The Future of Network Security: Predictive Analytics and ML-Driven Solutions

 As the digital age evolves and continues to shape the business landscape, corporate networks have become increasingly complex and distributed. The amount of data a company collects to detect malicious behavior constantly increases, making it challenging to detect deceptive and unknown attack patterns and the so-called "needle in the haystack". With a growing number of cybersecurity threats, such as data breaches, ransomware attacks, and malicious insiders, organizations are facing significant challenges in successfully monitoring and securing their networks. Furthermore, the talent shortage in the field of cybersecurity makes manual threat hunting and log correlation a cumbersome and difficult task. To address these challenges, organizations are turning to predictive analytics and Machine Learning (ML) driven network security solutions as essential tools for securing their networks against cyber threats and the unknown bad.

The Role of ML-Driven Network Security Solutions#

ML-driven network security solutions in cybersecurity refer to the use of self-learning algorithms and other predictive technologies (statistics, time analysis, correlations etc.) to automate various aspects of threat detection. The use of ML algorithms is becoming increasingly popular for scalable technologies due to the limitations present in traditional rule-based security solutions. This results in the processing of data through advanced algorithms that can identify patterns, anomalies, and other subtle indicators of malicious activity, including new and evolving threats that may not have known bad indicators or existing signatures.

Detecting known threat indicators and blocking established attack patterns is still a crucial part of overall cyber hygiene. However, traditional approaches using threat feeds and static rules can become time-consuming when it comes to maintaining and covering all the different log sources. In addition, Indicators of Attack (IoA) or Indicators of Compromise (IoC) may not be available at the time of an attack or are quickly outdated. Consequently, companies require other approaches to fill this gap in their cybersecurity posture.

In summary, the mentioned drawbacks of rule-based security solutions highlight the significance of taking a more holistic approach to network security, which should nowadays include ML-powered Network Detection and Response (NDR) solutions to complement traditional detection capabilities and preventive security measures.

The Benefits of ML for Network Security#

So, how is Machine Learning (ML) shaping the future of network security? The truth is that ML-powered security solutions are bringing about a significant transformation in network security by providing security teams with numerous benefits and enhancing the overall threat detection capabilities of organizations:

• Big data analytics: With the ever-increasing amount of data and different log sources, organizations must be able to process vast amounts of information in real time, including network traffic logs, endpoints, and other sources of information related to cyber threats. In this regard, ML algorithms can aid in the detection of security threats by identifying patterns and anomalies that may otherwise go unnoticed. Consequently, the ability and flexibility of a solution to incorporate different log sources should be a key requirement for threat detection capabilities.
• Automated analysis of anomalous behavior: AI enables a much-required health monitoring of network activity by utilizing the analysis of normal network traffic as a baseline. With the help of automated correlation and clustering, outliers and unusual behavior can be detected, reducing the need for manual detection engineering and threat hunting. Key questions to be answered include "what is the activity of other clients in the network?" and "is a client's behavior in line with its own previous activities?" These approaches allow for the detection of unusual behaviors like domain-generated algorithms (DGA) domains, volume-based irregularities in network connections, and unusual communication patterns (e.g., lateral movement) in the network. Therefore, comparing a client's current behavior with that of their peers serves as a suitable baseline for identifying subtle anomalies.
• Detect unknown attacks in real-time: While it is relatively easy to directly detect known bad indicators (specific IP addresses, domains, etc.), many attacks can go undetected when these indicators are not present. If that is the case, statistics, time, and correlation-based detections are of enormous value to detect unknown attack patterns in an automated manner. By incorporating algorithmic approaches, traditional security solutions based on signatures and indicators of compromise (IoC) can be enhanced to become more self-sufficient and less reliant on known malware indicators.
• Self-learning detection capabilities: ML-driven solutions learn from past events in order to continuously improve their threat detection capabilities, threat scoring, clustering, and network visualizations. This may involve training the algorithms themselves or adjusting how information is presented based on feedback from analysts.
• Enhance Incident Response: By learning from an analyst's past incident response activities, ML can automate certain aspects of the incident response process, minimizing the time and resources required to address a security breach. This can involve using algorithms to analyze text and evidence, identifying root causes and attack patterns.

