, suffered a major breach with a database containing the personal information of over 760,000 Discord.io users put up for sale on the dark web. The breach was genuine, and the hacker used a simple web vulnerability to breach the platform. The breach of course impacted the users who needed to secure their data but caused the platform to shut down and is unavailable now.. Duolingo’s, the beloved language-learning app, scraped data of 2.6 million Duolingo users was leaked on a hacking forum. This breach was caused by an unprotected API and a potential goldmine for threat actors to conduct targeted phishing attacks. Millions of eager learners, who had trusted the platform with their data, were now at risk. These incidents serve as stark reminders of the vulnerabilities lurking in our application while we continue to build at an unprecedented pace. The question remains: are we building with security in mind? For most platforms, the bar to breach seems perilously low and it is no longer just a technical glitch; it’s a breach of trust, reputation, and, often, a company’s very future. The key takeaway? You could be a popular app but a small security lapse is all it takes! What is Penetration Testing? A Simple Explanation Penetration testing, often termed “pen testing” or “ethical hacking,” is where experts mimic cyberattacks on systems, networks, or applications to pinpoint vulnerabilities. Through this process, they might uncover ways to bypass user authentication, detect unauthorized access to APIs, and open ports, or even find instances where entire databases can be dumped due to unprotected or unvalidated inputs. Addressing these vulnerabilities is crucial, ensuring that businesses can fend off real-world cyber threats and safeguard their digital assets. Simplified Explanation for SMB Owners Penetration testing is like a health check-up for your business’s digital presence. Just as you’d visit a doctor to catch potential health issues before they become severe, you conduct penetration tests to catch and fix digital vulnerabilities before hackers can exploit them. Five Reasons For SMB Owners To Prioritize Penetration Testing An SMB owner has too many conflicting priorities, there’s a business to run, too many daily decisions – so, why should penetration testing be on your priority list? Here are five compelling reasons: Protection Against Financial Loss Cyberattacks can be costly. From ransom payments to system repairs and potential lawsuits, the financial implications can be devastating for SMBs. Reputation Management Trust is hard to build but easy to lose. A single security breach can erode the trust you’ve cultivated with your customers over years. Regulatory Compliance Many industries have regulations requiring businesses to maintain certain security standards. Non-compliance can result in hefty fines. Proactive Defense In the world of cybersecurity, a reactive approach can be disastrous. Waiting for a breach to happen before taking action can be too late. Peace of Mind As an SMB owner, you have countless responsibilities. Worrying about potential cyber threats shouldn’t be one of them. Simply Put Penetration testing helps SMBs find and fix their weaknesses before they are exploited. This prevents expensive data breaches and shows that they care about data security. This not only gives people peace of mind that their data is safe, but also makes sure that security standards in the industry are met. In the end, when digital assets are safe, SMBs can run their businesses without worry and focus on growing their businesses. Let’s Dive Deeper Into Types of Penetration Testing For SMB owners, understanding the nuances of these tests can be overwhelming – let’s explore the various types of penetration tests. A business could decide to use one, or more approaches to penetration testing and is not necessary to perform all of them or in any order. Red Teaming A multi-layered attack simulation conducted by highly specialized security professionals. They emulate real-world attackers, targeting all aspects of your business to identify vulnerabilities. Why It’s Important for SMBs: Red teaming provides a holistic view of your organization’s security posture, revealing how well your business can defend against and respond to sophisticated attacks. Black Box Testing Testers have no prior knowledge of your infrastructure. They approach your systems as a genuine outsider, much like a real attacker would. Why It’s Important for SMBs: This offers an unbiased assessment of your external defenses, highlighting vulnerabilities that might be evident to potential attackers. White Box Testing Testers are given complete knowledge of your systems, including architecture and source code. This allows for a thorough and detailed examination of your entire digital landscape. Why It’s Important for SMBs: With full access, testers can identify both external and internal vulnerabilities, ensuring a comprehensive security review. API Testing This focuses on the Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) that are the backbone of most businesses. APIs allow different software applications to communicate, and they can be vulnerable to attacks. Why It’s Important for SMBs: As businesses increasingly rely on integrated systems and third-party applications, ensuring the security of APIs is crucial to prevent data breaches and maintain system integrity. Gray Box Testing A hybrid approach where testers have partial knowledge of your systems. It combines elements of both black and