Welcome to the fourth edition of Dellfer Insights, a series curated by our VP of Channels, Shawn Lorenz. The series highlights notable industry news, key takeaways, and why it matters to combat the next cyberattack. This month we look at suspected Chinese attacks, CISA updates, and CISA’s updates on Chinese attacks. Yes, I meant to write it that way.
đź’ˇDellfer Insight #1: What happens when you cannot trust security patches?
In a world where cybersecurity is crucial, the ability to trust security patches is paramount. However, a recent report from security firm Mandiant highlights a disturbing campaign by threat actors suspected of having ties to China that challenges this trust. These attackers have managed to maintain a long-term presence on SonicWall SMA appliances, even in the face of firmware updates.
The Resilient Malware
The malware’s tenacity is quite alarming, as it constantly checks for firmware updates every 10 seconds to ensure its persistence on targeted devices. When it detects an available update, the malware takes several steps, including copying the archived file for backup, unzipping it, and mounting it. It then transfers the malicious files to the mounted file, guaranteeing its survival post-update. In addition, the malware creates a backdoor root user within the mounted file before rezipping it for installation.
The Solution: Dellfer’s ZeroDayGuard
While this isn’t the first time SonicWall’s SMA 100 appliance has been targeted (it fell victim to a zero-day attack in 2020), there is a solution: Dellfer’s ZeroDayGuard. This security solution has proven effective against such attacks, offering a level of protection unmatched by other security products on the market.
Restoring Trust in Firmware Updates:
With Dellfer’s ZeroDayGuard in place, businesses can regain confidence in the effectiveness of their firmware updates. As a result, customers no longer have to question the reliability of these updates, ensuring a secure and trustworthy environment for their networks and devices.
Conclusion:
In an age where cyber threats are ever-present, it’s essential to have a security solution that can be trusted. Dellfer’s ZeroDayGuard offers the peace of mind needed in the face of persistent and evolving threats like the one targeting SonicWall SMA appliances. By investing in robust security measures, businesses can safeguard their systems and restore trust in firmware updates.
đź’ˇ Dellfer Insight #2: What is the reason the United States is under the daily bombardment of cyber attacks?
“I would submit to you that these cyber-intrusions are a symptom, rather than a cause, of the vulnerability we face as a nation,” said the CISA Director Jen Easterly in her opening remarks in a speech followed up with a fascinating fireside chat in late January at Carnegie Mellon University. “The cause, simply put, is unsafe technology products.” She lamented, “As we’ve integrated technology into nearly every facet of our lives, we’ve unwittingly come to accept as normal that such technology is dangerous-by-design.” She described the existing practice of security being an afterthought for most software companies. “We must—change the way we collectively value safety over other market incentives like cost, features, and speed to market.”…..” In place of building ineffective security from the start, technology manufacturers are using us, the users, as their crash test dummies—and we’re feeling the effects of those crashes every day with real-world consequences. This situation is not sustainable. We need a new model.”
Secure-by-design and Secure-by-default – A New Model Explained
Easterly describes Secure-by design as building software with memory-safe languages instead of C/C++, improved security transparency. Secure-by-default calls for stopping the packaging and pricing of security features as an upsell. She concludes, “In short, strong security should be a standard feature of virtually every technology product, and especially those that support the critical infrastructure that Americans rely on daily.”
Key Takeaway:
Existing practices of producing software emphasizing features over security has created a dangerous world and will continue until new models like Secure-by-design and Secure-by-default are implemented. Hackers attack software that is poorly designed because they can.
Why It Matters:
Dellfer’s ZeroDayGuard is integrated into C/C++ source code, making C/C++ source code memory safe. Let me repeat that. Dellfer’s ZeroDayGuard integrates into your C/C++ source code, making your C/C++ source code memory safe.
First problem solved.
Lastly, Secure-by design means actively watching the applications at runtime. Security in real-time is what Dellfer ZeroDayGuard provides. Proactive and resilient IOT applications.
