Tenable Network Security Podcast - Episode 66

Welcome to the Tenable Network Security Podcast - Episode 66

Hosts: Paul Asadoorian, Product Evangelist

Announcements

• Several new blog posts have been published this week, including:
  • Putting a Virus under the SIEM Microscope Webinar
  • Microsoft Patch Tuesday Roundup - January 2011
• Check out our video channel on YouTube that contains the latest Nessus and SecurityCenter 4 tutorials, including the new 3D Tool Beta.


• We're hiring! - Visit the Tenable web site for more information about open positions.


• You can subscribe to the Tenable Network Security Podcast on iTunes!


• Tenable Tweets - You can find us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tenablesecurity where we make various announcements, provide Nessus plugin statistics and more!

Stories

• Facebook Allows Apps to access Personal Information - This is not a good move by Facebook. While you have to give an application permission to access this information, I'm certain the "shady" application developers will find a way to get your phone number. The payoff is just too high, SMS Spam and telephone scams can make the attackers too much money.
• Dancho Danchev Goes Missing - This is a strange story, security blogger and self-investigator of cyber criminal activity has been missing. Appears that the Bulgarian Government has bugged his apartment, and he's been missing since August 2010. There is a lot of room for speculation, but one thing that scares me is the stakes surrounding cyber crime. UPDATE: Reports now indicate that Dancho has been found and is checked into a psychiatric hospital.
• Mining Web Proxy Logs For Interesting, Actionable Data - John is spot-on with his analysis, Antivirus logs often go unchecked with the assumption that they're working, but they can be useful in spotting attack trends and problematic users who regularly visit malicious sites. Likewise, Web proxy logs hold similar value and can be mined for a lot of useful, actionable data, like daily summaries of malicious HTTP User Agents, content types (think "executables"), and more.
• Three Reasons Your Security Program is Failing - I agree with these: No one decision maker (executive decision maker), No clearly defined, attainable goals, No concrete step-by-step plan for execution
• 11 Log Resolutions for 2011 - I don't usually make resolutions, but these are fantastic.
• Must read Stuxnet article - I like the Hollywood movie plot stuff: The computer program also secretly recorded what normal operations at the nuclear plant looked like, then played those readings back to plant operators, like a pre-recorded security tape in a bank heist. A great article from Wired also covered some recent Stuxnet news.