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Comments
Johannesburg Ransomware Attack Leaves Residents in the Dark
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tdsan
tdsan,
 User Rank: Ninja
7/29/2019 | 11:20:46 PM
Re: Separation of duties
Thank you for reviewing my responses. Yes I agree that IPv6 could address a number of issues, not all but at least it would help with identifying where the attack came from, encrypt traffic, employ segmentation and a number of other issues as indicated in my prior post. Todd
Dr.T
Dr.T,
 User Rank: Ninja
7/29/2019 | 9:02:31 PM
Re: Separation of duties
“IPv6 IPSec AES256 ESP/AH VPN can reduce the level of attacks 10 fold as long as it is configured properly with hours of testing. ” Ok. That makes sense. As IPv6 would have more security features than IPv4.
Dr.T
Dr.T,
 User Rank: Ninja
7/29/2019 | 9:00:35 PM
Re: Separation of duties
“This heightened level of security makes this area an internal "jump area" or quasi-DMZ. ” Good point. DMZ would help to segregate web from data layer where they would harder time to pass-through
Dr.T
Dr.T,
 User Rank: Ninja
7/29/2019 | 8:58:07 PM
Re: Separation of duties
“ There should have been conversations on creating a separate network utilizing VDI as a way to connect” Well put and good point. It should be well architectured as it is always possible to jump from network to network.
Dr.T
Dr.T,
 User Rank: Ninja
7/29/2019 | 8:55:37 PM
Re: Separation of duties
“A number of organizations have not implemented "segmentation" at the network layer. ” This a good point, separation helps in the network tremendously.
Dr.T
Dr.T,
 User Rank: Ninja
7/29/2019 | 8:52:09 PM
More cities
No more cities. Obviously ransomware attackers found a better target: all cities anymore.
tdsan
tdsan,
 User Rank: Ninja
7/27/2019 | 3:48:13 PM
Separation of duties
A number of organizations have not implemented "segmentation" at the network layer. I am not sure how the hack took place but why did the Utility company connect their SCADA infrastructure to the Internet? There should have been conversations on creating a separate network utilizing VDI as a way to connect and perform management procedures using an area in the network with limited capability (a small network segment that is monitored and tracked to the highest extent where access is authorized by management staff and NAC (Network Access Control) devices).

Cybersecurity Utility

And the other aspect of the network should have been on IPv6. If the internal SCADA network is on IPv6 and the external network is on IPv4 (admin or mgmt network), we can limit the ability of the hacker to access the VDI environment. Since the VDI is limited with IPv6 (dual-homed) with specific IPv6 addresses on the Mgmt Network, access to the SCADA environment can provide limited accessibility when it comes to external actors. This heightened level of security makes this area an internal "jump area" or quasi-DMZ. This helps to improve security levels by reducing MITM (Man in the Middle Attacks) enabling encryption (in-flight & at rest). IPv6 IPSec AES256 ESP/AH VPN can reduce the level of attacks 10 fold as long as it is configured properly with hours of testing. Remember, if you look at most of the hack attempts that took place in the world, they use IPv4 (not to say that they don't use IPv6), this would give the organization a leg up on addressing this issue and it adds a certain level of complexity or obfuscation to the mix.

Another consideration would be to stand up a test environment with hardened OSes, this practice could affect the application especially when PLC devices are involved; having a test environment that mimics production is vital to the organization's security posture.

Hopefully, they will be working with security vendors to address some of their issues.

Todd

 


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