Page 34 - Cyber Defense eMagazine - October 2017

2. Technology advances allowed migration from WEP to WPA to WPA2 as a reaction to
vulnerabilities that were identified. Clearly we need to rethink the whole way we do key
exchange within the wireless encryption protocols. So make sure you watch this space.

3. From the technical side, patches will be coming and you need to be aware of which devices
you have that are affected. Once you have this list, you need a plan in place for implementing
the patches or workarounds as they need to be applied. But DO NOT ignore this, or take too
much time. Some equipment or software will not be patchable. Be prepared to replace if you
can't patch. Don’t risk leaving vulnerable systems in place. There is NO DOUBT that bad actors
who were not involved before made good use of the CVE information, and they are now
developing exploit kits. So you ARE already in a race.

Finally, Re-think Your Organization’s Vulnerability Management Plan
At a higher level, organizations need to do more “what if” planning in the current world. This
wasn't a big deal 15 years ago, but now timeframes to mitigate threats have shrunk. With
modern vulnerabilities, you need to respond faster than the bad guy. That may have been
weeks or months ten years ago. Today it could be hours. If your organization isn't already
plugged into the research community and you have to rely on the media to tell you there's a
problem, then you're doing yourself a disservice.

When the CVEs were announced on Monday, companies that were well prepared implemented
the patches/workarounds and mitigated the risks the same day. Did you? Do you have a
“doomsday” plan in place that allowed you to disable all devices that could not be patched or
protected? Did you have plans in place that allowed your organization to continue functioning
without wireless connectivity? What about other potential threats? What if your payment
systems are targeted, and not your wireless systems? Your manufacturing and production
systems? Do you have the equivalent of “old school” pen and paper backups?

These days the bad guys are as small and agile as the good guys. They have built an
ecosystem that allows them to act quickly. You don't have two or three weeks to solve the
problem. You need a plan that guides your response if you have to modify your normal business
operations until it can be resolved.

Or are you going to be the next “Front Page” story?

About the Author

Rodney Joffe is Senior VP, Fellow, and National Security Executive at information services
provider Neustar, Inc. He is a sought-after cybersecurity expert who, among other notable
accomplishments, lead the Conficker Working Group in response the Conficker worm. Providing
guidance and knowledge to organizations, from the United States Government and Congress to
the Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), and Fortune 10
companies, Mr. Joffe is a pioneer in the domain name system (DNS) and cybersecurity world.
He is the holder of 6 issued and a number of submitted patents in those fields.

34 Cyber Defense eMagazine – October 2017 Edition
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