Why everyone should care about FIPS 140, NIAP NDcPP, and DoDIN APL.

Original Entry by : Cary Wright

By Cary Wright, VP Product Management, Endace

Cary Wright, VP Product Management, Endace

Weak security plagues far too many of the IT products we use today. The problem is, there is no unified mandate to compel vendors to invest in security hardening their products. Vendors are free to choose how heavily to invest in security. So it’s no surprise that many vendors don’t invest heavily enough in thoroughly security hardening their products.
 
However, in many industries – such as Government, defense or critical infrastructure – the potential impact of a security vulnerability in a product is just too serious for organizations to leave it to vendors to decide how to secure their products. For this reason, organizations in many of these industries mandate that vendors must submit their products to rigorous testing and certification processes to ensure the security of their products is iron clad.
 
At Endace we found out first-hand how difficult and rigorous these standards are to comply with. The effort took us the better part of a year and significant investment in software development, testing and validation, and certification. Armor plated security is a good way to describe what these standards require. Our recent OSm 7.2.1 release includes everything we had to do to comply with these standards.
 
The good news for customers – regardless of the industry you are in – is that this rigorous testing and validation process doesn’t just benefit Government, Defense and critical infrastructure organizations. Any organization that adopts products that have passed these certification processes can be confident those products have been independently evaluated to minimize the risk of security vulnerabilities and are fit-for-purpose for deployment in high-security environments.
 
By selecting a product with DoD level security compliance you reap the benefit of millions of dollars of investment in security testing and hardening that goes way beyond standard penetration tests and security scans. The testing process for each of these certifications involves delving deep into the product – comprehensive testing, source code reviews, and independent validation that the security controls of the product are robust and well designed.
 
 

What are these standards, and what do they test?

Complying with FIPS 140-3 is the fundamental first step in certification. FIPS mandates that products must use robust and secure encryption. This is not a bolt-on. Products must implement a validated cryptography module as a central software pillar to ensure all encrypted communications meet the NIST standard for strong cryptography, including HTTPS, SSL, and SSH.
 
Just including encrypted HDDs in a system – as some vendors do to claim compliance with FIPS – is not sufficient. Every communication to and from the system must be secured with FIPS validated cryptography before the system can be FIPS certified. Independent testing confirms that products comply with the FIPS standards.
 
NIAP NDcPP 2.2e, also known as Common Criteria, is an international standard agreed by 18 nations. It builds on FIPS to define security requirements that are expected to be implemented by all network devices. It goes extremely deep to validate a product has robust security. By deep, I mean months of extensive testing, inspection, and independent code reviews, conducted and signed off by government signatories who are usually security experts in defense departments.
 
DoDIN APL stands for the US Department of Defense Information Network Approved Products List. With FIPS and NIAP certification in hand and a US DoD sponsor, a vendor’s final step is undergo product testing by a US DoD lab against DoD cybersecurity requirements. Being listed on the APL is the last big stage of a long and intensive project but it’s not the end of the story. Ongoing maintenance and revalidation ensures that a product remains secure throughout its life.

OSm 7.2.1 is released and available for download.

I am very proud of the team at Endace for having delivered a huge release with OSm 7.2.1 . This release has focused on meeting all the requirements for these intensive – but extremely valuable – security standards. And I am glad to say that every Endace customer will benefit from this huge investment in product security hardening.

Endace Packet Forensics Files: Episode #54

Original Entry by : Michael Morris

Michael talks to “Malware Jake” Williams, about the concept of Zero Trust and its implications for enhancing your security posture.

By Michael Morris, Director of Global Business Development, Endace

Michael Morris, Director of Global Business Development, Endace

In this episode of the Endace Packet Forensics Files, I talk with cybersecurity expert Jake Williams, aka ‘MalwareJake’,  IANS faculty member, former SANS educator, computer science and information security expert and U.S. Army veteran, about the concept of Zero Trust and its implications for organizations striving to enhance their security posture.

