Ransomware

Thoughts on CVE-2024-37085 & VMSA-2024-0013

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Midjourney AI rendition of what cybersecurity and ransomware is, with a silhouette of a person in the middle of a lot of colored, blocky paint smears

Many of you may recognize that I work for Broadcom and handle a lot of VMware security, compliance, and what I like to call “operational resilience” topics. However, these are my thoughts on this matter with CVE-2024-37085, done on my own time and site, and do not reflect Broadcom’s stance. In fact, Broadcom’s stance, like VMware’s before it, is always: apply the patches or the workaround in the VMSA as your organization requires. This is good advice, if a bit terse. Lack of verbosity isn’t unique to Broadcom; no vendor can have a more nuanced stance because your environment is unique, and the context of your environment matters deeply. If …

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Information Security Concepts

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Understanding information security concepts not only enables efficient communication within organizations but also promotes understanding among different groups. Moreover, these information security concepts improve system design by highlighting areas of consideration. Authentication Authentication, a fundamental information security concept, proves that a person or application is genuine, thereby verifying their identity. It employs one or more of three primary methods, or factors: what you know, what you are, and what you have. “What you know” encompasses passwords, personal identification numbers (PINs), passphrases, and other secrets. However, this type of authentication is not strong on its own and is typically paired with another authentication factor. “What you are” involves biometric authentication methods, …

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What is Zero Trust?

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Midjourney AI rendition of what cybersecurity and ransomware is, with a silhouette of a person in the middle of a lot of colored, blocky paint smears

Zero Trust means “trust no device and trust no user.” It constantly re-evaluates access for every user and system. All devices and user identities undergo continuous multifactor verification. This approach enhances security by minimizing the attack surface and reducing the impact of potential breaches. Zero Trust acknowledges that threats can originate from both inside and outside the network perimeter. Infrastructure services often differ because they must run and connect when no other services are available. Infrastructure software like VMware vSphere uses features such as Secure Boot, Trusted Platform Modules, VIB signing and verification, and host attestation. These features build assurances that the infrastructure can be trusted in its current configuration. …

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What is Ransomware?

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Midjourney AI rendition of what cybersecurity and ransomware is, with a silhouette of a person in the middle of a lot of colored, blocky paint smears

Ransomware is malware that denies access to an organization’s data, typically by encrypting it with a key known only to the attacker. Organizations cannot patch or defend against ransomware in a single way. All attacks are different but it usually represents the final stage of a complex attack by an ecosystem of criminals who methodically infiltrate and seize an organization’s electronic assets. Their goals include holding these assets for ransom, stealing intellectual property, and extorting both the primary victim and their customers. Infection Vectors Malware often enters through malicious downloads, email links, advertisements, phishing attacks, social network messages, and websites. Recently, aggressive worms have spread ransomware using unpatched vulnerabilities and …

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