Example of an ML-driven Network Security Solution#

When it comes to ML-driven Network Detection & Response (NDR) solutions that incorporate the outlined benefits, ExeonTrace stands out as a leading network security solution in Europe. Based on award-winning ML algorithms, which incorporate a decade of academic research, ExeonTrace provides organizations with advanced ML threat detection capabilities, complete network visibility, flexible log source integration, and big data analytics. In addition, the algorithms rely on metadata analysis instead of actual payloads which makes them unaffected by encryption, completely hardware-free, and compatible with most cybersecurity infrastructures. As a result, ExeonTrace is able to process raw log data into powerful graph databases, which are then analyzed by supervised and unsupervised ML models. Through correlation and event fusion, the algorithms can accurately pinpoint high-fidelity anomalies and subtle cues of malicious behavior, even when dealing with novel or emerging cyber threats that may lack established signatures or known malicious indicators.

Conclusion#

As the threat of cyber-attacks becomes increasingly complex, organizations must go beyond traditional security measures to protect their networks. As a result, many companies are now turning to Machine Learning (ML) and predictive analytics to strengthen their security defenses. In this regard, ML-driven Network Detection & Response (NDR) solutions, such as ExeonTrace, are designed to help organizations stay ahead of the ever-evolving threat landscape. By utilizing advanced ML algorithms that analyze network traffic and application logs, ExeonTrace offers organizations quick detection and response to even the most sophisticated cyberattacks.

Web Development Services

 Full-cycle website design and development 

Creating a website from scratch, including requirements gathering, design, implementation, quality assurance as well as maintenance and support. 

Redesign

Porting your legacy website, including all the data, to a new, modern solution (it can be another content management system) with a slick and responsive user interface. 

Web application development and integration

Enriching your website with out-of-the-box and custom social networking apps, payment solutions, advanced analytics, and other tools to increase user engagement. 

Migration to the cloud 

Moving your existing website and applications to Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, and other cloud services to improve scalability and administration and lessen costs.

Maintenance and support

Creating new features and fixing bugs; 

Enhancing scalability and performance to welcome the growing number of visitors and data;

Improving the website structure to better address user demand; 

Increasing compliance with SEO standards for advanced content marketing strategies; 

Performing security audits and updates to protect data and users.

Mobile-driven development

Adapting your website for mobile phones and tablets of all platforms and screen sizes as well as using the portal as a back-end for a mobile app.

A Scripting Language

Scripting languages are interpreted by another program at runtime (no need for compilation). Scripting languages can either be interpreted server-side or client-side (in the browser).

Server-Side

PHP is a server-side scripting language, processed by a PHP interpreter on a web server; the result (the output) is sent to the web browser as plain HTML.

Open-Source

PHP is freely available to download and use. 

Object-Oriented

Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) leverages the concept of “objects” to contain data and functions to help build more complex, reusable web applications. OOP was added to PHP5. 

Fast 

PHP uses its own memory, minimizing server workload and increasing performance. PHP can be up to 382% faster than Python and 195% faster than Ruby. 

Simple 

The PHP syntax is easily understood and learned, whether you’re building from scratch or leveraging existing frameworks or add-ons. 

Well Supported

PHP supports all leading databases (MySQL, SQLite, ODBC), is compatible with most servers (Apache, IIS, etc), is portable across all platforms (Windows, Mac OS, Linux, etc), and can be further supported by PHP frameworks (Laravel, CodeIgniter, Symfony) and many well-stocked and vetted libraries. 

Why Choose PHP?

For more than a decade, we’ve seen articles that ask, “Is PHP Dead?,” with competitors such as JavaScript hoping to take its place. Over the years, PHP has held its dominant spot as the backbone to 80% of websites, give or take a few percentage points — a sign that PHP is here to stay. And there’s a very good reason why.

While PHP is an older programming language lacking some of the features of newer programming languages, it has continued to evolve. With that evolution comes a level of maturity: PHP is well-documented, well-supported, and easy to use.

PHP developers have access to rich frameworks, databases, and libraries to support their work, with the flexibility to set up on any Linux, Windows, or Unix OS. Most web hosting providers offer PHP, and, when it comes to cost, PHP often comes out ahead in both development time as well as overall cost to run and maintain. As an efficient language, PHP is able to deliver on the high-performance times demanded by today’s consumers. 

During your product development planning, PHP often comes out ahead because it is well documented in APIs. Your PHP-based website can easily be integrated with all CMS programs and add-ons to create dynamic, interactive, feature-rich experiences. 

You should choose PHP for your website, eCommerce marketplace, or application if you want a language that is:

Flexible 

Compatible 

Scalable 

Secure

High-Performing 

Affordable

Well-Supported

Easy to Maintain

Easy to Find Developers

Contact Us: 03342981124

Email: Info@5starcybersecurity.Com

Ransomware and how can you defend your business from it

 Ransomware is a kind of malware used by cybercriminals to stop users from accessing their systems or files; the cybercriminals then threaten to leak, destroy or withhold sensitive information unless a ransom is paid.