Zero Trust challenges traditional security models by advocating for a “deny all, permit by exception” approach. Jake describes it as a mindset—a philosophy focused on continuous verification and least privilege access. Despite its potential benefits, embracing Zero Trust can be challenging. Jake highlights obstacles such as defining and operationalizing Zero Trust, legacy system dependencies, and cultural shifts within organizations.

Continuous verification is crucial in Zero Trust environments. Jake provides examples of verification challenges, emphasizing the importance of network visibility and packet capture in incident response and threat detection. He emphasizes the interconnectedness of networking and cybersecurity, citing Managed File Transfer appliances, Citrix NetScalers, and SSL VPNs as examples. These network security appliances often have extensive technical depth and may harbour unpatched vulnerabilities, presenting significant risks to organizations. He predicts increased targeting of network security appliances by threat actors, underscoring the importance of Zero Trust principles and network visibility in mitigating such threats.

Jake touches on the importance of tools like Wireshark for detailed analysis but also emphasises the need to understand the role network visibility plays and how it relates to business challenges. He recommends that analysts strengthen their networking fundamentals, while SOC directors should broaden their skill set by understanding business concepts for effective communication with stakeholders.

Finally, Jake suggests that embracing Zero Trust requires a holistic approach, encompassing technical ability, organizational buy-in, and a commitment to continuous improvement. His insights on this topic serve as valuable guidance on the path to cybersecurity resilience.

Follow Malware Jake on the below links. 

 

Also watch our series of Threat Investigation webinars with SANS and Jake Williams here – https://www2.endace.com/sans-webinar-series

Other episodes in the Secure Networks video/audio podcast series are available here. Or listen to the podcast here or on your favorite podcast platform.

Endace Packet Forensics Files: Episode #53

Original Entry by : Michael Morris

Michael talks to Tanya Janca, Head of Education and Community at Semgrep, Founder of WehackPurple.

By Michael Morris, Director of Global Business Development, Endace

Michael Morris, Director of Global Business Development, Endace

In this episode of the Endace Packet Forensics Files, I talk with Tanya Janca, Head of Education and Community at Semgrep, Founder of WehackPurple, and renowned cybersecurity expert, author and RSA Speaker.

Tanya shares her journey from software developer to penetration tester to application security specialist, to cybersecurity education evangelist. She stresses the value of hands-on experience in cybersecurity education and urges universities and training programs to keep pace with evolving threats.

Tanya discusses the skills gap in cybersecurity, suggesting there is inadequate education in secure coding and design. She believes industry practitioners should be involved in teaching to ensure relevance. Tanya also highlights the need for affordable training options to connect theory with real-world practice.

Tanya underscores the importance of varied perspectives and real diversity and inclusion for organizations to understand and counter modern threats. She challenges the notion of diversity as a mere checkbox and calls for organizations to create inclusive environments to address the skill shortage effectively.

Tanya emphasizes the importance of continuous learning and adaptation as vital for cybersecurity professionals to navigate the changing landscape.

Other episodes in the Secure Networks video/audio podcast series are available here. Or listen to the podcast here or on your favorite podcast platform.

Endace 2023/24 Internship Program concludes another successful year

Original Entry by : Katrina Schollum

By Katrina Schollum, HR Manager, Endace

Our six interns for the Summer 2021/22 Internship Program joined us in our R&D centre in Hamilton, and recently concluded their 12-week program. Our Internship Program saw them working on individual, commercially relevant projects with the support of their managers and mentors. We are pleased to say it was another highly successful year!

Project Showcase

The Internship Program concluded with each intern presenting their individual projects to an audience. This year, the audience included Endace team members from five countries: project managers and mentors as well as all the members of our Senior Leadership Team. We were also very happy to welcome faculty members from the University of Waikato, continuing our strong link with the Endace origin story.

Stuart Wilson CEO and 2023/24 Endace InternsThe interns gave an overview of their projects and the specific challenges they aimed to address. They discussed the design of their solutions, implementation challenges they had faced, and also demonstrated their solutions in action. They concluded by outlining how these projects could be applied – and potentially extended further – in the future. At the end of each presentation, audience members had an opportunity to ask questions and delve deeper into the outcomes of the projects.

