BLUF: This blog series is written to provide an anecdotal history of the evolution of exploitation in cybersecurity, focused largely on network exploitations in an enterprise and couched as Luke’s perspective over his decade-long career in InfoSec.

To best discuss the state of exploitations in cybersecurity in 2010-2015, let’s first take a brief walk back in time to put your mind in the right timeframe. The year was 2010, and…

• Top Grossing Movie – Toy Story 3
• Top Grossing Video Game – Call of Duty, Black Ops
• Super Bowl XLIV – Drew Brees’ Saints beat Peyton Manning’s Colts
• Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
• WikiLeaks publishes their first bombshell leak
• Major Earthquake in Haiti
• Luke Exploits his First Box ()

What is an Exploitation, Anyway?
If we leave it up to Merriam Webster an ‘exploitation’ is “an act of instance of exploiting.” Because that doesn’t quite clear things up, we’ll take it one step further: “to make use of meanly or unfairly for one’s own advantage.” When it comes to cybersecurity, and in keeping things ethical, exploitation is the execution of any method or technique that can be used to accomplish one of the following:

• To gain unauthorized access to a system or information,
• To gain unauthorized privileges within an information system or organization,
• To deny, degrade, or destroy a network, information system, or similar object of importance within an organization.

With a working definition that’s more in-line with the intention of this blog, let’s explore how one can ethically exploit something or someone.

The ongoing Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has placed immeasurable strain on the healthcare industry, demanding an “all-in” approach to empowering nurses, doctors, and all of the other heroic medical practitioners and their support staff with as many critical resources as possible. The needs for these resources span from personal protective equipment (PPE) to various medical devices, the physical space to provide care, to new technologies that help detect, prevent, track and stabilize the spread of COVID-19 infections. While medical professionals and the healthcare supply chain scramble to meet these needs, there’s a parallel and simultaneous challenge to prevent cyber criminals from disrupting daily operations, response times, and the overall unobstructed delivery of healthcare services.

As many organizations move to a remote-work posture due to the rapid spread of COVID-19, it’s important that those responsible for IT and IT security can ensure their organization’s remote work policies and technologies are securely implemented and capable.  No two organizations are alike, and exact security requirements are unique to your organization.
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The bottom line is that remote work technologies and policies should be designed to prevent unauthorized access to your network, systems, and confidential and/ or proprietary data.  There is no one-size-fits-all approach to this, organizations must develop a true understanding of their threat profile to better determine which security controls are right for them.

 Part 2- Top 5 Things to Keep in Mind as You Implement Remote Work Policies  
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It’s likely that by now you’ve either heard of or have been personally impacted by recent cancellations of major industry conferences, closed campuses, travel limitations, or remote work mandates as a result of the continued spread of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19). All of these actions are a reflection of the Center for Disease Control’s recommendations and proactive efforts focused on lessening the spread and impact of this virus.  

Part 1- The Coronavirus Isn’t Just Taking a Toll on Healthcare Patients 
Preying on fearful, distracted and overworked individuals during times of global concern is a tried-and-true tactic for cyber criminals. And as news around the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to dominate headlines, malicious actors across the world are licking their chops at the opportunities this pandemic presents for planning and launching targeted and timely cyber-attacks.  

Cyberattacks on businesses do more than violate laws and regulations. Insufficient investment into cybersecurity best practices can lead to devastating consequences to the victim company’s reputation, business continuity, and growth opportunities. One of the most vulnerable windows during which malicious actors target enterprise networks is during a merger and acquisition (M&A) process. In these cases, a successful compromise can hamper or even kill these efforts by reducing the value of the target’s assets, tarnishing its brand and ultimately derailing the acquisition as a result.
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