Ransomware attacks can target either the data held on computer systems (known as locker ransomware) or devices (crypto-ransomware). In both instances, once a ransom is paid, threat actors typically provide victims with a decryption key or tool to unlock their data or device, though this is not guaranteed.

Oliver Pinson-Roxburgh, CEO of Defense.com, the all-in-one cybersecurity platform, shares knowledge and advice in this article on how ransomware works, how damaging it can be, and how your business can mitigate ransomware attacks from occurring.

Ransomware attack comprise

There are three key elements to a ransomware attack:

Access-In order to deploy malware to encrypt files and gain control, cybercriminals need to initially gain access to an organization's systems.

Trigger-The attackers have control of the data as soon as the malicious software is activated. The data is encrypted and no longer accessible by the targeted organization.

Demand-The victims will receive an alert that their data is encrypted and cannot be accessed until a ransom is paid.

What is the cost of being targeted by ransomware?

The average pay-out from ransomware attacks has risen from $312,000/£260,000 in 2020 to $570,000/£476,000 in 2021 – an increase of 83%. One report also showed that 66% of organisations surveyed were victims of ransomware attacks in 2021, nearly double that of 2020 (37%). This highlights the need for businesses to understand the risks and implement stronger defenses to combat the threats.

Ransomware continues to rank amongst the most common cyberattacks in 2022, due to its lucrative nature and fairly low level of effort required from the perpetrators. This debilitating attack causes an average downtime of 3 weeks and can have major repercussions for an organization, for its finances, operations and reputation.

Because there is no guarantee that cybercriminals will release data after a ransom is paid, it is crucial to protect your data and keep offline backups of your files. It's also very important to proactively monitor and protect entry points that a hacker may exploit, to reduce the possibility of being targeted in the first place.

Who is at risk of being a target of ransomware?

In the past, cybercriminals have typically targeted high-profile organizations, large corporations and government agencies with ransomware. This is known as 'big game hunting' and works on the premise that these companies are far more likely to pay higher ransoms and avoid unwanted scrutiny from the media and public. Certain organizations, such as hospitals, are higher-value targets because they are far more likely to pay a ransom and to do so quickly because they need access to important data urgently.

However, ransomware groups are now shifting their focus to smaller businesses, in response to increased pressure from law enforcement who are cracking down on well-known ransomware groups such as REvil and Conti. Smaller companies are seen as easy targets that may lack effective cybersecurity defenses to prevent a ransomware attack, making it easier to penetrate and exploit them.

Ultimately, threat actors are opportunists and will consider most organizations as targets, regardless of their size. If a cybercriminal notices a vulnerability, the company is fair game.

How is ransomware deployed?

Phishing attacks

The most common delivery method of ransomware is via phishing attacks. Phishing is a form of social engineering and is an effective method of attack as it relies on deceit and creating a sense of urgency. Threat actors trick employees into opening suspicious attachments in emails and this is often achieved by imitating either senior-level employees or other trusted figures of authority.

Malvertising

Malicious advertising is another tactic used by cybercriminals to deploy ransomware, where ad space is purchased and infected with malware that is then displayed on trusted and legitimate websites. Once the ad is clicked, or even in some cases when a user accesses a website that's hosting malware, that device is infected by malware that scans the device for vulnerabilities to exploit.

Exploiting vulnerable systems

Ransomware can also be deployed by exploiting unpatched and outdated systems, as was the case in 2017, when a security vulnerability in Microsoft Windows, EternalBlue (MS17-010), led to the global WannaCry ransomware attack that spread to over 150 countries.

It was the biggest cyberattack to hit the NHS: it cost £92m in damages plus the added costs of IT support restoring data and systems affected by the attack, and it directly impacted patient care through cancelled appointments.

Four key methods to defend your business against ransomware

It is crucial that businesses are aware of how a ransomware attack may affect their organization, and how they can prevent cybercriminals from breaching their systems and holding sensitive data to ransom. Up to 61% of organizations with security teams consisting of 11–25 employees are said to be most concerned about ransomware attacks.

The NHS could have avoided being impacted by the WannaCry ransomware attack in 2017 by heeding warnings and migrating away from outdated software, ensuring strategies were in place to strengthen their security posture.