Highlights of the Program

Throughout Endace’s structured Internship Program, interns hone their technical skills and practically apply their university knowledge. Beyond acquiring technical skills, our interns also have an opportunity to gain an understanding of all the different areas of Endace’s business – from sales and marketing, to finance and operations. They also get to develop their communication and organisational skills by interacting with members of the Endace team from all engineering departments.

The interns are supported throughout the Internship Program by individual managers and mentors. They observe how teams work together cohesively in an environment where ideas are respected and individuals are trusted to do excellent work. It was fantastic to see these learnings reflected in the intern’s final presentations.

Our managers and mentors also benefit hugely from the Internship Program – which provides a great opportunity to build leadership skills in their intern support roles and gives them the satisfaction of seeing the impact of sharing their expertise.

Following the presentations, Stuart Wilson, Endace’s CEO, summed up everybody’s thoughts when he said, “It constantly amazes me how much interns can achieve in a relatively short period of time!” He emphasised the importance of Endace’s determination that intern projects should be real, commercially-focused projects – and talked about how the intern projects have helped shape product improvement, automation, scaling our testing environments and enhancing customer experience for Endace.

Garima Bhatia, QA Manager, said “The Endace Internship Program helps us see university students grow into confident, professional engineers.  Not only do they learn industry standards, tools and security aspects of software development but the confidence and pride with which they showcase their work is really satisfying to watch.”

At Endace we are proud of our interns’ achievements thus far and look forward to following their future accomplishments in the industry. As we conclude another successful program we now look forward to the next round in Spring, bringing in further perspectives, learning and career development to Endace.

Endace Packet Forensics Files: Episode #52

Original Entry by : Michael Morris

Michael talks to Tiktok influencer Caitlin Sarian, CEO of Cybersecurity Girl

By Michael Morris, Director of Global Business Development, Endace

Michael Morris, Director of Global Business Development, Endace

In this episode, I talk with to Tiktok and Instagram influencer Caitlin Sarian, CEO of Cybersecurity Girl, who discusses her journey into the cybersecurity field and her mission to break down stigmas surrounding the industry.

Emphasizing the importance of a love for learning and problem-solving over coding skills, Caitlin encourages individuals to explore diverse paths within cybersecurity, ranging from technical roles like ethical hacking to non-technical roles in data privacy.

The conversation highlights the need for continuous learning in the rapidly evolving cybersecurity landscape, with Caitlin recommending various channels for staying updated, including news alerts, newsletters, and professional groups. She addresses common misconceptions about coding requirements, debunking the idea that a specific educational background is essential, and stresses the value of gaining practical experience and obtaining certifications tailored to one’s chosen specialization.

Finally, Caitlin highlights the importance of advocating for diversity and inclusivity in cybersecurity. She emphasizes the need for mentorship, role models, and a supportive company culture to encourage women and minorities to enter and thrive in the industry. You won’t want to miss this episode if you’re looking for valuable insights about a career in cybersecurity. 

Other episodes in the Secure Networks video/audio podcast series are available here. Or listen to the podcast here or on your favorite podcast platform.

Endace Packet Forensics Files: Episode #51

Original Entry by : Michael Morris

In this episode, Michael talks to Eric Buchaus, Director of Sales at Niagara Networks

By Michael Morris, Director of Global Business Development, Endace

Michael Morris, Director of Global Business Development, Endace

Are SPAN ports sufficient to provide network traffic visibility for high-quality security (NDR) and network (NPM) investigations? What about cloud workloads?  What do you need to gain insights into cloud network activity?

In this episode of the Endace Packet Forensic Files, I talk with Eric Buchaus, Director of Sales at Niagara Networks. Eric outlines potential pitfalls and challenges associated with SPAN ports and highlights situations where they may fall short for network and security analysts.

