Pearl Tech » Security http://blog.pearltechnology.com Thu, 05 Jan 2012 14:47:55 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 Lessons Learned: XSS Security Scan http://blog.pearltechnology.com/lessons-learned-xss-security-scan/#utm_source=feed&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=feed http://blog.pearltechnology.com/lessons-learned-xss-security-scan/#comments Mon, 25 Apr 2011 18:25:53 +0000 Geer http://blog.pearltechnology.com/?p=1212 During the code review process for an ASP.NET web application that we built for a client, a cross-site scripting (XSS) security scanner was used to check whether the application was secure enough to survive during XSS attacks. Fortunately, the application was well designed and coded leaving no chance for the scanner to inject even a single line of script for XSS attack.  Alright, I will be honest with you – we did found a couple issues during the scan, but we were able to fix them before the application was delivered to our customer.  So, here are the two notes I would like to share:

  1. Watch out for those non-ASP.NET components.  Actually, all ASP.NET components were designed very well and the scanner was not able to inject any script on any page.  The only problem we found was on the error page which accepts some parameters in the query string and displays part of the information on the error page which is a fairly common implementation.  Because it is simply an HTML page and does not contain server-side code, it was overlooked for XSS attack.  The scanner was able to embed scripts in the query string, and had them executed when the error page tried to render them on the page.  Although the error page cannot post any data back to the ASP.NET application itself or insert any data to the database, it is still a security risk.  You never know what hackers can do with this small hole in your site.
  2. DO NOT perform the scan on production database.  We performed the scan on our QA environment assuming it would not do any harm to our database because it was only for XSS scan.  However, we have found that it entered thousands of records in a table in our database through a page which only requires one field for data entering.  As a result, the scanner tried all possible injection scripts on that page, and entered them all into the table in the database.  Now, we have a list of scripts we can try on other sites to have some fun. : )  So, I guess we shouldn’t have done this in the QA environment which points to our production database.  Even if we had to do so for whatever reason, we probably should have pointed the application to a test database for the duration of the scan.
]]> http://blog.pearltechnology.com/lessons-learned-xss-security-scan/feed/ 0 Focus on Security in the SDLC http://blog.pearltechnology.com/focus-on-security-in-the-sdlc/#utm_source=feed&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=feed http://blog.pearltechnology.com/focus-on-security-in-the-sdlc/#comments Tue, 29 Mar 2011 18:33:10 +0000 JoeK http://blog.pearltechnology.com/?p=1140 Now that I have that PM stuff behind me I have time to refocus my efforts on furthering the team’s understanding and attention on IT Security’s role on the development lifecycle.  (ISC)2 recently commissioned Frost & Sullivan to provide a detailed report on trends and opportunities emergine in the IS profession worldwide.  Their results showed that the top security concern were Application Vulnerabilities at 75%, with Mobile Devices (66%) and Viruses (65%) coming in second and third, respectively.

What this report says to me is that there are still a lot of development teams that don’t take security seriously enough when releasing applications to the web.  I thought it was very telling when the mySQL.com website was brought down by a SQL injection attack this past weekend.  Without the inclusion of a security mindset during all phases of a development project you are leaving yourself open to vulnerabilities. 

A Forrester Consulting report commissioned by Microsoft in November of 2010 showed that “most companies choose to transfer risk from development to operations, where remediation cost for vulnerabilities are the highest.”  The report went on to show that almost half of companies do not perform any type of security testing on third party code.

We, as developers, must help change those numbers and show the importance of security in the SDLC.  We have to educate ourselves first, then bring our arguments to the business owners to show the positive impact taking a little bit of time up front will bring to the organization.  Compliance shouldn’t, and can’t, be the only reason to pay attention to software security.

There are resources out there that I would recommend every developer to familiarize yourself with:

http://www.owasp.org – Open Web Application Security Project, an open source community focused on the security of application software. 

http://www.isc2.org - A leader in educating and certifying security professionals (I have my CSSLP through this organization)

http://www.microsoft.com/security/sdl/ - Yes, even Microsoft has a Security SDL for us .NET developers that need to make sure our software is secure.

Know of any more?  Leave a comment and discuss…

]]> http://blog.pearltechnology.com/focus-on-security-in-the-sdlc/feed/ 1 Security Nutshell http://blog.pearltechnology.com/security-nutshell/#utm_source=feed&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=feed http://blog.pearltechnology.com/security-nutshell/#comments Fri, 25 Feb 2011 23:04:23 +0000 CoreyM http://blog.pearltechnology.com/?p=999 I get asked quite often, “What do you do?” Not only am I asked this from my boss but also from family, friends and most importantly potential clients. This is a question that was very difficult for me to answer given the vast areas “security” covers. In fact, a very large security forum I follow just months ago was presented the same question and sparked over 1,300 responses to date. Surprisingly few responses were identical or really even very similar to each other. It is no wonder that security needs are hard to pin down unless a specific reason is presented. With this in mind I decided to answer “What do you do?” with what I believe security for an organization is.

I believe, like other professions, a career in security is a practice, a never ending relentless pursuit of preventing information loss or compromise. It could be occurrences such as fires, disk failure, and the accidental “Reply All:” or due to a person(s) malicious intent. For the most part at this point in my topic, it all will be considered the same term, a risk. Security in an organization has to follow a few unwritten rules to be successful. Clearly defined, Easy to replicate, Effective in cost and implementation as well as being simple during its promotion. Each time I have seen or read of difficult security projects at least one of these items, if not more, were missing.

