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Business VPN flaws exploited by hackers
While hackers are exploiting the vulnerabilities found in actual solutions like business VPNs and RDP to gain access to the company network, they are using traditional tactics to target remote employees.
Last week, Cisco released security patches for 34 high-severity vulnerabilities affecting its IOS and IOS XE software. Some of the issues can be exploited by a remote, unauthenticated attacker to trigger a denial-of-service condition, and one flaw could also allow hackers to gain access to sensitive data.Read more
In order to ascertain that there are no hackers within theirnetwork, businesses should conduct a careful audit of every user and change allrelevant credentials. Accounts where ownership cannot be definitively confirmedshould be immediately deleted.
Even though the APT hackers have exploited the CVE-2018-13379 FortiOS SSL VPN web portal vulnerability to gain network access, CISA warns that they could use any other vulnerability to target unpatched and Internet-facing network edge devices in their attacks.
Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) are the backbone of today's businesses providing a wide range of entities from remote employees to business partners and sometimes even to customers, with the ability to connect to sensitive corporate information securely. Long gone are the days of buying a leased line or a dedicated physical network (or fiber) for these types of communications. VPNs provide a simple way to take advantage of the larger public internet by creating virtual encrypted communications. However, in recent months a number of VPN vulnerabilities have been discovered and are known to be actively exploited (Cybersecurity Requirements Center Advisory), putting at risk what was once considered the most reliable and trusted way to access sensitive corporate resources. In this blog post, I hope to explore the path that brought us here and highlight some recommendations that will hopefully guide the various next steps needed for secure remote network access to various partners.
In each of these cases, remote hackers exploited weak network security and critical unpatched vulnerabilities to tamper with critical processes that could potentially damage public health in serious ways.
Cisco has addressed a clutch of critical vulnerabilities in its small business and VPN routers that can be exploited by an unauthenticated, remote attacker to execute arbitrary code as the root user. All the attacker needs to do is send a maliciously crafted HTTP request to the web-based management interface.
The GIAC Exploit Researcher and Advanced Penetration Tester certification validates a practitioner's ability to find and mitigate significant security flaws in systems and networks. GXPN certification holders have the skills to conduct advanced penetration tests and model the behavior of attackers to improve system security, and the knowledge to demonstrate the business risk associated with these behaviors.
The GIAC Exploit Researcher and Advanced Penetration Tester \ncertification validates a practitioner's ability to find and mitigate \nsignificant security flaws in systems and networks. GXPN certification \nholders have the skills to conduct advanced penetration tests and model \nthe behavior of attackers to improve system security, and the knowledge \nto demonstrate the business risk associated with these behaviors.
By far the most likely cause of a VPN hack, then, is inadequate security on the part of the VPN itself. If the solution has weaknesses that can be exploited by run-of-the-mill bad actors, the user's data is at risk at all times. But by using a strong, reputable VPN provider, we can mitigate much of the danger. While no person, product, or organization is totally immune to hacking, the expertise and expense required to compromise a high-quality VPN mean that hackers are likely to focus their attention only on "high-value" targets.
Despite the prevalence of computer hackers, most businesses rely on the internet to track their financials, order and maintain inventory, conduct marketing and PR campaigns, connect with customers, engage in social media, and perform other critical operations. Yet we continue to hear about massive computer breaches, even at giant corporations with robust security measures in place.
If your business is not already backing up your hard drive, you should begin doing so immediately. Backing up your information is critical in case hackers do succeed in getting through and trashing your system. 2ff7e9595c
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