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Cybersecurity Threats in the Banking Sector

Oliviah Nelson
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0
Cybersecurity Threats in the Banking Sector

Over the last half a decade, Cyber-attacks has been considered as one of the biggest threat to the financial institution. Cyber criminal’s skill and techniques have evolved with technology; they have become more organized forming groups like Lazurus making it difficult for financial services to have the upper hand in the war on cybercrime.   The loss from cybercrime is substantial in the banking sector raging from litigations, to cost of preventing another breach and a dent to the reputation of the institution.

Financial service providers such as the banking sector are more likely to be targeted compared to any other financial service sector.

 Cybersecurity measures of banking sectors which adopt mobile and web to deliver services tend to have a weak security system that why many cybercriminals prefer to target online and mobile banking system. Besides, Cyber attacker manages to hijack customer and employees information detail and use them to penetrate the security system of the bank under cover of the dark web to steal bank data and money.

Let’s look at the various cybersecurity threat facing the banking sector:

Identity theft 

Every year it is estimated that the banking sector suffers a loss of over $ 10 million through identity theft. According to the research by Javelin Strategy and Research, over 15 million Customer in the United States of America have fallen victim to this kind of fraud.

Identity theft is the use of persons and credit information without his or her consent to borrow money and conduct a purchase. When a data breach occurs, the data of the customers are either sold or bought in dark web by other cybercriminals to use in other violations of the customer account or financial sector.

Threat from employees

Human error and disgruntled employees contribute to a large percentage of the risk.

Many employees use their device to access the bank service or use the bank device to check their email. This creates an opportunity for malware and phishing attacks sent to them disguised as a genuine offer or gift. Additional, bank employee s who are unhappy about treatment by the institution steal sensitive bank information which they can decide to sell the information to cybercriminals.

Supply chain attack 

In most network their security vulnerabilities which can easily be accessed by backdoor malware attack such as   DNS lookup and connect following techniques which grant remote access to the attacker without even the user being aware. The hacker can bypass the detection system once he has access to the network.

One of the most significant supply chain attacks was in shadow pad where someone was able to find a backdoor in it genuine software hence exposing client’s information for exploitation.

Ransomware

The financial sector remains one of the biggest causalities of this attack.

Ransomware, it’s a software that is malicious in nature that holds captive the service of the victim until the ransom money is given out. Employees are prone to this attack when they open a link in a suspicious email which activates the malicious software into the system.

ATM malware and Jackpotting

Jackpotting case has been rampant in Europe and the USA. Criminal take advantage of the weakness in the software and physical state of the ATM; this allows the thief mostly dress in company service uniform to access the cash available in the machine reserves through a key that cracks the ATM. Furthermore, the money taken cannot be detected early; for it does not belong to any account; this allows the thief to able to escape without being noticed. Sometimes they leave skimmers; this is a device that scan people’s details such account information the information are sold off.

Synthetic fraud

This involves the creation of fake identity, from social security number to identification number. The attacker creates not just one but several, afterward they use them to seek credit from banks which they use to purchase goods and services. This social security number cannot be traced in the system or anywhere else because they do not exist. It is estimated that there is outstanding credit of more than $300 million which the people who borrowed the debt do not exist; this is according to research in wall street journal.

Internet of Things Cyber Security Threats and Counter Measures

Oliviah Nelson
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0
Internet of Things Cyber Security Threats and Counter Measures

We are currently living in the post-PC era where everyone is connected to the internet through smartphones. No one wants to have a phone which is not accessing internet.  For one to stay a day without accessing social media, would feel like he has missed a lot and has disconnected him or herself from the world.

Internet of things, commonly known as IoT, is the interconnection and coordination of web-enabled electrical devices with one another over the internet, which gather, send and perform on information from the environment.  It has evolved into Internet of everything due to the fact that it is now supporting and comprising of like everything from wireless sensor network , computer system, virtual world, virtual meetings( interactive technologies) to cloud computing. The advancement in technology has enabled innovations of different diverse technological solutions, from e-commerce to e-health.

With all that in place, it comes up with its challenges. Internet of things has made it easy for cyber-attacks to be more vulnerable to security threats. 

Viruses and Malware threat

Virus and malware continue to be a great threat to Internet of things due to the fact that there is no antivirus and firewall that can prevent the whole network from such security threat. To make matters worse the major key components of IoT do not have security features of installing security software like antiviruses.  Therefore, when any virus or malware is attacks, it is easily spread through the internet just because most of the major component devices don’t have security features.

System updates happen to few IoT devices and many of the remaining ones do not get updated leaving many of them vulnerable to any risk, just because they haven’t been updated. Therefore, when malware, a malicious program which is written into systems for permicious purposes, attacks, it can take down the whole systems of an organization. One true example is Mirai malware which was the most destructive in IoT era. It attacked on 21st October 2016. It skimmed through the Internet of Things devices trying to login into it and infecting the devices. It succeeded and big part of internet went down together with Twitter, Netflix, CNN, Reddit and many more.

Ease for the Hackers

By 2020, we will have over 40 billion interconnected devices. This possesses great risk since security is a major threat and challenge of IoT, even though it may look like as an advantage. As many devices are increasingly getting connected to the internet, the security risks increases day by day, this is because no one is taking security into account when developing IoT devices. Therefore, all these interconnected devices are prone to hackers, who find it interesting helping them to come up with ways on how to benefit from unsecured network. In addition, developers of this IoT software and devices also play a big role too in encouraging hackers. They put default passwords that are easy and predictable like “admin”, making it easy for hackers living door open for anyone to harm the whole system. Authentication is another big challenge because in internet of things, there is no authentication. It is easy for anyone to access internet leading to endless security and privacy problem.

