Defender vs. Attacker

  • Defender is in the “position of the interior”
  • Defender serves an organizations goal; attackers have unlimited resources
  • Defender must defend all points; attackers targets the single weakest link
  • Defender can only defend against known attacks; attackers can probe for unknown vulnerabilities
  • Defender must be constantly vigilant; attackers can strike at will
  • Defender must play by the rules; attackers can play dirty
  • Attackers can use technology of the future that’s not available to the defender
  • Defenders security depends not only on its own investment and effort, but also dependent on the security of others
    • Even if a company proactive on cybersecurity, its partners may not be
    • Attackers are proactive about finding the weakest link in a value chain
      • i.e., Service providers, suppliers, third party (and fourth party) vendors
      • e.g., Company A might be secure, so attackers will attack their (less protected) law firm
  • Data is becoming less centralized
    • Changing from protecting the data center and its perimeter to…
    • … the actual data itself via access management, DLP, encryption and authentication
Hooded man with face in darkness typing at a keyboard with light blue colored numbers rising up over his hands. Streams of light and the dark shape of the world map are in the background.

Types of Attackers

 

Class I – Clever Outsiders

  • Very intelligent but insufficient knowledge of the system
  • Have access to moderately sophisticated equipment
  • Take advantage of existing weakness 

Class II – Knowledgeable Insiders

  • Substantial specialized technical expertise
  • Varying degree of understanding with potential access to most of the system
  • Have highly sophisticated tools and analysis instruments

Class III – Funded organization (i.e., Nation states)

  • Team of specialists with great funding resources
  • Capable of in-depth analysis, designing sophisticated attacks and using the most advanced tools
  • They may use Class II adversaries as part of the attack team

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