What are some of the network security mitigation techniques for insider threats and compromised devices?

Hello! Here’s my perspective from the Cyber Trenches: Team education and awareness are often underestimated aspects of cybersecurity. Users form the first line of defense and the last line of detection. It’s essential they are trained and vigilant. Our company has been championing the TAND (Team, Applications, Network, Data) approach to cybersecurity. Fostering a well-informed team culture is the ‘T’ in our approach and we consider it paramount. We need to focus not just on the technical aspects, but on fostering a cybersecurity culture where every team member understands their role in safeguarding the organization. Curious about how the TAND approach can strengthen your cybersecurity posture? Let’s connect!

You should also consider a solid CDM program as a foundation. Continuous Diagnostics and Monitoring allows you to gain situational awareness for not only what devices/users/apps/data are in your environment but more importantly what they are doing and how they are being leveraged. Collecting the data holistically from multiple sources, Log, Agent and the Network(NDR) will allow for correlation of these data points in near realtime. Identifying anomalous behaviors by modeling normal activity from this massive data lake is possible using ML modeling techniques. The outcome is near real-time post-compromise identification of the threat actors' suspicious behaviors in your IT(or OT) environment. Applied data-driven decision making FTW.

User education is a critical cornerstone of cybersecurity. Despite advanced firewalls or intrusion detection systems, human error remains a significant vulnerability. Different roles need varying levels of cybersecurity awareness. General staff might need basic phishing prevention techniques, while administrators may require advanced vulnerability management training. Key topics include network policies, recognizing risks, best practices for data protection, and the importance of reporting suspicious activities. Interactive training with real-world scenarios and quizzes is most effective. A vigilant and educated staff acts as a ‘human firewall,’ significantly mitigating potential security risks.

Insiders threat noted in the network security scopes are the network admin, the system admin, the super users such as department heads or even the C-grade officer. These peoples have the privileged access in the systems and the networks. One of the things in Windows OS is elevation, which prevents unconscious abusive behaviour but not intentional sabotage. Properly configured immutable log system keeps the privileged users at bay by prevention of evidence destruction.

Use antivirus and anti-malware solutions. Employ endpoint detection and response Implement the principle of least privilege Regularly review and update user access permissions. Employ user behavior analytics Monitor privileged user actions and critical system access. Isolate sensitive systems and data through network segmentation to contain potential threats. Encrypt sensitive data Develop and regularly test an incident response plan Implement continuous monitoring of network traffic, logs, and user activities Conduct regular security audits to identify and remediate vulnerabilities. Enforce 2FA to add an additional layer of security Restrict the use of RDP Keep all software and systems up-to-date to patch known vulnerabilities.

Access control minimizes the risk surface by ensuring that users only have the permissions necessary to complete their tasks. This employs the principle of "least privilege," which mitigates the potential damage from insider threats. Advanced access controls can also factor in context like user location and time, enabling dynamic permissions. Monitoring complements this by continuously tracking user activities and system interactions. This not only serves as a deterrent but also provides invaluable data for forensic analysis in case of a security event. By setting specific alerts for unusual data access or modification, security teams can rapidly identify and contain a threat.

The best strategy to fight insider threats is to treat everyone (humans) and everything (software) as an outsider by implementing Zero Trust Data which means - data should be encrypted the moment its generated - access to data should only occur after role and identity verification - log all access and attempts to protected data - utilize a decentralized key generation and policy server - utilize external entropy to ensure high quality keys

To mitigate insider threats and compromised devices in network security : 1.User Training 2.Access Controls 3.Monitoring 4.User Behavior Analytics 5. Endpoint Security 6.Data Encryption 7.Device Management 8.Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) 9.Incident Response Plan 10.Employee Awareness 11.Security Updates 12.Segmentation 13.Regular Audits 14.User Activity Logging