Things to do to make IoT better

For everyone to be able to enjoy services of Internet of things, security and privacy should be well taken care such that no one feels threatened when using IoT. Business needs systems and devices that are not vulnerable to risks and need to be secured from risks that come with IoT. The three layers of Internet of things; Devices, gateway and data services need to have surety measures and controls that address each layer according to its needs. For the device security, developers need to provide authentication, integrity and privacy to the users. It is very important for the user to feel secure by login to their accounts using passwords that are unique and complex in such a manner that no one can hack.

Cybersecurity Threats on Forex Trading and Cryptocurrencies

Oliviah Nelson
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0
Cybersecurity Threats on Forex Trading and Cryptocurrencies

Cyber Crime in Forex Trading

While cyber-attacks have become a regular occurrence in the world today, catastrophic results have been recorded. The question is, is forex trading impenetrable to hackers? Or is forex trading immune from attackers, how secure is it? In a nutshell, forex trading just as any other online platform is prone to cyber-attacks which can have diverse effects. Cybercrimes in forex trading may include the following.

One, a malicious hacker may gain access to passwords and usernames of forex trading accounts. Having this access, it is possible for them to undertake unauthorized transactions such as trading currencies and selling stocks. After completion of this act, the hackers transfer the money to their newly created accounts which they later close after the end of their mandate. Also, hackers may access the forex trader’s net worth and their strategy. This acts as the first step of planning on the next move to gain entry to their databases and collect the cash.

Besides, malicious users can intercept and altering values in a trading framework, as, and bid prices of a forex tool and hence influence a trader to initiate a move basing on fake data. Besides, companies trading in financial markets are not excluded. They are highly vulnerable to malware attacks among other forms. They gain entry to the company’s financial databases, where they can cause severe losses for the company. In essence, hackers can break into a trader’s account, or a broker’s agency system, where they extract personal information, investment strategies, bank accounts, as well as any other crucial information that they might find beneficial.

Cyber security Threats on Crypto currencies

The anonymous nature of crypto currencies allows unscrupulous individuals to engage in some crooked ways which include evading tax and dirty money laundering businesses. Since no central banks or governments regulate crypto currencies, it is possible to see such. Consequently, some experts argue that crypto currencies may have short lifespans since they are not integrated into any material goods.

Fluctuations in value and its unpredictability nature pose as the greatest threats to the crypto currency revolution. Furthermore, many governments are still doubtful of the new craze and are therefore putting roadblocks to its actualization in the majority of countries in the world. The acceptance of the currency has not yet gained root.

In the recent past, there have been several breaches that have hit crypto currency companies such as Bitcoin. In each of the breach there lies access control mechanisms that must have failed in the system for the violation to occur.  One primary reason that is making crypto currencies a significant target to cybercriminals is its anonymity nature and the fact that they are easily monetized.

Crypto jacking

Cybercriminals in his case use JavaScript to effect this form of crime. What happens, immediately a visitor opens a website, their computer begins the process of mining the crypto currencies automatically. The CPU provides the processing power to undertake this activity but it’s unaware. Hackers use Coinhive script to ease this process. Monero digital currency is mined utilizing this process.

Ransomware

This is a form of malware that is used to encrypt all the files available on a computer. To decrypt the data, a key is required, where a ransom amount has to be paid to get the key. This amount must be in the form of a crypto currency. The crime is effected where the specialist disappears with the payment made to them, and it becomes impossible to track him/her. Many organizations and companies have been brought down through this malware.

Emergent Cybersecurity Risks Presented by Drones

Oliviah Nelson
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0
Emergent Cybersecurity Risks Presented by Drones

Drones are emerging as one of the best way of delivering parcels and goods. Military use drones to do dangerous manned missions that are risk for anyone to go. They are also used to do researches as they can travel to habitats where human life cannot survive. Drones are also known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). They are automated and use GPS (Global Positioning system) and GLONASS (Global Navigation Satellite System) to move to where they are sent.

With the increase in use of drones (unmanned aerial vehicles), vulnerability and susceptibility of drones to attacks has increased and hence cybersecurity has become a major issue of auto pilot system.

GPS spooling

Spooling is one of the major issues that drones are facing and it is challenge that many technicians are trying to find a long lasting solution. GPS spooling is a technique that are hackers use to bring confusion to the drone. It is done by sending a signal to the drone, where a drone mistakes the signal from hackers for the send one from GPS satellites.  It involves generation of fake GPS signals, a counterfeit one to alter the normal GPS system.  This causes the drone to navigate to a false location that has been defined by the attacker. The falsified location on the GPS system tends to show the controller that they are on the wrong path, whilst in real sense they are on the correct path. This is a cyber security threat that needs to be addressed as can lead to major security breach. Malicious people can access drone and control it and do bad things that can cause a great damage.

