MicroSolved Releases HoneyPoint Special Edition: Morto

We are pleased to announce the immediate availability of a special edition of HoneyPoint that is designed to help organizations identify hosts infected with the Morto worm that is currently circulating.

HPMorto works like this: It opens a TCP listener HoneyPoint on port 3389/TCP (check to make sure that port is NOT in use before running HPMorto). Once in place, the tool will report the source IP of any systems who attempt to connect to it. Identified sources should be investigated as possible infected hosts.

This version will only listen for 3389 connections and will only function through February 28, 2012.

Versions of HPMorto are available for FREE download for:
Windows 
Linux 
Mac OSX

Give it a try and we hope that this tool help folks manage the problems being caused by Morto around the world.

McAfee: 65 Million Malware Samples — And That’s Just the Tip of the Iceberg

I was fascinated by this article that came across my newsfeed earlier this week. In it, McAfee says that they have hit 65 million malware samples in the 2nd quarter of 2011. I have heard similar stories in my frequent conversations with other AV vendors this year. It seems, that the malware cat, truly is out of the bag. I don’t know about you, but it seems like someone forgot to warn the crimeware world about opening Pandora’s box.

One of the things that I think is still interesting about the number of signatures that AV vendors are creating are that they are still hitting only a small portion of the overall mountain of malware. For example, many of the AV vendors do not cover very many of the current PHP and ASP malware that is making the rounds. If you follow me on twitter (@LBHuston), then you have likely seen some of the examples I have been posting for the last year or so about this missing coverage. In addition, in many of the public talks I have been giving, many folks have had wide discussions about whether or not AV vendors should be including such coverage. Many people continue to be amazed at just how difficult the role of the AV vendor has become. With so much malware available, and so many kits on the market, the problem just continues to get worse and worse. Additionally, many vendors are still dealing with even the most simple evasion techniques. With all of that in mind, the role and work of AV vendors is truly becoming a nightmare.

Hopefully, this report will give some folks insight into the challenges that the AV teams are facing. AV is a good baseline solution. However, it is critical that administrators and network security teams understand the limitations of this solution. Simple heuristics will not do in a malware world where code entropy, encoding and new evasion techniques are running wild. AV vendors and the rest of us must begin to embrace the idea of anomaly detection. We must find new ways to identify code, and its behavior mechanisms that are potentially damaging. In our case, we have tried to take such steps forward in our HoneyPoint line of products and our WASP product in particular. While not a panacea, it is a new way of looking at the problem and it brings new visibility and new capability to security teams.

I enjoyed this article and I really hope it creates a new level of discussion around the complexities of malware and the controls that are required by most organizations to manage malware threats. If you still believe that simple AV or no malware controls at all are any kind of a solution, quite frankly, you’re simply doing it wrong. As always, thanks for reading and stay safe out there.

MSI Strategy & Tactics Talk Ep. 9: PHP, Attackers & YOU

“What makes PHP so amazing is the growth rate it has experienced back from 2000. It just exploded between 2000 and 2007 and has exponentially continued until today.”  – Brent Huston, CEO, MicroSolved, Inc.

What is going on with PHP? Listen in as our tech team discusses PHP malware and more. Discussion questions include:

  • PHP’s growth, why it is so popular and using it for modern web development
  • How are attackers abusing PHP?
  • What is PHP malware?
  • How common are PHP scans, probes, attacks and compromises?
  • What can organizations do to protect their PHP developed sites and applications?
  • Where can organizations go for more information about PHP development, PHP attacks and PHP application testing?
Resources mentioned:
HoneyPoint Twitter Feed (#HITME – HoneyPoint Internet Threat Monitoring Environment)
Panelists:
Brent Huston, CEO and Security Evangelist, MicroSolved, Inc.
Adam Hostetler, Network Engineer and Security Analyst
Phil Grimes, Security Analyst
John Davis, Risk Management Engineer

Click the embedded player to listen. Or click this link to access downloads. Stay safe!

Press Release: MSI Launches HoneyPoint Console 3.50

MicroSolved, Inc. continues to make HoneyPoint Security Server more efficient. The new HoneyPoint Console 3.5 gives more capability to the security team to easily drill down for more data and export that data to a CSV file. A more powerful report functionality now means security teams get the results they need more quickly to secure their environment against intrusion.

HoneyPoint Console 3.5, software helps organizations detect true attacks on their system and has been upgraded with several new features. New interface enhancements have been added, making it easier to manage HoneyPoint data. A new data filtering engine has also been added, allowing the user to export data to a CSV file. Hash trusting for HoneyPoint Wasps has been added, bringing a new capability for Enterprise users to more easily manage accepted and trusted executables around their system populations. Wasp is now quieter and easier to use, further reducing data load. A round of general bug fixes and visual enhancements are also included.

“We’re proud of HoneyPointʼs ability to identify compromised systems that other tools
and techniques would have shown to be OK, leaving systems online and under attacker
control for a longer period than needed,” said Brent Huston, CEO and Security
Evangelist for MicroSolved. “With HoneyPoint Console 3.5, you can more quickly and
easily take compromised machines away from the attacker and significantly raise the
bar in what they have to do to compromise your environment, avoid detection and steal
your data.”

To learn more about HoneyPoint Console 3.5 and how it can help an organization
protect their network, please visit our website.

7 Security Areas of Concern With Cloud Computing

One of the government’s major initiatives is to promote the efficient use of information technology, including the federal use of cloud computing. So good, bad or indifferent, the government is now moving into the wild, world of cloud computing – despite the fact that it is a new way of doing business that still has many unaddressed problems with security and the general form that it is going to take.

