Around 1,500 earthquakes strike Japan every year. Japan is a testament to the necessity of planning and preparation. The devastating 2011 Tōhoku earthquake, along with other seismic events, underscores a critical lesson: building must withstand destructuve forces from day one. Japanese building standards reflect an extraordinary commitment to "security by design" — a concept not just valuable in structural engineering but also critical in cybersecurity.
Take, for example, the meticulous approach of Japanese engineers who design buildings to not only withstand frequent, moderate earthquakes but also rare, catastrophic ones. Structures like Tokyo's Roppongi Hills Mori Tower are equipped with advanced seismic isolation systems, such as oil dampers that act like shock absorbers during earthquakes. These dampers allow the buildings to sway safely up to 1.5 meters without collapsing, demonstrating resilience that’s built right into their foundation.
This principle mirrors the proactive "Security by Design" approach in cybersecurity. Just as buildings in Japan are equipped from the outset to handle seismic shifts, cybersecurity systems must be designed from the ground up to deal with the cyber threats. This means embedding security features at every layer of technology — from software development to network architecture — ensuring that systems are robust enough to withstand attacks without faltering.
Security by Design in practice is like playing chess, anticipating possible moves and be prepared.
1. Anticipating Moves: Just as a chess grandmaster studies an opponent’s past games to predict their strategies, "Security by Design" involves a thorough analysis of potential security threats and vulnerabilities from the onset. This is not merely about reacting to attacks as they occur, but anticipating them beforehand.
2. Strategic Defense and Offense: In chess, the balance between a robust defense and an assertive offense is key. Players position their pieces not only to fortify their own defenses but also to create opportunities for offensive strikes. Similarly, "Security by Design" involves layering defensive measures (like firewalls and encryption) while also employing offensive strategies (such as penetration testing) to find and fix vulnerabilities before an attacker can exploit them.
3. Adversarial Thinking: By thinking like an attacker, designers and engineers can better understand how their systems might be compromised and implement the most effective countermeasures preemptively.
Behind each phishing email, there is a cybercriminal plotting and waiting the user to take the bait. The Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG), which was formed in 2003, defines phishing as “a criminal method that uses both social engineering and technological tricks to gain credentials from victims.” Phishing attacks rely on social engineering techniques as their foundation, and the goal of a phishing attack is to acquire credentials, according to this view.
Phishing attacks blend technical sophistication with psychological manipulation. On the technical front, cybercriminals craft strategies to ensure their deceptive messages bypass security scans and anti-spam filters. This often involves tactics like utilizing fake domains, compromising victims' email accounts, and embedding hidden code to confuse email security systems. On the cognitive side, each phishing email is meticulously designed to manipulate users into clicking malicious links. These emails typically use tactics of intimidation or create a sense of urgency to provoke immediate action.
To effectively mitigate the risk of phishing attacks or minimize the impact of each attempt, it is crucial to implement best security practices. This includes a thorough analysis of the attack process and identification of potential vulnerabilities. By designing our security controls, we can enhance their effectiveness and strengthen our overall defense against such cyber threats.
Cybersquatting: Registering domain names that are identical or similar to another company’s brand name or trademark with the intent to profit from the goodwill of someone else's brand.
Website Spoofing: An attack technique where attackers create a replica of a real website by copying logos, fonts, colors, and other identifying features. This fake site is then used to deceive users into thinking they are visiting the legitimate site, often to steal personal information or credentials.
Browser Hijacking: The unauthorized alteration of a user’s browser settings by malware or a third-party program. This can redirect the user to malicious websites, change their homepage, or insert unwanted ads into their browser. Browser hijacking is often used to generate revenue through ad clicks or to spread malware.
Water Hole Attack: A targeted cyberattack strategy in which the attacker seeks to compromise a specific group of users by infecting websites that members of the group are known to visit. The
goal is to infect a user's computer and gain access to the network at the target's workplace. This attack is named after a predator's strategy in the wild, where it waits at a watering hole for its prey. In cyber world, attackers exploit the trust users have in certain sites to deliver malware or facilitate data breaches.