GPS jamming

It is a technique which involves knocking out the entire GPS navigation system entirely.  It involves highly trained GPS jammer who sends signals with a similar frequency from a GPS jammer device. This causes a GPS navigation system to fail and disconnects the drone from controller station. Most of jammer devices switches on and off to make sure they are not detected. Jamming drone can cause it to fall and crash and this may lead to intensive damage of highly valuable goods and information

Facilitation of a physical access to unsecured systems

Drones can cause hackers to get access to systems that are not secure. This is possible when malicious actors use the proximity provided by drones to exploit unsecured systems, devices or even networks and extract critical and confidential information and fall into wrong hands. This is done by using the network loopholes the drones provide as they are being controlled by a virtual pilot. In addition, unmanned aerial vehicles can be hacked and used by hackers to access information and data from organizations. Malware can also be installed pre-installed to control it or gain access to information and data.

Collision risks

Due to increased use of drones, the airspace now is full of drones and airplanes and soon we will be witnessing collisions. Drones are at high risk of colliding with airplanes.

Mitigation measures

All wireless networks and devices and drones need to be constantly in check. Installation of Updates and patches should be done on timely manner, to make sure that any loopholes can be secured on time.  Changing default passwords should always be done immediately when a new component is brought in. All information and data should be encrypted   and restrictions in access should be high and firewall is a must to keep away hackers.  There is need for high concentration for those who control the drones to avoid collision.

The Basics of CyberCrime

Oliviah Nelson
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The Basics of CyberCrime

Definition and Overview of Cybercrime

Cybercrime is also referred to as computer Crime, which is merely the use of a computer or an electronic gadget that can access the internet to commit illegal acts such as trafficking in intellectual property and child pornography, violation of privacy, fraud among other unlawful ends. Cybercrime over the internet has over the years grown substantively owing to advancements in technology in today’s world. Today, major societal issues such as entertainment, commerce, and government operations are operated over the internet. This makes its users vulnerable to cybercriminals. The Americans are known to be among the very first victims to cybercrime due to the widespread adoption of the internet and computers in the United States.

Types of Cybercrime

Cybercrime ranges across a broad spectrum. One end incorporates those crimes that are deemed fundamental breaches into personal or corporate privacy. Attackers assault on the integrity of data held in the digital databases to persuade an individual or a firm by blackmailing them. The second spectrum of cybercrimes is transaction based crimes. These include money laundering, counterfeiting, involved digital piracy, fraud, and child pornography.

The following are specific crimes that are intended for particular victims. However, these criminals hide under the anonymity nature of the internet. This type of crime also majors the kind of offence that involve individuals working in an organization or government department who deliberately alter crucial data for either political or profit objective.

Additionally, there is a third aspect of cybercrimes. These crimes are intended to disorient the normal workings of the Internet. They are several and include Denial of Service Attacks, spam, and hacking. They also go all the way to cyber terrorism which has become a significant threat for many nations globally. In essence, cyber terrorism deals with the use of the internet by unscrupulous none state actors such as extremist groups to disrupt a nation’s infrastructure or economic or political environment. They major on the use of the internet to accomplish their activities.

Identity Theft

Identity theft, also identity fraud, are terms used to refer to all manner of crimes where one wrongfully or criminally obtains another person’s personal information and uses in ways that involve deception or fraud to gain something valuable from them. The most common identity theft cases are one, Responding to spam emails which promises some benefits but requests identifying personal data. The criminal then uses this information to defraud the unsuspecting victim. The second case of identity theft that one may find themselves in, while in a public area, criminals may engage shoulder surfing, where they may snoop over a telephone conversation or watch as you use your credit card and collect some crucial information they may use against you.

Crime Scene Processing For Cyber Crimes.

Crime scene processing is geared towards assisting law enforcement agencies during the investigation of violent crimes. The first step in this process is arriving at the scene. Security professional’s firs assess the business impact. In specific, they determine the severity of the situation, whether confidential information was altered and how the crime took place. Secondly, the agency collects evidence. This is done by capturing the network traffic and a snapshot of the network during the time of the attack. Thirdly, pieces are assembled. Objects from the collected images are examined to come up with a detailed timeline of the happenings. The officers also assess how servers and devices were configured during the time of the attack. The investigation is then documented, and finally, the public is updated of the attack. Cybercrime investigations aim to get the real culprits and have them punished.

Cyber Incident Analysis

Oliviah Nelson
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0
Cyber Incident Analysis

With the advancement in technology, cybersecurity incidents have increased both in oftenness and sophistication. Practically every second somewhere in the world someone is trying to infiltrate or rather hack a particular computer system. A cybersecurity incident can be defined as an act of malice whose intention is to compromise or disrupt either the physical or electronic security perimeter of a critical cyber asset. Cybersecurity incidents may be grouped into social incidents, misuse incidents, hacking incidents, and malware attacks. Cyber-attacks may target things such as domain name systems, network infrastructure, and websites or even applications. Due to the increased cases of cyber security being compromised, individuals, businesses and organizations are looking for ways of being better protected against cyber-attacks. Cyber incident response is often a multi-step process that involves detection, recognition, analysis, appraisal, restraint, obliteration, recovery and finally post-incident recovery. This article will focus mainly on the analysis of cyber incidents.

What Cyber Incident Analysis Means

Cyber incident analysis refers to the carefully orchestrated process of identifying what happened, why and how it happened and what can be done to prevent it from happening again. From a cyber incident analysis report, both the goal of the cyber-attack and the extent of damage it has caused can be determined. It is a very crucial step of cyber incident response and paves way for the other subsequent steps. This means that without the analysis part then the response plan is deemed to fail. The OODA loop can be used to describe the incident analysis process and the tools involved therein. The OODA loop simply involves observation, orientation, decision, and action.

