From the intrusion kill-chain model, the delivery of a “lure” via a text message to a potential victim by pretending to be some trustworthy person or organization in order to trick the victim into revealing sensitive information. Smishing is a portmanteau word made of two other words, the acronym “SMS” and the cyber coinage “Phishing“. It’s a text-message-centric variation of the email-based phishing scams that have been around since the 1990s. The term “Smishing” arose in the late 2000s. 

A network switch configuration setting that forwards a copy of each incoming and outgoing packet to a third switch port. Also known as SPAN or Switched Port Analyzer, RAP or Roving Analysis Port, and TAP or Test Access Point. When network managers and security investigators want to capture packets for analysis, they need some sort of generic TAP or Test Access Point. You can buy specialized equipment for this operation but most modern switches have this capability built in. 

NDR tools provide anomaly detection and potential attack prevention by collecting telemetry across the entire intrusion kill chain on transactions across the network, between servers, hosts, and cloud-workloads, and running machine learning algorithms against this compiled and very large data set. NDR is an extension of the EDR, or endpoint detection and response idea that emerged in 2013. 

Technology, software and hardware deployed without explicit organizational approval. In the early days of the computer era from the 1980s through the 2000s security and information system practitioners considered shadow IT as completely negative. Those unauthorized systems were nothing more than a hindrance that created more technical debt in organizations that were already swimming in it with the known and authorized systems. 

The resilience discipline of controlled stress test experimentation in continuous integration/continuous delivery environments, CI/CD environments, to uncover systemic weaknesses.

CyberWire Glossary link: https://thecyberwire.com/glossary/chaos-engineering

Audio reference link: Farnam Street, 2009. Richard Feynman Teaches you the Scientific Method [Website]. Farnam Street. URL https://fs.blog/mental-model-scientific-method/

From the intrusion kill chain model, a program that provides command and control services for an attack campaign. While the first ever deployed RAT is unknown, one early example is Back Orifice made famous by the notorious hacktivist group called “The Cult of the Dead Cow,” or cDc, Back Orifice was written by the hacker, Sir Dystic AKA Josh Bookbinder and released to the public at DEFCON in 1998.

A mathematical method by which one party (the prover) can prove to another party (the verifier) that something is true, without revealing any information apart from the fact that this specific statement is true.

CyberWire Glossary link: https://thecyberwire.com/glossary/zero-knowledge-proof

Audio reference link: Staff, 2022. Zero Knowledge Proofs [Video]. YouTube. URL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qzNe1hk0oY

A social engineering scam where fraudsters spoof an email message from a trusted company officer that directs a staff member to transfer funds to an account controlled by the criminal. 

A U.S. law designed to improve the portability and accountability of health insurance coverage.

CyberWire Glossary link: https://thecyberwire.com/glossary/hipaa

Audio reference link: Dr. Dana Brems, 2021. Doctor reacts to “HIPAA violations” [Video]. YouTube. URL https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Ksk00s8a_IU

A physical security access control device consisting of an enclosed hallway with interlocking doors on each end where both doors can’t be open at the same time. A person presents credentials to the entry doorway. If authorized, the entry door opens and the person walks into the mantrap. The man trap exit door will not open until the entry door closes. The person presents credentials to the exit door. If authorized, the exit door will open. If not, the person is captured in the man trap until security arrives to handle the situation. Physical security leadership installs man traps to separate unrestricted areas from restricted areas, to prevent tailgating by uncleared personnel, and to impede access by unauthorized persons.