Eric walks us through some alternative options, discussing the merits of network TAPS, network packet brokers, and in-line bypass solutions which can offer NoC / SoC teams more reliable, efficient, and scalable ways to get network packet data to the right tools in large-scale and complex environments.  He discusses some of the specific challenges of network visibility in cloud infrastructures and suggests some practical ways to overcome these obstacles.

Eric suggests things organizations should consider when exploring different packet brokers or TAP vendors and outlines the management and scrutiny that needs to be applied to encrypted traffic to achieve in-depth visibility securely.

Finally, Eric talks about how TAPs and packet brokers can help in dynamic SDN environments with high traffic volumes. He emphasizes why they are important for organizations looking to implement zero-trust infrastructures – particularly environments with many walled gardens and lots of VLANs for IOT/IOTM devices and technologies.

Don’t miss this informative episode as Eric demystifies the complexities of network visibility and supplies some valuable guidance for navigating the challenges posed by evolving network landscapes.

Other episodes in the Secure Networks video/audio podcast series are available here. Or listen to the podcast here or on your favorite podcast platform.

Endace 2023/24 Internship Program Kicks Off

Original Entry by : Katrina Schollum

By Katrina Schollum, HR Manager, Endace

The Endace Summer Internship Program has kicked off for another year, following a record amount of interest.  We recently welcomed six interns to our R&D centre in Hamilton, NZ, who will spend 12 weeks working on individual projects.

We look forward to seeing what this year’s interns can learn and achieve.

Induction Day

The first day of our internship program offers interns an opportunity to gain an understanding of what it’s like to be an Endace team member and to acquaint themselves with their individual mentors. From engaging in a conversation with our CEO, Stuart Wilson, to participating in a networking lunch and team-building activities, there was a lot to learn.

One of our new mentors, Al Edgar, IT Security Manager, said, “It’s awesome to be involved in our Intern program and to witness that we are providing young, talented individuals with a great opportunity to learn from the Endace team. You could practically sense the excitement radiating from our interns during the Induction day.”

By the end of the day, interns departed with a clear sense of their projects and an understanding of what will be required to accomplish them in our structured and supportive program.

Our Program

Over 13 weeks, the intern program focuses on commercially relevant individual projects and provides structured training, including lunch-and-learns to introduce interns to various areas of the business such as finance, HR, marketing, and operations, creating a well-rounded experience. The program culminates with interns delivering presentations at a shared learning session involving their mentors, members of the senior leadership team, and project managers.

The Endace Internship Program is an excellent way to assist computer science students and graduates in building talent and gaining experience to contribute to the industry. It also serves as a platform for showcasing Endace as an employer of choice for IT and engineering graduates in New Zealand, with our continued ties to tertiary education. Our intentional, hands-on learning approach with commercially relevant projects provides a fantastic opportunity for interns to kick-start their careers.

Endace Packet Forensics Files: Episode #50

Original Entry by : Michael Morris

In our 50th Episode, Michael talks to Martyn Crew, Senior Director, Solutions Marketing and Partner Technologies at Gigamon

By Michael Morris, Director of Global Business Development, Endace

Michael Morris, Director of Global Business Development, Endace

It’s my pleasure to welcome Martyn Crew from Gigamon for this 50th Episode of the Packet Forensics Files. It’s a great milestone to have reached, and the series continues to grow in popularity – thanks to people like Martyn who have joined me to share their valuable expertise and advice.

In this episode Martyn, a 30-year veteran in the cyber security and network management space shares his expertise on the limitations and risks associated with exclusively using log and meta-data as the primary resources for your security team’s investigations. He discusses various use cases where network traffic and full packet data can play a crucial role in security investigations, highlighting the potential oversights that could occur when you rely solely on log data.

We talk about how to address the scalability challenges of leveraging full-packet data and delve into the storage and retention obstacles that many organizations fear when looking at solution options.

Finally, Martyn suggests how to balance the telemetry sources and costs for your SOC team, and shares some key considerations for maintaining visibility in your hybrid cloud infrastructure encompassing both on-prem and public or private cloud environments.

.

Other episodes in the Secure Networks video/audio podcast series are available here. Or listen to the podcast here or on your favorite podcast platform.