At the Cloud Computing Summit in April 29 2009, it was announced that the government is going to use cloud for email, portals, remote hosting and other apps that will grow in complexity as they learn about security in the cloud. They are going to use a tiered approach to cloud computing.

All businesses, both large and small, are now investing resources in cloud computing. Here are seven problematic areas for which solutions need to be found:

  1. Vendor lock-in – Most service providers use proprietary software, so an app built for one cloud cannot be ported to another. Once people are locked into the infrastructure, what is to keep providers from upping the price?
  2. Lack of standards – National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is getting involved and is still in development. This feeds the vendor lock-in problem since every provider uses a proprietary set of access protocols and programming interfaces for their cloud services. Think of the effect on security!
  3. Security and compliance – Limited security offerings for data at rest and in motion have not agreed on compliance methods for provider certification. (i.e., FISMA) or common criteria. Data must be protected while at rest, while in motion, while being processed and while awaiting or during disposal.
  4. Trust – Cloud providers offer limited visibility of their methods, which limits the opportunity to build trust. Complete transparency is needed, especially for government.
  5. Service Level Agreements – Enterprise class SLAs will be needed (99.99% availability). How is the data encrypted? What level of account access is present and how is access controlled?
  6. Personnel – Many of these companies span the globe – how can we trust sensitive data to those in other countries? There are legal concerns such as a limited ability to audit or prosecute.
  7. Integration – Much work is needed on integrating the cloud provider’s services with enterprise services and make them work together.

Opportunities abound for those who desire to guide cloud computing. Those concerned with keeping cloud computing an open system drafted an Open Cloud Manifesto, asking that a straightforward conversation needs to occur in order to avoid potential pitfalls. Keep alert as the standards develop and contribute, if possible.

MSI Security & Tactics Talk Ep. 8: Hacker & Security Conventions

“I spoke to some folks who are attending Blackhat and they’re all talking about Android and iPhone. iOS platform attacks. There’s a huge focus on insecurity and developing an attack tool for that model. Not just malware, but actual attack tools.  – Brent Huston, CEO, MicroSolved, Inc.

Listen in as our tech team discusses Blackhat 2011, DefCon, and B-Sides conferences. Discussion questions include:

  • DEFCON, B-Sides and Blackhat are this week in Vegas. With so many hacker and security conventions around now, what do organizations need to know about them?
  • What are you expecting to come from Blackhat and DEFCON this year? What do you find interesting?
  • What does the future of security conventions of hold and where are things likely to go from here?
  • Are the training at these shows worth it for the average IT admin, network engineer or security analyst?
  • Do you have any tips for getting the most out of these shows or for those interested in attending?
Panelists:
Brent Huston, CEO and Security Evangelist, MicroSolved, Inc.
Adam Hostetler, Network Engineer and Security Analyst
Phil Grimes, Security Analyst
John Davis, Risk Management Engineer
Chris Lay, Account Executive

Click the embedded player to listen. Or click this link to access downloads. Stay safe!

About Morpheus Scanner and soapCaller.bs Scans


In 2008, we had a post about the Morpheus Scanner and soapCaller.bs scans.

It seems this bot has reared its ugly head again. Brent Huston, CEO of MicroSolved, took some time to sit down and explain it all in further detail. During this audio blog post, you’ll learn:

  • The background of the Morpheus *expletive* Scanner
  • What the soapCaller.bs scan is all about
  • Why we’re seeing a surge again
  • What organizations can do when they see this in their logs

Take a listen!

Morpheus Interview With Brent Huston

Columbus OWASP Quarterly Meeting August 18 – We’ll See You There!

We’ve been involved with the Columbus, Ohio Chapter of OWASP and have met some great folks. If you’re involved with information security and haven’t visited yet, you’ll want to be at this meeting! Below are the details with a link to register. We look forward to seeing you there!

 

When? August 18, 2011, from 1PM to 4PM

Where? The Conference Center of BMW Financial

The Columbus OWASP chapter will be presenting its Third Quarter Meeting, specifically on the subject of Web Application Security Analysis. We are pleased to present two local speakers leading discussions on malware, and the OWASP Enterprise security framework.

Speaker: Brent Huston CEO & Security Evangelist of MicroSolved, Inc. (MSI)

This presentation will discuss PHP and ASP malware, discovery techniques, how the attackers are staging and processing malware-based attacks, as well as the relevance of anti-virus against these forms of malware. Drawn from real world attacks and compromises, examples will be displayed and discussed. Take aways will include the architecture of attacker cells, their targeting and use of compromised hosts and insight into how simple, basic controls can assist us in fighting these forms of assault.

Speaker: Kevin Wall – ESAPI Committer / Owner at OWASP & Staff Security Engineer at CenturyLink

OWASP Enterprise Security API (ESAPI) is one of the flagship projects at OWASP, but as of yet, not many application development teams have adopted it. This presentation will provide a brief history and overview of ESAPI, including its goals and all its language implementations, before taking a deeper dive into ESAPI for Java.

The ESAPI for Java portion will discuss major changes from ESAPI 1.4 to ESAPI 2.0 and how the various ESAPI 2.0 security controls map as mitigations for the OWASP Top Ten. We will also examine the relative maturity of each security control.

This will be followed by a few examples of how to use ESAPI, including an in-depth one of using ESAPI’s symmetric encryption. Finally, we will briefly describe how the OWASP AppSensor project has the ESAPI’s Intrustion Detection mechanism to provid an powerful intrustion detection system at the application layer and describe some of the advantanges of this versus an more traditional IDS.

Register today!