Observe

Here, an individual or organization is required to pick up on any abnormal behavior that may require attention. Various tools can be used including log management tools, intrusion detection systems, net-flow analyzers, vulnerability scanners, intrusion detection systems, and web proxies. Log management is all about understanding what is going on in your network. This includes the people visiting it. Intrusion detection systems (IDS) employ the use of attack signatures to identify and issue an alert on any suspicious activities in the server. Net-flow analyzers track the traffic in your network by analyzing a particular thread of activity. Lastly, vulnerability scanners point out areas of weakness that might have predisposed an organization to an attack.

Orient

Deals with an evaluation of what is going on in your cyber threat landscape to make coherent connections and prioritize events. The tools used for orientation include threat intelligence security inquiry and asset inventory. Asset inventory allows gaining of in-depth knowledge of all the critical systems in your network and the specific software installed on them. To assess the criticalness of a cyber incident, you would need to have an understanding of your immediate environment and this is what the inventory offers. Threat intelligence keeps you abreast of potential cyber threats in the real world. They include things like compromise indicators and IP addresses with a bad reputation and can be used to provide a full context for the threat.

Decide

Focuses on the use of your observations and context to devise a response that would cause minimal damage yet achieve faster recovery. Here, only two tools are involved i.e. the company’s corporate policy and documentation. Both of these tools are supposed to give information on what is acceptable and what is not. Based on this you are supposed to categorize the threat then devise a response that is recommended by the company’s policies and any other documentation.

Act

Involve the use of lessons learned from cyber incidents to initiate incident response and recovery. Many tools are involved here including backup and recovery tools, system management tools, security awareness tools, and incident response forensics tools. Incident response forensic tools serve the purpose of identification, analyzing and presentation of facts about digital information to scrutinize digital trails. Security tools, on the other hand, are aimed at improving the security of the system such that the likelihood of occurrence of another similar incident is reduced.

It is important to note that cybersecurity is never an after-the-fact issue but rather begins even before an attack is launched. Organizations should, therefore, work round the clock with their IT team to ensure that their security practices are tuned up and are technologically relevant.

What is the Value of Big Data?

Donald Korinchak, MBA, PMP, CISSP, CASP, ITILv3
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What is the Value of Big Data?

Big data is exactly what the name implies. It is a massive amount of data that is overwhelming in volume. Several years ago, big data was almost worthless. It was useless because there was no way to analyze it.

Today there is tremendous value in big data. The advances in computer analytic capacity have turned big data into a gold mine for business and governments.

Bi-Survey recently surveyed business expectations of how big data is valuable to them. Here are the results:

Businesses are using big data to make better strategic decisions and to guide them in their operational processes. This is a result of having better insights into customer demographics, wants, and needs.

Let’s use Walmart as an example. Walmart analyzes big data every day to improve their business. Every detail of every purchase is continuously analyzed. The product details, the time of day, the day of the week, the demographics of the buyer, and many other aspects are brought together and analyzed to increase profits. Even the weather patterns are a data point. Specifically, how does the weather affect the sale of specific products? Just a few years ago, this data would not be considered unless you were in the business of selling umbrellas. Now it is used to help stores increase their sales of everyday products like fruit. Did you know that oranges sell better when it is raining?

The value of big data is growing exponentially.

The value of big data to business is high, and it continues to grow in value. More and more data is collected and analyzed. Nearly every large company is now using big data analysis to try to maintain their competitive edge.

Get AWS Certified on the Cheap!

Donald Korinchak, MBA, PMP, CISSP, CASP, ITILv3
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Get AWS Certified on the Cheap!

The AWS Cloud Architect certification has recently topped the list of the most valuable IT certifications to hold. Given this, there is a flood of IT professionals who are working on getting this certification under their belt so that they can add it to their resume in the hopes of a nice pay increase!

https://cyberexperts.com/aws_cloud_architect_tops_the_latest_salary_survey/

I am working toward earning this prestigious certification.

I wanted to find a study program that would prepare me well. Since I work with dozens of folks who already have this and other AWS certifications, I figured that I should ask the experts!

Getting AWS certified does not have to cost you much money. You can get well prepared through excellent training that will cost you less than $50.

These resources were recommended to me and are proven to get you ready for the test so that you will confidently pass it.

Here is the list of resources that were recommended to me, and I am using now.

The primary learning platform that I am using is UDEMY.com. Never buy a course on UDEMY at full price! Every couple of weeks or so you will find that these courses go on sale and are available for $10 or $12 each!

Be patient and keep an eye out for a sale on the UDEMY.com app or website. Then when the courses are on sale, be sure to snatch them up. You will love these courses

As for the recommended book – you can buy it used for a song on Amazon or eBay.

