Ransomware is a form of malicious software that latches onto a system and encrypts the files within it, making them inaccessible to the user. The attackers behind this malicious activity typically demand payment in terms of currency (crypto or cash) in return for the keys to decrypt the files. A recent ransomware which has become viral since January 2018 is named GandCrab. This ransomware is believed to be distributed as a Ransomware-as-a-Service [2,3]. GandCrab initially differentiated from other ransomware by demanding a ransom in DASH [7] cryptocurrency. The developers behind GandCrab have been continuously updating and releasing improved versions, with…
Contextual Visibility: WAN-Security Monitoring Gartner estimates that the average cost of network downtime is around $5,600 p/minute, which extrapolates to well over $300K p/hour. A fairly scary number, we have to admit. And to scare you further, here is a video we dug out about the massive business impact of a downtime. IT leaders and CIOs acknowledge the importance of constant network monitoring and a more centralized approach to network management and monitoring. As a result, most enterprises will also boast of a network management and monitoring tool in place. However, as digital transformations and disruptive technologies like cloud and…
Unified communications or collaboration solutions in the private network were supposed to relieve IT from the burden of manually assuring service-level quality by off-loading some of the peripheral applications workload to cloud-based managed services. However, as voice application features advanced incorporating voice, video and interactive elements, quality suffered – digital voice and video-conferencing packets buffered, which were reasons why IT and MSPs ended up battling dramatic increases in service trouble tickets. The problem, however, is not with the concept of UCaaS; it is more about the underlying connectivity solution that transports these applications. Legacy WAN architectures with their inherent drawbacks…
The cloud imperative stretches the network perimeter from a branch office or remote site location to a distributed-application model wherein SaaS acceleration is key. As traffic moves to and from branch locations and multiple clouds over the Internet, SD-WAN and layered security are required. Just as the cloud is more than hosting apps and infrastructure, SD-WAN is more than circuit aggregation and dynamic path selection. Organizations need more than reliability and agility; those are table-stakes outcomes. A modern SD-WAN implementation requires a broad set of functions when connecting to multiple clouds like routing, NAT, DOS, DHCP server and relay, stateful…
Every manufacturer is concerned about the potential risks associated with cyber-crimes. If their data are stolen, it can lead to financial losses in sales, fines and monetary judgments against them; not to mention, the loss of customers and brand loyalty. In 2017, there were over 53,000 security incidents and 2,216 confirmed data breaches. This is according to the 2018 Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR) by Verizon. The report goes on to state, the most common access among all security breaches (73 percent of breaches) are those perpetrated from outside the organizations through the wide area network (WAN). Enterprise WANs, with…
Internet links to wide area networks (WANs) are often a primary target for cyber-crime in every industry. The healthcare industry deals with particularly sensitive consumer data. Security breaches pose many risks for healthcare providers, including legal liability, revenue loss and erosion of patient trust. To minimize the threat of security incidents and breaches, IT teams are looking for preventive measures to ensure that security is an integrated part of the WAN. The preservation and safekeeping of healthcare data for doctors, clinics and hospitals, and their patients are essential elements to contemporary security posture. Patient health record protection has a direct…
The 2018 Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR) compiled by Verizon is loaded with cloak and dagger cyber events conducted by both known and unknown bad actors and mechanisms. Verizon identified 53,000-plus incidents and 2,200 breaches in only 12 months, suggesting an information parallel universe in which an uneven playing field exists whereby the bad guys and rouge bots consistently probe from the outside. Here are some of the key findings in terms of actual breaches: 73 percent were perpetrated by external forces 50 percent were carried out by organized crime groups 48 percent were due to hacking; 30 percent from…
Once again, recently we heard about an enterprise that succumbed to a major security breach. Shipping giant COSCO lost email and IP phone connectivity throughout their entire US network. And without finding the cause, the company shut down networks within other regions. This example, along with countless others, solidifies the point that distributed networks and security are inherently symbiotic. COSCO says the incident was a network breakdown that led to the ransomware infection. While some are arguing it was the network, others say it was a Malware security breach. The COSCO event was not only a network breakdown, it was…
According to 451 Research, there are several key factors behind the recent emergence of autonomous vehicles (AVs): a combination of increasing computing capabilities (Moore’s law), accessibility of data, meaningful and actionable insights through analytics of this data, and the advent of AI, machine learning and artificial neural networks. Expertise and technology in these fields have historically been outside the core competencies of traditional automotive players (OEMs, suppliers). This vacuum has attracted the likes of new and old IT hardware and software providers to find a role in the future connected car and AV. 451 says that the largest impending innovators will come from…
Typically, WAN solution vendors talk about performance in terms of speeds and feeds. But, I like to think about performance as it relates to all aspects of connectivity. This includes speed, control, visibility, reliability, ease of deployment and monitoring, and of course security. I think about it in these terms because each of these areas are controllable by the right holistic SD-WAN architecture. Unfortunately, the accumulation of multiple disparate routing and switching devices, including firewalls, intrusion detection and threat mitigation, makes it difficult to obtain network visibility and correlate real-time events that can degrade or disrupt performance. With Secure SD-WAN,…
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