Cyber Security For All

Apetech Website: https://www.apetech.me/social

https://anchor.fm/apetech/message

Email: [email protected]

Twitter:  @apetechda

In this episode, we review the top 10 worst passwords.  These passwords are coming directly from the following site.  I share my thoughts and opinions on the list and make recommendations on what you should do if your password is on the list.

https://nordpass.com/most-common-passwords-list/

Apetech Website: https://www.apetech.me/social

https://anchor.fm/apetech/message

Email: [email protected]

Twitter:  @apetechda

In this episode, we look at how you can easily see if you're accounts have been hacked or compromised.

Don't forget to share this podcast with your friends and family.

We go over how to check your Google, Facebook, and Instagram accounts.

Google:

https://support.google.com/mail/answer/45938?hl=en

Facebook: 

https://smallbusiness.chron.com/look-past-logins-facebook-64045.html

Instagram:

https://www.alphr.com/someone-using-your-instagram-account/

Apetech Website: https://www.apetech.me/social

https://anchor.fm/apetech/message

Email: [email protected]

Twitter:  @apetechda

Did you know there are over 125 cyber security tools out there?

In this episode, I discuss the top 10.  I go over some details and share my opinions about each tool.

If you want to check them out for yourself, head on over to sectools.org.

Here are the tools we discussed in this episode.

Wireshark

Metasploit

Nessus

Aircrack

Snort

Cain and Abel

BackTrack

Netcat

tcpdump

John the Ripper

Apetech Website: https://www.apetech.me/social

https://anchor.fm/apetech/message

Email: [email protected]

Twitter:  @apetechda

There are 65,535 ports on your computer assuming you are only connected to one network at a time. That’s a lot of ports and this article is going to be a little more advanced than the previous articles. Your computer and router depend on ports to appropriately flow data from your devices, through the internet, and to their intended target and purpose. The Security+ exam focuses on a couple dozen ports that are the most common and most critical to know. While there are thousands of ports on your computer, you only need a few to do the most common things you do on the internet. The most common ports are 80 and 443. These two ports allow for most of the internet traffic to pass through. 80 allows for all HTTP traffic, which is basically any website and 443 allows for HTTPS traffic which is secure websites. So, if most of what you do on your computer can be handled via those two ports, why do we need the other 65,333 ports? That’s a lot of ports that are just open. Since I haven’t mentioned it here yet, some, but not all of the other ports can sometimes be exploited and give access to a bad actor to your network and data.

With so many ports and so many different ways to be exposed, you may be wondering what you can do to protect yourself. If you are a Windows user, you’ve probably heard of a firewall already. A firewall helps you stay protected because it helps you control the traffic that enters your computer or network. Firewalls can exist on your individual computers or on your network router. Configuring a firewall is easy but I’d encourage you to do your own research or hire someone that is skilled in setting up firewalls. What I’ll be explaining in the next section assumes that you are comfortable with setting up firewalls.

The first thing you want to do when configuring your firewall is to deny all. This will literally close all your ports and prevent traffic from entering your network or computer. This is a little too extreme as you literally cannot get on the internet anymore if you leave only this permission enabled. The next thing you want to do is open port 80 and 443. Since these are the most used ports, these should be allowed to transmit data. From there, it’s up to you what ports you need. There are ports dedicated to SSH, SMTP, FTP, and dozens others that are common and frequently used. If you use one of those other ports and you don’t re-enable them, then some services will fail to work properly since the deny all is preventing any traffic from transmitting on that port. If you’ve never configured your firewall, it can be a bit overwhelming. But this is an effective way of protecting your network and devices. Maybe to start out you don’t deny all, but at least close some of the ports that are obviously not in use.

Apetech Website: https://www.apetech.me/social

https://anchor.fm/apetech/message

Email: [email protected]

Twitter:  @apetechda

If you have ever heard of a zero day bug or attack and didn’t know what it was, today you learn what it is and why you should be concerned. A zero day bug or attack can be a little misleading. What exactly does zero days mean? When I first learned about the zero day bugs, I thought it meant that it had been around for zero days, which didn’t make much sense to me. I had never heard of a zero day bug before and there wasn’t much information publicly available. Zero day bugs are bad. They are really bad because they have the potential to cause the most amount of damage when compared to a different type of attack. Alright, so what is a zero day bug? A zero day bug is a computer bug or vulnerability that is just discovered. But bugs are discovered every day right? Yes, and this is why being aware of zero day bugs is critical. The virus scanner on your computer uses known viruses and bugs to protect you. Once a virus is found in the wild, researchers get to work to create a signature that then gets deployed to millions of computers around the world to protect themselves.Once your computer has the signature, your computer is less likely to be attacked by that virus and your computer and data are more safe.

A zero day bug is bad because those signatures that are created to protect your computer aren’t created yet. So, if you happen to have a device or software that has a known zero day bug, then the chances of being a victim are greatly increased. The manufacturer of the device or software has known about the bug for zero days. They’ve had zero days to start producing a very expensive fix to a problem they didn’t know they had. Additionally, the manufacturer or research team has to make the financial determination to actually fix the zero day bug. If someone does decide to fix the zero day bug, it will take time to understand and fix the bug. This time is extremely critical because until the bug is fixed, everyone is vulnerable to an attack. Discovering zero day bugs is important, and it’s even more important to get them fixed as soon as possible.