VIDEOS:

AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate 2018 Want to pass the AWS Solutions Architect – Associate Exam? Want to become Amazon Web Services Certified? Do this course!
BESTSELLER
4.5 (114,057 ratings)
376,855 students enrolled
Created by Ryan Kroonenburg, Faye Ellis
Last updated 12/2018

https://www.udemy.com/aws-certified-solutions-architect-associate/

AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate Practice Exams
390 AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate Practice Test Questions in 6 sets w/ Complete Explanations & References BESTSELLER
4.5 (1,884 ratings)
13,277 students enrolled
Created by Jon Bonso, Tutorials Dojo
Last updated 1/2019
English

https://www.udemy.com/aws-certified-solutions-architect-associate-amazon-practice-exams/

QUESTIONS:

Amazon Web Services (AWS) Certified – 4 Certifications!
Videos, labs & practice exams – AWS Certified (Solutions Architect, Developer, SysOps Administrator, Cloud Practitioner)
4.5 (6,901 ratings)
45,198 students enrolled
Created by BackSpace Academy
Last updated 1/2019
 English
 English, Arabic, 11 more

https://www.udemy.com/aws-certified-associate-architect-developer-sysops-admin/

BOOKS:

AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate Guide Gabriel Ramirez, Stuart Scott October 2018

Learn from the AWS subject-matter experts, apply real-world scenarios and clear the AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate exam

https://www.packtpub.com/virtualization-and-cloud/aws-certified-solution-architect-associate-guid

So, let’s Do It

So, if you are ready to increase your knowledge and become even more marketable in the job market, then grab your phone or laptop and get to work! You will be glad that you did.

Why you failed the CISSP exam and how to make sure you pass on the next try!

Donald Korinchak, MBA, PMP, CISSP, CASP, ITILv3
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0
Why you failed the CISSP exam and how to make sure you pass on the next try!

If you work in the cybersecurity field, then you know that there are only four types of people:

  • People who passed the CISSP exam
  • People who are studying for the CISSP exam
  • People who failed the CISSP exam
  • People who are too fearful of taking the exam

Having the CISSP certification is a must if you want to work in particular high-paying and highly rewarding environments. The CISSP exam is a gate. Those that have made it through that gate are often considered the elite in the cybersecurity field.
Even if you passed the CISSP exam, likely, you did not do it on your first try. While the statistics are not released publicly, it is widely recognized that just about 50% of candidates pass the first try. I work with people who have passed on their 3rd and 4th try.
Given this, there are many thousands of people who have failed the exam.
The purpose of this article is to examine the reasons that you may have failed the exam. Also, this article is designed to help you to address the issues that caused you to fail and give you the confidence to try again and pass!

#1. You studied hard but did not pass the exam because of your mindset.

I know dozens of highly technical cybersecurity professionals who failed the exam only because of their mindset. These folks are or have been system admins, penetration testers, policy writers, coders, and other very technical experts in their field. Many of these folks are cyber experts that are among the top in the industry. But they can’t seem to pass the CISSP exam.
One of the main reasons that these folks have trouble with the test is that they rely on their technical expertise but have difficulty transcending to the management mindset.
To be very clear: You can be a tech wizard and get a perfect score on every technical question on the test. But you still won’t pass unless you have an understanding of the management of security processes and personnel.
The reason for this is because many questions test your understanding of how to manage people, processes, and incidents.

So, what should you do?

Don’t be discouraged! Your technical expertise gives you a tremendous advantage on the CISSP exam. You need to adjust your mindset to look at technology from the point of a manager, CIO, or CSO. This shift is not as hard as you think!
You already know what is wrong and how to fix it. Or you know the best way to resolve an issue. You have to think a little deeper to understand the best practice from a business’ point of view. More specifically, you need to understand the point of view that ISC2 considers correct.
The best way to get this understanding without going to business school is to do more practice tests that focus on management issues. You can find my recommendation related to practice tests here: How to pass the CISSP exam without any books.

#2. You relied on a CISSP boot camp

I am not a fan of boot camps for the CISSP exam, but they are helpful for many people. I believe that these boot camp classes are often misused as a method to try to pass the test without possessing the in-depth knowledge that is required to pass the test successfully.
Boot camp providers often include the cost of the test in their tuition, and they promise to pay for your test the 2nd time if you don’t pass on your first try.
This promise can give you a false sense of being prepared. It encourages you to take the test even though you might not yet be ready. Since you get a free “re-do” you might as well give it a shot.
Nobody can expect to pass the CISSP exam after a week-long cram session. Even multiple weeks of cram studying likely won’t do the trick for most people.

So, what should you do?

First, you should recognize that a boot camp is a tool and not a solution to passing the exam. A boot camp can be incorporated into your study plan, but you should not rely on it as the only or even the primary study tool.
I studied for the CISSP exam for almost three months. Others I know have studied for six months or longer. There is no quick path to becoming CISSP certified. There are no shortcuts.
Your best plan of action is to create a daily study plan and stick with it. Don’t deviate from your plan even one day. The more committed you are to your study plan, the more likely you will pass the CISSP exam on the next try.
Schedule the test for 30, 60, or 90 days out. Then use the scheduled test date as the motivation to stick to your plan. If you study just 2 hours a day for 90 days, then you have 180 hours of studying under your belt! You will be far more prepared than cramming in an instructor-led boot camp for a week.

#3. You got tricked too many times

The test questions on the CISSP exam are devilishly tricky. You only get one shot at each question. Once you answer the question and move to the next, you will not get the opportunity to go back and double-check your answers.
It is very easy to get tricked by the wording or the content of the test questions on the CISSP exam. If you get caught up in these tricks too many times, then you will be on the path to failure.

So what should you do?

You need to have a good handle on the types of questions and the typical wording of the questions. Once you understand these things, then you will know what to look out for, and you will be able to identify the correct answers easier.
The only real way to prepare for the questions is to take practice questions from a reliable source. I took thousands of practice questions. I studied the questions, and I explored the answers. I took so many practice test questions that it was almost ridiculous. You can do this too. I believe that you should do this.
Practice questions will make you a better test taker and ensure that you don’t get fooled by the tricks that you will find on the CISSP exam.
An excellent source of CISSP practice questions can be found here: CCCURE.com.

