The never ending war
Another day, another vulnerability, another cyber attack - and you are again the causality.
Two stories for you this week to illustrate my point.
Story #1 - Exchange, the email server by Microsoft, was exploited. Apparently, the vulnerability was just waiting there for the last 10 years. Finally, hackers discovered it (as far as we know) in January. The result: 30,000 servers were compromised.
Based on the latest scan, it looks like another 90,000 servers are still vulnerable. Microsoft has released an emergency patch to fix the hole. However, that only prevents servers from being compromised by the attack. That’s a problem, because the vulnerability allowed the intruder to install other malware to provide access later, even after the security hole is closed. In the meantime, the attacker could download any available data. This really is a case of closing the barn door after the cows are long-gone.
It means that companies now have to go through the painful process of finding if anything has been installed in their systems. Given the complexity of Microsoft Exchange, it will be almost impossible to guarantee that the system is now 100% malware free.
According to Microsoft, the cloud offering Office365 which includes Exchange wasn't affected. Why is that important? A cynic would suggest that this incident will help Microsoft migrate customers to its data centers to prevent these events from happening. If nothing else, the customers could blame Microsoft and not themselves (for using Microsoft).
Story #2 - Verkada equipment was hacked. Who or what is Verkada? I know -- they don’t have the brand name of Microsoft. But this is an interesting example because of what they claim to offer: The New Standard for Enterprise Security. Their hybrid cloud technology leverages the latest in AI and edge-based computing to replace obsolete equipment. You can see the irony.
How did this happen? Verkada builds security systems including cameras. The cameras were hacked
And video footage from Tesla, Cloudfare, jails, hospitals, schools, police departments, etc was released. These are all the places where security is paramount. As an added bonus, the archived footage of all their customers was also released to anyone who wanted to watch.
The culprit? A group of hackers who wanted to bring attention to the spread of video surveillance and the weak security of the technology.
One should always look for the positive news in an event like this. I found it on the home page of Verkada in the form of their customers' testimonials:
- I smile when I talk about Verkada. I can’t say the same about my other systems.
John Spirko , Sr. Director of Loss Prevention, Equinox
- (With Verkada), I’m confident that the system is always working as it should be.
Ken Kellenberger , Director of IT at TWG Inc.
- Since moving to Verkada, my team, as well as the greater leadership, feel confident that our concerns with video security are nothing but a thing of the past.
Dan Dauer , VP of Information Technology at World Oil Corp.
And it’s supported by all the great videos talking about how secure the system is.
It doesn't matter how big your company is, the moment you are connected to the Internet, predators will come looking to break in.
Every time you smile and feel confident when talking about security, you will end up on the front page of the newspaper.
Maybe it’s not too much to ask of these security companies to just have a bit more humility. It’s not a question of if they will get hacked, but when it will happen.
And that’s the recurrent pattern.