
From Military Cyberwarfare to Commercial Pen Testing
The following article is a discussion about helping you to best utilize your military skills to successfully transition into the commercial space.
Cybersecurity is a set of controls used to protect your business against digital attacks and attackers that aim to exploit or destroy sensitive information. This sensitive information can range from:
Having your bank account hacked on your personal computer can definitely ruin your day. However, the consequences of a cyber attack can be devastating and life threating especially when discussing cyber threats to Industrial Control Systems (ICS)
“In 2021, Russian hackers breached computerized equipment that operates the largest fuel pipeline in the U.S., causing the Colonial Pipeline Company to shut down its pipeline, which originates in Houston, for six days to contain the attack. The breach triggered fuel shortages and a spike in gas prices on the East Coast.” Texas Tribune
ICS are found in many industries such as electric, water and wastewater, transportation, oil and natural gas, chemical, pharmaceutical, and manufacturing (e.g., automotive, aerospace, etc). Because there are many different types of ICS with varying levels of potential risk and impact, there are many different methods and techniques for securing ICS, one of the most important method is Penetration Testing.
Consequences of an ICS incident/breach:
* Impact on national security—facilitate an act of terrorism
* Reduction or loss of production at one site or multiple sites simultaneously
* Injury or death of employees
* Injury or death of persons in the community
* Damage to equipment
* Release, diversion, or theft of hazardous materials
* Environmental damage
* Violation of regulatory requirements
* Product contamination
* Criminal or civil legal liabilities
* Loss of proprietary or confidential information
* Loss of brand image or customer confidence
“A Hacker Tried to Poison a Florida City’s Water Supply, Officials Say – The attacker [increased] sodium hydroxide levels in the Oldsmar, Florida, water supply to extremely dangerous levels” Wired
Learn more about ICS/SCADA and critical infrastructure testing here
“54 percent of companies say their IT departments are not sophisticated enough to handle advanced cyberattacks.” Sophos
“The worldwide information security market is forecast to reach $366.1 billion in 2028.” (Fortune Business Insights)
“56 percent of Americans don’t know what steps to take in the event of a data breach.” (Varonis)
“Uber tried to pay off hackers to delete the stolen data of 57 million users and keep the breach quiet.” (Bloomberg)
“On average, a company falls victim to a ransomware attack every 11 seconds.” (Cybersecurity Ventures)
Many times a cyber breach can go undetected for months, with the malicious actor listening to network traffic, watching for unencrypted passwords and waiting for the the opportune time to lock your data or gather sensitive data to sell to other cyber criminals. Knowing what a cyberattack looks like and becoming aware of issues before its too late is important, especially when securing your critical data and systems.
Network Security is more complicated – here are a few network tips to ensure you are aware of cyber attacks in the beginning stages – Network Security. For more basic cybersecurity awareness, here are a few indicators that you may have been breached:
Are you getting a lot of recent spam phone calls, strange texts and an unusual amount of phishing type of spam emails (emails that contain links to click) A useful online tool for seeing if your name and email is in a breach database is https://haveibeenpwned.com/. This site will show you if your name password etc is found where it shouldn’t be.
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Keep track your passwords utilizing a password management tool such as Kaspersky Password Manager. Always avoid reusing passwords and don’t become complacent with using Weak passwords. Weak passwords are passwords that are easy to guess and gain access to. An example of a weak password would be 12345 or mydogsnameismax. Passwords 14 characters or less are also easy to crack with common hacking tools:
If your password is weak, change it immediately. 8 characters can be cracked in less than 3 hours.
Use trusted anti-virus software, threat detection and VPNs to prevent hackers from entering and attacking your systems and gaining access important information. By using trusted anti-virus programs your risk of viruses drops greatly. Trusted anti-virus programs can scan your device(s) to check for any sort of virus that may be extremely dangerous and harmful that could lead to a serious cyberattack. Along with using a trusted anti-virus program purchase a VPN to go with it. VPN stands for “virtual private network”. VPNs are mostly if not always used to guard against hackers by preventing them from being able to access private subjects like your IP address, search history and any personal data on Wi-Fi networks. A VPN (virtual private network) is an incredibly useful service that keeps your internet connection safe and your privacy online protected and away from the eyes of experienced hackers who are looking to do bad upon you and your business. Make sure the VPN and anti-virus protection you are using is under a protected, secure site.
For more network cybersecurity tips view how to prevent network cyber attacks here
Make sure your programs and software are always up to date and patched with the latest software /hardware updates. Outdated or unsupported software leaves you more vulnerable to cyberattacks and cybercriminals. As technology advances across cybersecurity controls, the threat landscape also advances making cyber security an always evolving dynamic struggle. By having outdated programs and software you simply are making it much easier for an experienced cybercriminal to gain access to your sensitive data.
Well, yes of course…Check out this site that hackers use to gather information: Shodan
Here are other common websites used during OSINT Hacking Phase:
Via https://purplesec.us/resources/cyber-security-statistics/#WFH
Our expert team will help scope your project and provide a fast and accurate project estimate.
Contact Redbot SecurityThe following article is a discussion about helping you to best utilize your military skills to successfully transition into the commercial space.
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