Cost Savings and Business Benefits Enabled By Skybox Security Posture Management Platform. A The Total Economic Impact™ Study Commissioned By Skybox Security. Learn how Forrester Consulting estimates the business value of Skybox including: A 142% ROI of the Skybox Security Posture Management Platform A 55% reduction in the risk of a significant data breach. A 50% decrease in downtime for mission-critical assets. A 20% increase in efficiencies for the security operations team. A 50% reduction of external audit resource time. A 30% increase in productivity of security analysts when conducting audit and compliance activities. A $329,000 savings in an enhanced and streamlined security stack. Forrester Consulting interviewed four Skybox Security customers to assess the business benefits they have received from the Security Posture Management Platform . Through the representative interviews and financial analysis, Forrester found that a composite organization experiences benefits of $3.78 million over three years versus costs of $1.56 million, adding up to a net present value (NPV) of $2.21 million and an ROI of 142%. Before investing in Skybox, customers noted how their organizations struggled with these common challenges: Inability to prioritize vulnerabilities and extensive remedial work. Interviewees discussed how their previous solutions to address threat and vulnerability management did not have the capabilities to distinguish or understand the criticality of threats across their IT and OT networks. This led to increased workloads across internal teams that were unable to keep pace with assessed vulnerabilities or with proper prioritization. Additionally, the potential threat of a significant data breach could have devastating consequences from a financial and brand standpoint. Evolving needs for a centralized security system. Prior solutions were focused on a smaller scope or regional security, which limited their visibility to enterprise level threats and gave rise to shadow IT internally. The principal network engineer at an IT security company discussed their company’s previous issues and the Skybox Platform’s influence: “Our challenge was to figure out visibility. One of the first products that we brought in after we did a bake-off was Skybox because it filled the void that we didn’t have from our own products. There was no centralized group that was looking at these issues.” Inflated costs and inadequate data to support increasing audit and compliance needs. Companies were forced to manage internal policies and firewalls through complex and manual processes. Disjointed or missing data and limited reporting led to longer external and internal audits while exposing the company to compliance risk or having to pay external fines for audit failures. When looking for a solution to address these challenges and ultimately choosing Skybox, customers searched for a solution that would enable them to do the following and more: Establish an organization-wide governance process for reviewing and prioritizing vulnerabilities and threats across IT and OT environments. Increase operational efficiencies through the reduction of menial work. Improve risk management and assessment. Prevent significant data breaches. Expand visibility, data, and critical audit logs to gain key government compliance standards and enable long-term growth. Utilize superior functionality and user experience.

Every well-prepared attack begins with the recognition of the victim. Whether it is a social engineering attack or a network attack, the reconnaissance phase is crucial in order to get to know the victim's weaknesses and select the appropriate tools. Vertical scanning works slightly differently. After initially establishing that a host is running, the attacker attempts to identify what services are running there and what versions they are in (known as Fingerprints). In this case, multiple requests are sent to a single IP address on different ports. Depending on the tool or scanning mechanism selected, it is possible to scan the 100 most popular ports, ports from 1-1024 or all ports from 1-65535. Why is using NetFlow data a good way to detect network scanning? NetFlow makes it possible to monitor the flow of data on the network. Its huge advantage is the transmission of information about every communication that occurred, whether it was an exchange of large amounts of data or the exchange of individual packets between parties. NetFlow records each flow direction separately and therefore also leaves a trail of unidirectional transmissions or, as in the case of network scanning, of failed connection attempts. How does Sycope detect network scanning? Sycope Security is a set of multiple rules used to detect volumetric and quality anomalies in network traffic. Among the nearly 60 detection methods are methods for detecting horizontal and vertical network scans. The idea behind them is to calculate the number of unique address and port pairs and the number of sessions established. In the case of horizon scanning, the mechanism detects connections or connection attempts originating from a single IP address that are established with many different devices. 

File-based cyber security threats are growing faster than ever. Glasswall’s proactive Content Disram and Reconstruction technology instantly cleans and rebuilds files (PDF, Excel etc) to match their ‘known good’ manufacturer’s specification – automatically removing potential cyber threats.  This simple approach ensures every document entering or leaving the organization is safe, without sacrificing productivity, meaning users can trust every file.