As you can see, zero day bugs are pretty bad, but there are things that happen to help mitigate the impact zero day bugs have. First, white hat hackers, or good hackers, usually spend their time trying to find and identify these zero day bugs. Once they find something, they discretely notify the creator of the device or software and make them aware of the situation. They either work together to fix, or wait for the manufacturer to fix the problem before they go public. By doing this, the exposure and time that bad actors have to take advantage of the zero day bug is limited. Another way to help identify and fix zero day bugs are by holding bounty challenges. These challenges encourage white hat hackers to find bugs in production systems and code by being able to win a monetary prize for their contributions. While there isn’t much an end user can do against zero day bugs, just be mindful that they exist and take any precautions whenever possible.

Apetech Website: https://www.apetech.me/social

https://anchor.fm/apetech/message

Email: [email protected]

Twitter:  @apetechda

If you run a business and are curious about what pen testing vs vulnerability scanning is, then this is the article for you. Both services are useful and they each come with their own set of pros and cons. In this article, we’ll explore what each service is and which one is right for you and your business needs. A Penetration Test, or commonly referred to as a Pen Test is when a third party tries to get physical access to your building and/or network. They try to get past security, employees, and whatever other security measures you have in place preventing intrusion. Once they have breached the perimeter, they then go after your network and data. If they are able to access critical data, then they have successfully penetrated your business. Vulnerability scanning is a little less intense. A third party will access your vulnerabilities by doing very passive scans of your network. They are checking for known security flaws that your business may be exposed to, but don’t actually do anything to defend or attack. They just report what they find and make a recommendation about what you should to protect yourself. So, now that you know what the difference is between the two methods, which one do you need for your business?

Pen testing is an active test. There are real people involved and while the attack is performed in a control manner, there is still a chance that something might go wrong. There is a small chance that data can be lost or damaged since the pen tester is actively trying to actually break into the system. The vulnerability scan, since it is typically a passive thing has much less risk. But the vulnerability scan is more of a theoretical test. Yes, it’s going to find real ports that are open, but unless you take action to close up your vulnerabilities, they are just going to be documented on paper. The same can be said about the pen test. The Pen test isn’t supposed to actually take down your network or steal your data. It’s just supposed to show you how someone could potentially do it. But like the vulnerability assessment, unless you actually take action to protect yourself, the white hat hacker can’t actually save or protect your data.

So, which test is right for you? If you are confident in the security you have in place, I would recommend you go with a full pen test. They say ignorance is bliss and there’s no better way to test out your shiny new security policy than having someone actively try to break it. An attacker isn’t going to be asking for permission when they attempt to break in and steal your data, so a pen tester is as close as you are going to get to a real world simulation. With that said, this is a real world simulation which means things can go wrong. Have a backup plan for your data and network and then try to poke holes. If you aren’t quite there yet with your network and security infrastructure, then I’d recommend you get your feet wet and go for a vulnerability assessment. It will paint a picture of where you have holes and give you a few good critical next steps you can take to improve your security.

Apetech Website: https://www.apetech.me/social

https://anchor.fm/apetech/message

Email: [email protected]

Twitter:  @apetechda

If you have a badge that you can wirelessly scan to gain access to a building or facility, then you probably have an RFID badge. These badges allow you to tap or hold up against a device that reads the credentials on the badge and checks to see if they are on the access list. If there is a match, you will get a beep and whatever area you are trying to access unlocks. If there is no match, or if you do not have an RFID card, well you are not going to be gaining access to the area easily. I have a separate article that talks about tailgating and all the security implications of not appropriately handling tailgaters. While RFID tags are great for a different variety of business needs, they have a critical flaw that can easily be taken advantage of by bad actors.

RFID badges work by wirelessly transmitting bits of data which can then be used to enable something. Since the RFID card itself is passive, you need a device that is powered and can read the data on the card. This simple technology can be easily used against you and your company or whatever you are trying to protect. How is this possible? A couple of things to demystify. RFID cards are made by a handful of manufacturers. Those manufacturers sell to anyone willing to pay money for their good. Both companies and bad actors have the ability to buy the exact same RFID card. Next, the tricky part is getting your credentials. This part is actually not that difficult. If you carry your badge around your waist, around your neck, or in your pocket, all someone has to do is get close enough to you to take your credentials. They have to have a special device that can either be bought or built which basically can take your credentials. This can be done while you are walking to lunch, at the park, on the subway. The attacker just needs to be close enough to your unprotected RFID card and then they have your credentials.

The credentials themselves don’t actually do anything. The attacker just has some bits and a copy of a blank RFID card. The attacker then has to buy or have access to an RFID card creator which then puts the stolen credentials on their personal copy. Next, they have to do a bit of social engineering to put it to use. They have to make the card look believable and ideally a replica of your original card. Then, all a person has to do is walk up to your place of business and scan away. The card reader on your door wont know if it’s real or fake. On a separate but related note, some credit/debit cards also have RFID, so those are vulnerable to being stolen as well.

