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5 Security Lessons WannaCry Taught Us the Hard Way
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Innerct
Innerct,
 User Rank: Apprentice
5/25/2017 | 3:54:15 PM
The weakest link
The main issue I se being missed over and over again.

Patching yes is key, but the most important is still Security awarness. How did this worm get in? It was via unwarry email users opening emails and fillowing links or activating attachments that is the entry point of this vulnerability.

The problem is we in the community tend to close the barn door after the horse has run through the house.

We do not need to depend on more tech solutions (Patching exempt).

Time to start serious end user education and start to close down the weekest link.

 
Joe Stanganelli
Joe Stanganelli,
 User Rank: Ninja
5/24/2017 | 11:09:28 PM
Re: First Lesson
FWIW, I don't know what the data for this past year is, but I remember a 2015 report that found that the three OSes that had the most reported vulnerabilities discovered in the past year were OSx, iOS, and the Linux kernel.  Ubuntu was a distant fourth.  Windows was 5th.

FWIW, here's the a relevant writeup at Dark Reading's sister site, InformationWeek: informationweek.com/ios-security-reports-say-no-iphone-is-safe/a/d-id/1319750

This is not to defend Microsoft, which certainly has its share of shortcomings.  But when it enterprise patch management, I'm not sure I'd place all the blame in Redmond.
Joe Stanganelli
Joe Stanganelli,
 User Rank: Ninja
5/24/2017 | 11:00:02 PM
Re: Lessons???
@mark: Realistically, automatic updates are not an uption for large enterprise organizations; they have to test updates and patches before implementing them to make sure that everything plays nice together.

A major telco got in big trouble here a couple years ago when it implemented a patch -- without prior testing; it wound up knocking out their consumer accounts receivable systems for a few days, to the chagrin of many customers.
markgamacheNerd
markgamacheNerd,
 User Rank: Apprentice
5/24/2017 | 12:15:55 PM
Lessons???
The only lesson that matters is, if any of these are lessons, there is a HUGE issue. This is not 2001, IT teams should be well versed in all of these.  Those that aren't should be ashamed! 

For the average user, turing off automaticic updates is its own reward.  This entire issue is self inflicted. 
Catherine Hudson
Catherine Hudson,
 User Rank: Apprentice
5/23/2017 | 4:47:24 AM
Lesson #2
Thank you for highlighting the importance of software asset management. SAM tools, such as Binadox, should not be ignored. It is the software asset management tools that reveal threats immediately upon software installation or subscription to a SaaS application.
Joe Stanganelli
Joe Stanganelli,
 User Rank: Ninja
5/22/2017 | 8:16:28 PM
#1
Of course, lesson #1 is generally the lesson from ANY headline-grabbing breach or security issue -- and most hacks, period.  Usually, Adobe is the culprit, but it's often other software too.  Patch management is, arguably, the number one way companies are failing in the InfoSec department.
kjh..2
kjh..2,
 User Rank: Apprentice
5/19/2017 | 9:21:44 AM
First Lesson
The First Lesson should have been to start migrating away from Windows OS wherever possible, especially for unsophisticated users.
LindsayCybSafe
LindsayCybSafe,
 User Rank: Strategist
5/19/2017 | 7:15:58 AM
Fallout is key
Thanks Ericka for this! The actions taken after a breach are never as simple as expected. The days of expecting a sequence as simple as breach = disclose = patch = apologise are gone. It's wheels within wheels - how do you drill down to the entry point? How are employees expected to know what infection looks like after the network is disconnected? Security by design needs to replace fallout processes in 2017. 


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