“Clearly defined security projects”, means that the project or product has a qualitative impact providing quantitative results. The final implementation needs to have observable positive differences to the “techie” and provide measurable results for the “C” levels. This can be the most difficult area to complete. After all, what kind of measurable results does whole disk encryption software provide? If you can’t answer the “measurable” question then the technology either probably doesn’t fit in your environment or there is an issue matching the product to satisfy a need such as compliance.

Easily to replicate security practices are also essential to success. A security practice should be a set of tools that is fed a problem or potential risk and in all of its glory and might turns out a refined lean statute. One that provides quality protection along with the highest possible availability to its consumers. A proper Information Security Management System (ISMS) will provide an organization with a sweet suit set of tools.

Security that is effective in cost and implementation is the make or break deal. Like any other department in a company, a sound future plan with adequate funding will ensure turn by turn navigation to successful projects/products. Security can be like insurance, it is possible to have far too much of it. A solution may seem to be the best fit for an organization, except that cost capping 120% of the security/IT budget it is just not feasible. Speaking of budgets, what is yours? If you can’t answer that, I will follow up with information that will hopefully help you figure that out.

Simple to promote means that you won’t hear that unanimous sigh of discontent moments after clicking send on the email explaining what the solution is. That is not to say that haters aren’t going to hate, because they will. “Another login, no way, I don’t care what it does, I am not doing it.” If the solution is indeed the best fit, every reasonable user will comply and see the value add from the solution. Pre-Sale as much as possible to those that will be effected most and make sure their input is heard and considered. If everyone hates the solution, no matter how great it is, trust me, it will fail.

So “What do I do?” IT Security Solutions. To many of my friends this will still translate to “computer stuff, right?”

]]> http://blog.pearltechnology.com/security-nutshell/feed/ 0 Avoiding Social Engineering and Phishing Attacks http://blog.pearltechnology.com/avoiding-social-engineering-and-phishing-attacks/#utm_source=feed&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=feed http://blog.pearltechnology.com/avoiding-social-engineering-and-phishing-attacks/#comments Wed, 28 Oct 2009 18:26:51 +0000 JohnP http://blog.pearltechnology.com/?p=451 I’ve grabbed this post directly off of teh US-CERT security site.  To review the original and other great articles, please visit the site at

http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/tips/ST04-014.html

National Cyber Alert System
Cyber Security Tip ST04-014
 

Avoiding Social Engineering and Phishing Attacks

Do not give sensitive information to anyone unless you are sure that they are indeed who they claim to be and that they should have access to the information.

 

What is a social engineering attack?

In a social engineering attack, an attacker uses human interaction (social skills) to obtain or compromise information about an organization or its computer systems. An attacker may seem unassuming and respectable, possibly claiming to be a new employee, repair person, or researcher and even offering credentials to support that identity. However, by asking questions, he or she may be able to piece together enough information to infiltrate an organization’s network. If an attacker is not able to gather enough information from one source, he or she may contact another source within the same organization and rely on the information from the first source to add to his or her credibility.

What is a phishing attack?

Phishing is a form of social engineering. Phishing attacks use email or malicious websites to solicit personal information by posing as a trustworthy organization. For example, an attacker may send email seemingly from a reputable credit card company or financial institution that requests account information, often suggesting that there is a problem. When users respond with the requested information, attackers can use it to gain access to the accounts.

Phishing attacks may also appear to come from other types of organizations, such as charities. Attackers often take advantage of current events and certain times of the year, such as

  • natural disasters (e.g., Hurricane Katrina, Indonesian tsunami)
  • epidemics and health scares (e.g., H1N1)
  • economic concerns (e.g., IRS scams)
  • major political elections
  • holidays

How do you avoid being a victim?

     

  • Be suspicious of unsolicited phone calls, visits, or email messages from individuals asking about employees or other internal information. If an unknown individual claims to be from a legitimate organization, try to verify his or her identity directly with the company. 
  • Do not provide personal information or information about your organization, including its structure or networks, unless you are certain of a person’s authority to have the information. 
  • Do not reveal personal or financial information in email, and do not respond to email solicitations for this information. This includes following links sent in email. 
  • Don’t send sensitive information over the Internet before checking a website’s security (see Protecting Your Privacy for more information). 
  • Pay attention to the URL of a website. Malicious websites may look identical to a legitimate site, but the URL may use a variation in spelling or a different domain (e.g., .com vs. .net). 
  • If you are unsure whether an email request is legitimate, try to verify it by contacting the company directly. Do not use contact information provided on a website connected to the request; instead, check previous statements for contact information. Information about known phishing attacks is also available online from groups such as the Anti-Phishing Working Group (http://www.antiphishing.org). 
  • Install and maintain anti-virus software, firewalls, and email filters to reduce some of this traffic (see Understanding Firewalls, Understanding Anti-Virus Software, and Reducing Spam for more information). 
  • Take advantage of any anti-phishing features offered by your email client and web browser.

What do you do if you think you are a victim?

  • If you believe you might have revealed sensitive information about your organization, report it to the appropriate people within the organization, including network administrators. They can be alert for any suspicious or unusual activity. 
  • If you believe your financial accounts may be compromised, contact your financial institution immediately and close any accounts that may have been compromised. Watch for any unexplainable charges to your account. 
  • Immediately change any passwords you might have revealed. If you used the same password for multiple resources, make sure to change it for each account, and do not use that password in the future. 
  • Watch for other signs of identity theft (see Preventing and Responding to Identity Theft for more information). 
  • Consider reporting the attack to the police, and file a report with the Federal Trade Commission (http://www.ftc.gov/).

 

 
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