The most frustrating type of bad argument to refute are those which feature or rest upon a kernel of truth. In the worst, most-annoying scenario, one must deal with a counterparty that simply reasserts their position without hesitation resembling the chess-playing pigeon of Internet fame. More worrying still is that Read more
I am writing this only a few days removed from Black Hat 2019 and Def Con 27, where both events featured a number of presentations on critical infrastructure or industrial control system (ICS) threats – but with a continuing lack of scope (or imagination) for the threat landscape. While identifying Read more
“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less.” – Through the Looking Glass, Lewis Carroll FireEye recently published a blog covering the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) for the “TRITON actor” when preparing Read more
I attended an interesting presentation at the EnergySec Pacific Rim summit discussing the role of machine learning and artificial intelligence (ML/AI) in network security and ICS operations. The talk was mostly an overview of potential applications and niches for ML/AI within these spaces, which in itself is refreshing as ML/AI Read more
As we move into late December (I started writing this on 23 December 2018), all eyes in the information security and especially the industrial control system (ICS) security space typically turn to Ukraine. In 2015 and again in 2016, malicious entities – likely Russian in origin – gained access to Read more
The CRASHOVERRIDE event is significant for many reasons: it represents the first-known malware-directed attack on civilian power systems; and it represents a worrying escalation in operations against Ukrainian critical infrastructure. Yet for all its conceptual boldness in expanding cyber attack operations within industrial control systems (ICS), at a technical, practical Read more
YARA – or “yet another regex alternative” – is a pattern matching tool with multiple uses but extensive application in malware analysis and alerting. The framework itself is simple, relatively easy to understand (especially on basic string matching), and incredibly flexible. Yet in application and advertised use, YARA is often Read more
A previous post on indicators and network defense generated quite a bit of attention, as well as some requests for follow-up items. One item in particular was very interesting to me: comparing an actionable, effective threat intelligence report not relying on indicators with a “bad” example. I think this idea Read more