It's essential that your business takes a proactive approach to cybersecurity by implementing the correct tools to help monitor, detect, and mitigate suspicious activity across your network and infrastructure. This will reduce the number and impact of data breaches and cyberattacks.

Defense.com recommend these four fundamental tactics to help prevent ransomware attacks and stay one step ahead of the hackers:

1 — Training

Cybersecurity awareness training is pivotal for businesses of all sizes as it helps employees to spot potentially malicious emails or activity.

Social engineering tactics, such as phishing and tailgating, are common and successful due to human error and employees not spotting the risks. It's vital for employees to be vigilant around emails that contain suspicious links or contain unusual requests to share personal data, often sent by someone pretending to be a senior-level employee.

Security training also encourages employees to query visitors to your offices to prevent ransomware attacks via physical intrusion.

Implementing cybersecurity awareness training will help your business routinely educate and assess your employees on fundamental security practices, ultimately creating a security culture to reduce the risk of data breaches and security incidents.

2 — Phishing simulators

These simulator tools support your security awareness training by delivering fake but realistic phishing emails to employees. Understanding how prone your staff are to falling for a real cybercriminal's tactics allows you to fill gaps in their training.

When you combine phishing simulators with security training, your organization can lessen the chance of falling victim to a ransomware attack. The combination of training and testing puts you in a better position to prevent the cunning attempts of cybercriminals to infiltrate your IT systems and plant malware.

3 — Threat monitoring

You can make your business less of a target for cybercriminals by actively monitoring potential threats. Threat Intelligence is a threat monitoring tool that collates data from various sources, such as penetration tests and vulnerability scans, and uses this information to help you defend against potential malware and ransomware attacks. This overview of your threat landscape shows which areas are most at risk of a cyberattack or a data breach.

Being proactive ensures you stay one step ahead of hackers and by introducing threat monitoring tools to your organization, you ensure any suspicious behaviour is detected early for remediation.

4 — Endpoint protection

Endpoint protection is key to understanding which of your assets are vulnerable, to help protect them and repel malware attacks like ransomware. More than just your typical antivirus software, endpoint protection offers advanced security features that protect your network, and the devices on it, against threats such as malware and phishing campaigns.

Anti-ransomware capabilities should be included in endpoint protection so it can effectively prevent attacks by monitoring suspicious behaviour such as file changes and file encryption. The ability to isolate or quarantine any affected devices can also be a very useful feature for stopping the spread of malware.

This article is written and contributed by Oliver Pinson-Roxburgh, CEO at Defense.com.

read more news 

www.5starcybersecurity.uk

Aircrack-ng

Aircrack-ng is a wireless security software suite. It consists of a network packet analyzer, a WEP network cracker, and WPA / WPA2-PSK along with another set of wireless auditing tools. Here are the most popular tools included in the Aircrack-ng suite. read more

Netcat

Netcat is a Unix utility which reads and writes data across network connections using TCP or UDP protocol. 

Following tasks can be done easily with Netcat:

• Connect to a port of a target host.
• Listen to a certain port for any inbound connections.
• Send data across client and server once the connection is established.
• Transfer files across the network once the connection is established.
• Can execute programs and scripts of the client on the server and vice versa.
• Can Provide remote shell access of server to a client where shell commands can be executed.
• read more

WPScan

WPScan is a security scanner designed for testing the security of websites built using WordPress. WPScan was developed using the Ruby programming language and then released in the first version in 2019. The WPScan security scanner is primarily intended to be used by WordPress administrators and security teams to assess the security status of their WordPress installations. It is used to scan WordPress websites for known vulnerabilities both in WordPress and commonly used WordPress plugins and themes. The code base for WPScan is licensed under GPLv3.

WPScan is a WordPress black box scanner. The goal for using WPScan is to execute the activities of a real threat actor. WPScan does not require access to the source code or the WordPress dashboard.  WPScan uses the wpvulndb.com vulnerability database which is a comprehensive list of WordPress core, plugin, and theme vulnerabilities. Frequently running WPScan is important to make sure that plug-ins and themes have no exposed vulnerabilities. Once set up, WPScan will run automatically on a daily basis.

WPScan is a Ruby application and can be run on Linux (and macOS also) by installing the Ruby gem. You can also run it by cloning the corresponding WPScan Github repository. A quick start can be done by installing the WPScan plugin on the WordPress website. Alternatively, you can use a Docker image. WPScan is also included in Linux distributions including Kali Linux and Pentoo. 

WPScan has a strong feature set which includes, but is not limited to:

Username enumeration. 