#4. You got burnt out

The CISSP exam is no longer a 6 hour 250 question exam. With the adaptive format, you can expect the test to be between 100 to 150 questions.
But there is a point where you may have hit a wall and gave up. Not because of the length of the exam, but because of the mind-bending questions.
The questions are often very challenging; they can bring you to the point of mental exhaustion quickly. Some hit that point just 15 questions into the exam. Others may start to lose it later on in the test.
If you succumbed to mental exhaustion during the test, then you are not alone.

So, What should you do?

If you already failed the test, then you know what to expect the next time. You have a tremendous advantage now!
The best way to mentally prepare so that you do not burn out during the test is to work through actual test simulations at home. Close the door and get rid of all distractions. Then take a practice test as if it is the real test. Keep the timer going. Focus, and don’t stop until your practice test is complete.
After you do this a few times, you will have the confidence and mental stamina needed to keep from hitting a wall during the real CISSP exam.
In preparation for your next attempt, you should stop studying entirely for 24 hours before the exam. Be sure to get some exercise – go for a walk or a jog. Listen to some soothing music and be sure to get a good night’s sleep.

In Summary

If you have failed the CISSP exam, then don’t fret. You are in great company! Many accredited CISSPs had failed the exam one or more times before they were able to pass it.
While the test is challenging, it is not impossible. If earning the CISSP credential is important to you, then you certainly can do it. Dedication, study, and the right mindset will be the key.
Don’t give up! It will all be worth it when the test administrator prints out your report and it says you passed!
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Your home wireless network is likely not very secure

Fred Templeton, CISA, CASP, SEC+
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Your home wireless network is likely not very secure

Most of us don’t think about hackers spying on our home internet activity and searching through our home computer files. In fact, most of us believe that our home lives are not interesting enough for hackers to waste their time trying to crack into our systems.

But what if it does not take much time at all? What if you knew that your home wireless network could be easily compromised? What if you new that it was so easy to hack your home network that the teenager next door can do it in 5 minutes or less using software that can easily be bought online?

The neighborhood teenagers can probably hack you in minutes

Why is it so easy to gain access to home networks? There is one primary reason for this: Home routers tend to be very insecure.

Router firmware is often insecure

Even if the router firmware is considered secure at the time that your router is purchased, chances are that there are many vulnerabilities that were discovered between the time that you bought your home router and now. These vulnerabilities are well known and the router manufacturer likely already created patches for your router. But when is the last time you updated the firmware on your router?

In most cases, the firmware patches will not be implemented automatically. It sounds like it would be a good idea for router manufacturers to automatically push out security updates to all the routers that are in the wild. While it sounds logical, things do not work like this. Patch management is something that is generally not automated. There are several reasons for this, but one of the most compelling is that patches can beak things – make things not work. Therefore, security professionals like to apply patches manually. This is so that they can test and ensure that all is good. If something goes wrong then they can revert back if they have to. But for home systems, you likely don’t have a patch management crew available. So the patching does not get done.

Default admin passwords and SSID are often left in place.

You know that admin password that is printed on the side of your router? It is estimated that almost half of the routers out there use the default password. Even though the password is easy to change, many people don’t bother. This has severe security implications.

There are tools available that will allow hackers to crack your default password in short order.

If you are one of the many people who use the default password then it is time go in and change it. Just do a Google on your router manufacture to learn how to make this easy change. It will only take a few minutes and your network will be infinitely more secure after you do it.

While you are in the router you should also change the default SSID. The SSID is the name of your network and is broadcasted to anyone within range or your network. It is a good idea to change this so that “war drivers” can’t immediately know potentially private details about your ISP and network.

Conclusion

There are many things that can be done to better secure your home network. Updating your firmware and keeping all of your software (like Windows) up to date will make a big difference. Changing from the default admin password will also increase your security. Just these two things will increase your home network security exponentially.

Of course, there are many more actions that can and should be taken to increase the security of your home wireless network. These include:

  • Always use a Firewall.
  • Consider using a VPN service. These services are now very inexpensive and are invaluable for security minded people.
  • Get rid of your old router and replace with a new secure model.
  • Going out of town for a while? Turn off your wireless network while you are gone
  • Use strong and unique passwords for your router
  • Activate network encryption
  • Change the default IP address on your route

If you don’t want your personal information to be compromised then do these things. If you don’t want other people to know your private business then do these things. If you think that your life is too boring to be a target of a hacker, then think again.  Hackers don’t discriminate – they will get your information and exploit it if they can.

CISSP Adapative Exam – What to expect.

Donald Korinchak, MBA, PMP, CISSP, CASP, ITILv3
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CISSP Adapative Exam – What to expect.

The vast majority of current CISSPs took their test in the old format. The test was a grueling 250 question test in which nearly 85% of the testers would take the entire allotted 6 hour exam time. But the exam was modernized at the end of 2017

The CISSP exam is now a “Smart Exam.”

Beginning in December of 2017, the CISSP exam was changed to an adaptive format. The official name for this is Computerized Adaptive Exam (CAT). The CISSP is one of the first certification exams to move to this new platform. But the rest will soon follow.

The adaptive format helps prevent cheating.

Since IT certifications are valuable, folks have a high incentive to try to take study shortcuts by cheating. This cheating incentive has lead to online marketplaces where you can buy questions and answers.