At the SC Awards Europe 2022 ceremony Skybox was named the winner in the Best Vulnerability Management Solution category. Among the most prestigious awards in the cybersecurity sector, SC Awards Europe celebrates cybersecurity products and services that “stand out from the crowd, exceeding customer expectations to help defeat imminent threats and cyber-security attacks.” For modern organizations that are feeling exposed in an increasingly risky and aggressive threat landscape, the Skybox solution is not just another vulnerability management tool. Skybox’s approach to vulnerability and threat management delivers four essential benefits for customers: (1) Skybox aggregates vulnerability data from all assets (including IT, OT, and multi-cloud) and every corner of the network. (2) Daily, human-curated threat intelligence is fed into the Skybox network model. (3) Skybox identifies and automatically recommends effective, practical options to reduce risk. (4) Integrations with ITSM tools assist in implementing – and maintaining – remediation through ongoing oversight. Learn more at https://www.skyboxsecurity.com/blog/best-vulnerability-management-solution-sc-awards-europe-2022/

We define Zero Trust as a strategic approach to cybersecurity that secures an organization by eliminating implicit trust and continuously validating every stage of a digital interaction. Zero Trust simplifies risk management to a single use case: the removal of all implicit trust for users, applications and infrastructure. It’s a way for government agencies and other organizations to build resilience into their IT networks and environments. Changing the Mindset Adopting a Zero Trust Approach Is a Continuous Journey – It is not a one-time implementation. Zero Trust is an operational philosophy requiring a change in mindset – a fundamental shift in how we design, implement and maintain cybersecurity postures. Building a Comprehensive Zero Trust Plan Is Paramount – Focusing on a specific product or a narrow technology does not equal Zero Trust. Zero Trust must be an end-to-end approach encompassing the entire IT ecosystem of controls – network, endpoints, cloud, applications, Internet of Things devices, identity and more. Understanding that ZTNA Is Only a Component of Zero Trust – The terms Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) and Zero Trust are not interchangeable. ZTNA applies specifically to remote users accessing company applications and services, and is an element of the bigger Zero Trust story. Getting Started The good news is that your agency can start implementing the Zero Trust process anywhere. You can use existing tools and capabilities to establish a starting line. For those in early stages, there are some factors to consider to help ensure a successful outcome. Plan for an Incremental Approach Like every journey, Zero Trust requires a map or plan of action in order to move forward effectively. Think carefully about your focus areas and prioritize them. Taking on Zero Trust does not mean starting from scratch with your infrastructure. Conduct a rationalization of existing IT investments. Decide what your organization is actually using, what is working, what could be reconfigured or redeployed, and what new investments are truly needed. Engage Leadership from the Start Approach the plan holistically, aligning with a board, CIO or both, as well as driving a broader Zero Trust culture across your agency. Make It Actionable Achieving Zero Trust requires determining what your organization needs to reduce acute risk and achieve resilience. Adding metrics to your plan will also help keep it actionable and on track. Set goals for securing users, applications and infrastructure across the full spectrum of touch points, such as authenticating identity, verifying device and workload integrity, enforcing least-privilege access and scanning all transactions for legitimacy. With these fundamentals in place, you can confidently begin your Zero Trust journey. Learn more at https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/2022/07/launch-an-effective-zero-trust-initiative/

Conferences are an overwhelming rush of presentations, conversations, and potential meet-ups, and it can be tough to know where to focus your time. How do you figure out which sessions to attend? Should you skip the keynote to meet an important contact? How many coffee dates are too many? And what should you do if you’re an introvert who hates small talk? What the Experts Say Skipping conferences is problematic because you’re missing out on the benefits of networking. Today, more than ever before, networks are a key form of social capital for achieving goals in both your professional and personal lives. And meeting people at conferences who likely have the same interests as you and are highly relevant to your work is a good way to nurture and expand your network. Here’s how to get the most from the conferences you attend. Change your mindset Despite the known benefits of having an extensive and diverse network, many people shy away from the opportunity to create new connections. To overcome this fear, try changing your mindset and motives. You’re not just networking because you should; you’re doing it because it’s good for your career. People who focus on their professional aspirations network more frequently compared to those who are focused on merely meeting professional duties. Pre-introduce yourself Weeks before the conference starts, think about the people you would really like to get to know and then carve out time to accomplish that goal. Create a “priority wish list” of people you’d like to meet. Send those people an email introducing yourself; if possible, get an introduction from a mutual friend or colleague. Be strategic with your time Consider two things when choosing which sessions to attend – it should fulfill either a content goal, meaning the talk will be educational, or it should fulfill an interpersonal goal, meaning you want to meet or support the person who is presenting. Manage your existing and new professional connections Conferences can be useful venues to solidify your current professional relationships. After all, good networking not only means creating new connections, it also means maintaining and strengthening existing ones. But don’t spend all of your time with people you already know. That defeats the purpose of going to the conference in the first place. Principles to Remember  Shift your mindset by focusing on how networking is good for your career When choosing which sessions to attend, consider whether you’ll learn something or meet someone new Take the initiative to create networking situations where you feel comfortable Don’t spend all of your time with coworkers you see every day — draw clear boundaries Don’t burn out — give yourself time to rest and rejuvenate during the conference Don’t try to be someone you’re not — putting on a false persona is stressful and tiring