Enumeration attacks involve an attacker trying to determine if a target exists on the target system. The threat actor tries to detect which users exist on a website. The threat actor can then use this information as part of a larger attack chain. WPScan will utilize enumeration techniques just like a real threat actor.  In a user enumeration attack, a threat actor will identify the variations in how WordPress responds to specific requests. Depending on the response received, the attacker can determine  if the user exists. The threat actor may be able to use this information as part of a larger attack. Standard WordPress installations are often vulnerable to user enumeration, so you will need to protect against this attack vector. WPScan can quickly identify if this vulnerability exists. WPScan will try to enumerate all users on a given WordPress installation. 

Version detection.

 WPScan can detect the versions of WordPress core, plugins and themes,

Publicly accessible sensitive data.

 WPScan can check for publicly accessible wp-config.php backups and other database exports.

Password cracking.

 WPScan also has a password cracker. This can help you check your website for weak authentication credentials. You would need to provide WPScan with a password dictionary of your choosing. In an online method, repeatedly try to log in using a login form displayed by the targeted website. Success is just a matter of time for threat actors to break weak passwords. In contrast, in an offline attack, threat actors attack hashes which they downloaded from a hacked target on their servers. The use of offline password cracking is much faster. But without a copy of your WordPress database, they have no choice but to try for an online attack. Brute force attacks are also an option, but generally take too much time and effort. Dictionary attacks generally provide the best return on time invested for a threat actor. A dictionary attack relies on the use of a list of commonly harvested passwords. Attackers have a lot of passwords available at their disposal as a result of all the data breaches major websites have faced over the years.

Version enumeration. 

WPScan can check theme and plugin versions against the wpvulndb.com WordPress vulnerability database. WPScan will also flag if the version of WordPress you are running contains security vulnerabilities. This results in a prompt to upgrade to the current version of WordPress.

Licensing

WPScan is actually not Open Source software. WPScan is licensed with a custom license that requires a fee to be paid if used commercially. Please check the WPScan website here for the best data: https://wpscan.com/wordpress-security-scanner 

Other important security considerations for WordPress sites

1) Maintenance of a WordPress audit trail of all WordPress website activity and changes.

2) A WordPress firewall helps filter incoming traffic to WordPress websites. Good traffic is allowed to access the website, while malicious and suspect traffic and bots are blocked. WordPress firewalls can also be configured to stop attacks on specific targeted entry points and other vulnerabilities within a WordPress website.

3) The establishment of strong WordPress authentication and password policies

4) The use of two-factor authentication.

Skipfish

 Skipfish is a free, open-source Automated Penetration Testing tool available on GitHub made for security researchers.  Skipfish is used for information gathering and testing the security of websites and web servers. Skipfish is the easiest and one of the best tools for penetration testing. It provides many integrated tools to perform penetration testing on the target system.

This tool is also known as an active web application security reconnaissance tool. This tool functions and makes a map on the console of the targeted site using recursive crawl and dictionary-based probes. 

This tool gives us all the security checks that are active in the domain. Lastly, this tool generates a report which can be further used for security assessments.

Features and Uses of Skipfish tools :

• Skipfish is Open source intelligence tool.
• Skipfish can track enumeration.
• Skipfish is a fully automated tool.
• Skipfish has more than 15 modules that can be used for penetration testing.
• Skipfish is used to scanning websites and web apps.
• Skipfish is used to scan content management systems(CMS).
• Skipfish can find vulnerabilities in CMS, eg. WordPress, Joomla, etc.
• Skipfish has a large number of modules, such as metagoofil, wananga, etc.

Installation 

Step 1: 

To install the tool first move to desktop and then install the tool using the following command.

git clone https://gitlab.com/kalilinux/packages/skipfish.git

 Step 2: 

The tool has been downloaded into your kali Linux machine. Now move into the tool directory using the following command.

cd skipfish

ls

skipfish -h

 Step 3:

 Now you can see the help menu of the tool is running. You can use all the flags which are used with the tool. The tool has been downloaded and now we will see how to use it.

Usage

Example 1: Use skipfish tool to scan a WordPress website using its IP address.

skipfish -o 202 http://192.168.1.202/wordpress

This is the report of the tool. You can use this tool with your own target. You can use any domain of your own choice. 

Example 2: Use Skipfish tool to scan bodegeit

sudo skipfish -o SkipfishTEST http://192.168.225.37/bodgeit

You can see that the tool has given all information such as scan time, HTTP requests to host, compression size, TCP handshakes, etc. This is how you can also perform an operation on your own specified target.