If you do a web search for “CISSP Brain Dump”, you will find many websites that sell practice exams that claim to be actual exam questions. The CISSP exam has always maintained a high security and integrity level in keeping their test questions out of reach for cheaters trying to buy the questions and answers.

Some nefarious companies pay people to take tests and attempt to record the questions or memorize the questions to write them down.

The adaptive format of the CISSP exam adds a higher layer of security to the test. An exam taker no longer has access to all of the questions on the test. An unprepared test taker will receive very few questions that would lead to a passing score.

Here is how the CISSP Adaptive Test Works

First, you will go through the very high standard of security at the testing center – The ID check, Photo, Biometric Hand Scan, etc. – then they will escort you to the testing room. You will be on camera at all times, and the test administrator will watch from behind a glass window.

You will sit down at your testing station and receive instructions on how the test works and the testing terminal’s general functionality.

The test will start with questions that are quite easy. These questions test knowledge that is well below the standard required for passing the exam.

After you answer each question, the testing algorithm determines your competence by analyzing your completed questions and answers.

The algorithm analyzes many factors. The exact details of the algorithm are proprietary, but the following list of likely factors.

  • The correctness of the answer – Was the “best correct” answer chosen?
  • The candidate’s aptitude on each of the testing domains based on the questions answered correctly.
  • The candidate’s ability to know or ascertain the best answer on obscure domain topics
  • The time that it takes the candidate to answer each question (This data is used to help identify potential cheaters)

After you answer one question, the next one is determined.

Based on the above factors, the next question to be presented is determined. The candidate cannot go back and change previous answers because the answers are locked in as soon as you click the “Submit” button.

If you answer a question correctly, then the next question will be 50% more difficult to answer. In other words, there will be a 50% greater chance that you will get the next question wrong.

Get a question right, and the test gets harder – much harder!

The questions get exponentially more difficult as you continue to do answer correctly. The algorithm’s objective is to test your breaking point: The point at which you can no longer answer the questions correctly.

Your breaking point determines your success on the CISSP exam.

The exam candidate will undoubtedly get to the point where the test questions are so obscure that the answers will come down to educated guesses. The further you get while maintaining an overall score of at least 80% in each testing domain will determine if you pass the whole exam.

Is the Adaptive CISSP exam harder than the old one?

The adaptive CISSP exam will seem pretty tricky because if the tester does well, the questions will get to the point that they seem almost impossible to answer. The test may be considered more comfortable because it is no longer a marathon 6-hour test with 250 questions. Most test-takers will complete the test when the question count reaches between 100 and 150.

Most people – including me – have never taken both the old format CISSP and the new format adaptive CISSP test. Therefore, it is difficult to say which format is harder.

The old format may be more difficult for some people due to the stamina required to sit and concentrate for 6 hours. For others, the new format might be more of a challenge because of the questions’ escalating difficulty.

In theory, both formats of the test are equally challenging to pass. This is the stance and the objective of the adaptive test according to ISC2.

Don’t let the CISSP test scare you.

Part of the value of holding a CISSP certification is that it is difficult to obtain. Not everybody is going to pass this test. However, that does not mean that you can’t do it. If you prepare well, understand the material, and do a ton of practice questions, you can certainly succeed on the exam! A great study plan worked for me: How to pass the CISSP exam without reading any books.

Kevin Mitnick – The Most Infamous Hacker of All Time

Donald Korinchak, MBA, PMP, CISSP, CASP, ITILv3
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Kevin Mitnick – The Most Infamous Hacker of All Time

The art of hacking has been in development for many years. The heyday of hacking was before the Internet even existed. There are amazing and exciting stories about hackers like Kevin Mitnick who hacked for notoriety, money, street cred, and just for personal accomplishment.

Before the Internet, there were still many targets for hackers. Hackers reverse engineered casino games like slot machines. Hackers used social engineering and phone systems not only to have access to free long-distance calls but for financial gain.

It was during this pre-Internet era that the number one most infamous hacker on our list crafted and honed his skills: Kevin Mitnick

Kevin Mitnick’s early hacking exploits

Kevin Mitnik was born in 1963. When he was 12 years old, he used social engineering even before the phrase “social engineering” existed.

Kevin told a bus driver that he needed some information for a school project. The bus driver to provide him information about the bus ticketing system and how he could get his hands on his card punch machine.

Kevin then “dumpster dived” to get un-punched bus transfer tickets. Then he used the punch machine on the tickets to “hack” himself free bus rides.

At age 16, Kevin Mitnick gained access to the company network of DEC (Digital Equipment Corporation). This DEC system was used for the development of an early operating system that was used for 16-bit minicomputers.

Kevin Mitnick copied all of the files from the system but did not do anything malicious with the data. Even so, Kevin Mitnick was charged and sentenced to 1 year in prison in 1988. After he got out of prison, he was on a supervised release program for three years.

But Kevin Mitnick could not stop hacking

Just a couple of months before his three year probation period was over it was discovered that he hacked into Pacific Bell’s voice mail computers. Mitnick did this to listen to the voicemails of the law enforcement personnel who were monitoring and checking on him.

Instead of going back to prison, Mitnick decided to run.

Mitnick the Fugitive

Mitnick was hiding in the Denver area and using a false name and false ID. He continued hacking and broke into dozens of computer networks, intercepted passwords, broke into private email systems, and did many other things that hackers like to do. It was like he just could not stop.

Mitnick became the most wanted hacker in the United States.

It was 1992, and Mitnick was the most wanted hacker in the world. Rightly so, he was quite concerned that he would be caught by government surveillance methods.