By now, you are probably a little worried about having your RFID card out in the wild exposed. Worry not, there is a simple and effective way to protect yourself. Invest in an RFID shield. This is a thin sleeve that you slip your badge into and protects it from any attackers. They also make wallets that can keep your credit/debit cards safe. With all of this said, just don’t ever lose your RFID card, because there’s really no easy way to protect yourself against that.

Apetech Website: https://www.apetech.me/social

https://anchor.fm/apetech/message

Email: [email protected]

Twitter:  @apetechda

If you ever been to a Starbucks and connected to their wifi network, then listen up because this article is for you. Free wifi is always a great thing, especially when you do not have a mobile network to connect to. Free wifi is common in places such as malls, some eateries, and hotels. Most people connect to them because it’s free and it allows them to sit down and get online quickly and free. While there is no issue with connecting to a free wifi network, there are potential dangers to how and what network you actually connect to. Let’s talk about what a man in the middle attack is and then let’s explore how it can be used against you.

A man in the middle attack, like the name implies, is when a bad actor sits in the middle between you, the user, and the world, the internet. An attacker digitally sits between your computer and the internet, watching everything that happens in between. Thus the name, man in the middle. The concept is not very complex, but here’s how it typically works. A bad actor will set up shop somewhere where people are connecting to wifi networks. Now, the attack is not isolated to free wifi networks, this can be done just as easily on any wifi network, but most attacks will open out in the wild where people are more likely to not question the connection they are using. The actor typically has some sort of physical device that broadcasts out a wifi signal. That signal is masked to look just like the real free wifi signal that a hotel offers. A user connects to it, thinking that it’s the real network and starts browsing online. At this point, if a user’s computer connects to the rogue free wifi network, then they become vulnerable to a man in the middle attack.

But you still have internet, so who cares how you connect because your stuff is safe? A good portion of internet traffic is encrypted but some websites do not encrypt their traffic. That means that the attacker can have a free tool like Wireshark that allows the person to capture and analyze all the network traffic going through his/her device. Basically what this means is that if you visit a website that isn’t HTTPS, but just HTTP (notice the missing ‘S’), then any interaction you have with that website is plain and anyone watching can see everything. If you are uploading pictures, downloading pictures, entering credentials, usernames, anything you type on your keyboard is available.

There are a couple of things you can do to protect yourself. First, whenever possible, do not join free wifi networks. If you are going to join, try to use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) which hides all your traffic regardless if you are visiting websites that are HTTPS or not. Also, disable auto join open networks. You want to have control of when and what network you connect. And lastly, as a normal rule of thumb, check the URL of every site you are visiting and whenever you are going to do something with your personal information, make sure it has an HTTPS at the beginning.

Apetech Website: https://www.apetech.me/social

https://anchor.fm/apetech/message

Email: [email protected]

Twitter:  @apetechda

If you work anywhere that requires you to enter a building/property, you should be aware of tailgating and the potential dangers. Most people think of tailgating as an event in a parking lot somewhere outside of a sporting event. People hanging out with friends and having a great time cheering on their favorite teams. In the security world, tailgating has a different meaning. Tailgating means when someone enters a building or property without validating their credentials to enter. This is usually done by going in with or behind someone that has validated their credentials to enter the building. Some tailgating activities can be harmless, but as a best practice everyone should validate their credentials when entering a building or property. Let us explore some scenarios to help understand why this is so important.

Physically gaining access to a building or property is one of the objectives of bad actors when it comes to not only information security, but physical security as well. Tailgating is one of the most common methods of gaining access because it is fairly easy and effective. A scenario would be a group of coworkers coming back to work from a team lunch. The energy is still high and the food comma has not kicked in yet. One by one, they all badge in at the main door. But, as they were approaching their lobby, a person was outside of the building on a phone conversation. That person naturally ends his call and proceeds to enter the building with the group coming in from lunch. No one questions the person because he looks like he belongs and maybe one or two of the members from the lunch crew also may have forgotten to scan their badges. . . no big deal. Except that a bad actor is now in your building and can start their next phase of their malicious attack.

Another scenario to be mindful of is that of a disgruntled employee. This person, often fired, can be looking to get revenge, hurt employees, steal data, or any other malicious activity. The scenario goes like this. The former employee is fired for doing something bad. He is terminated and escorted out of the building. No one finds out because oftentimes, this information is not shared with other employees. The next morning, the fired employee shows up and waits for someone to let him in. Since they were coworkers the day before, it is very easy to ask to be let into the building because the actor forgot his badge at home or at his desk. The other employee lets him in the building because they work together. While this scenario does not typically happen, it can happen.

Next time you are entering your building, make sure you challenge that person behind you. It can be very easy to just walk and not make sure the door closes behind you. It can be very easy to think that the person trying to get in belongs. But every time you walk through the doors of your building or property, remember that not everyone is what they seem. Challenge and question. Everyone should be validating their access. Even if you know them personally and are best friends with that person, just make sure that person can still access the building.