So, he had a great idea. The best cell phone of that time was the Motorola MicroTAK Ultralite. If Mitnick could get his hands on the source code for this phone, he would be able to modify the ESN number and other identifying data that the phone sent.

He thought that this would keep the authorities from being able to track him.

So, Mitnick made a phone call.

It was easy enough. Kevin Mitnick called Motorola and was transferred around until he got in touch with the department that was working on the source code for the MicroTAC Ultralite.

Kevin was quite a social engineer, so he was able to convince the Motorola employees that he was also an employee and that he needed to get a copy of the source code.

Twenty minutes later, the Motorola folks transferred the file to him using FTP.

The Capture

Mitnick was playing a game of cat and mouse with the FBI and some computer researchers who had been the target of Mitnick’s hacks. Cell towers and mobile antennas were used to track Mitnick to his apartment.

The gig was finally up – Mitnick was caught, arrested, and was on trial looking at a 15-year sentence.

The Conviction

Mitnick did not get 15 years but was sentenced and served five years in prison for his hacking. When he was finally released, he was not legally able to profit from books or films for seven years.

Kevin Mitnick Now

Kevin Mitnick is now a multi-millionaire. He is the author of many books on hacking and security. All of his books are best sellers and very well known in the cybersecurity world. His books include:

  • The Art of Deception: Controlling the Human Element of Security
  • The Art of Intrusion: The Real Stories Behind the Exploits of Hackers, Intruders & Deceivers‘
  • Ghost in the Wires: My Adventures as the World’s Most Wanted Hacker
  • The Art of Invisibility: The World’s Most Famous Hacker Teaches You How to Be Safe in the Age of Big Brother and Big Data

But beyond these books, Kevin Mitnick is a sought after speaker making tens of thousands per speaking gig. Mitnick also runs a well-known cybersecurity company: Mitnick Security.

Hacking Does Pay

At least, if you are Kevin Mitnick, it does. The most famous black hat hacker is now one of the most famous white hat security experts in the world.

Kevin Mitnick’s estimated net worth is now around 15 million dollars.

What to do if your WordPress Site Gets Hacked

Donald Korinchak, MBA, PMP, CISSP, CASP, ITILv3
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What to do if your WordPress Site Gets Hacked

Some estimates state that 40% of websites use the Content Management System (CMS) known as WordPress. WordPress is one of the easiest ways to get a professional website up and running quickly.

But if you don’t keep your site updated, then there is a good chance that you will wake up one day to find that you have malware on your website.

Most people find out that their site was hacked when they find out that their browser starts flashing a warning when they try to access the site. For example, if you use Chrome, then the notification will look something like this:

The Dreaded Sign of a Hacked Website

So, what to do? There are many services available that will help you remove malware from your site. But this list of suggestions will get you to a solution fairly quickly without the need to pay someone.

The first thing to do is to call your hosting service

The first thing you need to do is call your hosting service. There is a strong probability that they can help you to get this issue fixed.

Your hosting service can run a scan of your site and determine the exact malware that has infected your website. Then they can advise you on what steps you need to take to remove the infection.

Most likely, you will need to revert to a backup. You need to restore the website to a point in time before it was infected. Most hosting services now offer automatic backups. So, if you are lucky, the hosting customer service can take care of the work needed for you.

If your hosting service can take care of this, then you are golden! After your site restoral, be sure to update your WordPress software to the latest version and also update all of your plugins. It is best practice to disable and delete any plugins that your site is not using

If your hosting service can’t help

I would be surprised if your website hosting company can’t provide you with the help that you need. But if you don’t get the help that you need, then you will have to run a scan on your own. There are many WordPress plugins that you can use to do this. The top three that I recommend are:

1. Sucuri
2. Wordfence
3. Anti-Malware Security

After you run the scan, you will have confirmed that you have a problem. Now is the time to find the last backup that you have of the site. If you have not backed up your site for a while, then you will need to face the consequences – Your backup restoration will put your website back in time, and you may lose some content.

Completely remove all of your WordPress files from your server.

You need to remove all of the WordPress files on your site. Don’t waste your time trying to fix the infected files.

I have spent hours trying to track down and eradicate the malicious code on some of my sites that were hacked in the past. This turned out to be a waste of time because the malware just kept coming back. The best thing to do is to delete the WordPress site and to start fresh.

You can delete the files manually, but the most useful thing to do is to use the Cpanel to remove the instance of WordPress. Then re-install the WordPress software fresh. If you have any trouble doing this contact your hosting provider. They can answer your questions or point you to a tutorial that will walk you through the process

Reinstall your Theme and Plugins

Next, re-install your theme and your plugins.

Restore your backup

Then, restore your backup. If you are using a plugin like Backup Buddy, you can follow the instructions provided by the plugin creator.

Scan again

To be sure that your restored site is clean, you will need to rerun your scan. If there is still a problem, then you will need to revert to an even earlier backup of your site. If your site is now clean, then it is a success.

Tell Google that your site is clean

Now you need to go to your Google Webmaster account to let them know that your website is ready to be taken off the malware site list. If you don’t already have an account, it is easy to get one. Just click here: Google Webmaster Tools

What if you don’t have a backup?

If you don’t have a backup, then there are several services that can assist you. You should be able to have this site cleaned for a song – $50 to $200. Then chalk it up to a lesson learned. In the future, make sure you pay for a backup service or get a plugin like BackupBuddy.

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