Tag Archives: cyber space

Security

Active Defense: Attribution is just not that important

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Imagine owning a company and realizing you have been hacked and the hackers are disrupting operations or stealing trade secrets, intellectual property, private information, or even money.  As best as you can determine this did not just happen but has been going on for a while.  You hired a company to do an incident response, clean up, patch the holes and get you back up and running.  They may or may not have claimed to have secured your network, but state in no uncertain terms that any action beyond what they have done would be illegal.  Within months you notice the same activity.  So, you call the company again.  More money, more time, and more meetings about how much is being lost.  Do you call law enforcement?  Do you continue with the cyber security company and keep paying them?  Do you have a data breach notice responsibility to shareholders, the board, and customers/clients? 

What you need is a clear and concise plan of action to follow in these situations.

When lecturing on “Active Defense” I often hear comments like, “hack back is illegal,” “without attribution you might hurt an innocent bystander,” or my favorite, “you might start a war with China.”  So what is “Active Defense”?  Many people equate it to hack back.  My definition of “Active Defense” is “a clear and concise process or plan for addressing a compromise to the security of your network and/or the loss or theft of data.”  The process begins with an incident response and could ultimately end with hack back.  It includes a series of predetermined check points requiring leadership/CEO involvement in making various decisions.  One of the first decisions is whether, based on the information available and/or gathered, the attack is a one-time occurrence or an ongoing intrusion/breach.  If it is determined to be a one-time occurrence the decision is easy, initiate an incident response plan, clean up, patch holes, and provide notifications required by law.  If the attack appears to be ongoing some of the follow-up on decisions may include: what end-state the company is seeking (find the hacker and prosecute, block the attack, get data back, etc.); what intelligence/information should be gathered; what tools/techniques should be developed and/or used and how; as information is gathered and options presented, which should be considered and pursued; and many more, most of which are all dependent on the facts, information available, best interests of the company, the fiduciary responsibility, etc.  At each stage and as each decision is made risk, liability and legal issues are discussed, evaluated, and factored into the decision process

Okay, so why is attribution not that important? 

Certainly, being able to identify your attacker makes life much easier for you and your company.  Even if you can’t identify the attacker, being able to identify who owns the server being used to attack you makes life simpler.  You can simply call the owner of the company whose server has been compromised and is attacking your network and work together to block the hacker.  If, for some reason, the owner of the compromised server will not work with you then you can proceed as if he is the hacker.  You might contact law enforcement or if for some reason that decision has been ruled out or, law enforcement for some reason is not able to assist, then you might decide to take action to block the attacks.  At this point the leverage you can garner against the server owner is pretty great.  Chances are his server is not only being used to attack you but many other companies as well.  The server owner will likely not want all of the other companies to know his compromised server is responsible for their pain, assuming they are aware of it.  When this fact is revealed to him he may suddenly be more than ready to negotiate and assist

In many cases though, you will not be able to determine the identity and/or whereabouts of the server owner. 

In that case, if you strike back and inspect the server attacking you, have you lashed out at an innocent bystander?  Many people claim just that.  I would argue this person is a victim like you, but innocent bystander, not even close.  Consider the 2006 movie “Firewall” with Harrison Ford.  His wife and daughter were kidnapped and the kidnappers, using this leverage, forced him to hack into a bank he was hired to protect and steal millions of dollars for them.  Now, granted, I like Harrison Ford, but, if he is stealing my money he’s not an innocent bystander.  He is a victim, but, if it is me or him, choices must be made.  Equally, if it is my company losing thousands or millions of dollars, then attacking the server being used to attack me seems like a pretty good option and it is “game on!”  This is where, depending on how you accomplish blocking the attack against your network, self-defense becomes a factor and part of the decision-making process.  I will leave self-defense for the next installment in this series of blogs entries.

Security

Active Defense/Hack Back/Attribution – The Saga Continues

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I have noticed, at least amongst lawyers, there does not seem to be much middle ground when it comes to “Active Defense” or hack back and the right of self-defense.  Those who comment on it either agree self-defense exists in cyberspace, with very few in this camp, or it doesn’t, which is where the majority stand.  All I ask of most is don’t simply jump to the conclusion that self-defense does not exist and “Active Defense” or hack back is illegal, but instead look at the arguments, potential fact scenarios, and definitions.

“Active Defense,” has many definitions and should not be strictly equated to hack back.  Hack back, instead may be considered a subset of “Active Defense,” which does include cyber self-defense or cyber self-help.  Whether or not a company can utilize these theories depends entirely on the given facts of a situation.  For instance, if a company has suffered a cyber attack and cannot show the attack continues or is persistent, they will not likely be able to make a case for the use of self-defense.  My draft definition of “Active Defense” (still a work in progress) is as follows: “a meticulous and escalated approach to a persistent cyber attack wherein the company leadership makes a decision whether or not to progress at pre-determined decision-points, evaluating risk, liability and legal issues.”  Each decision-point will include all of the intelligence gathered, all potential options, tools, techniques, possible scenarios, potential risks, liability, and legal issues.  Depending on the facts and the confidence of the decision-maker there can be few decision points or many.  The number of decision-points is also a factor to consider in the scenario and the actual amount of liability, if any, may depend on how meticulous and cautious the decision-maker acted.  For example, the first decision-point may be whether the attack(s) is or are persistent.  “Active Defense” is very fact dependent.

Unfortunately most jump immediately to the conclusion that Active Defense, or hack back are illegal.  In my opinion this is a very shortsighted view.  If you are a company losing a lot of money, can show you have implemented good or better security, and have taken an escalated approach collecting intel and evaluating risk, liability and legal issues along the way, then I believe you do have a right to defend yourself.  Again, it is very fact specific.  This is where most people then pull out the “attribution” card and claim you will impact an innocent bystander.

If someone drugs and hypnotizes an innocent bystander and convinces him to shoot at you, don’t you have the right to shoot back in self-defense? This is similarly fact dependent.  For instance, if you know the person is an innocent bystander you would likely try and run away and get help, maybe call the police.  You might even attempt an escalated approach causing as little harm as possible to the innocent drugged and hypnotized bystander.  In the end if it is you or him most will likely opt to save their own lives.  Now remember, self-defense applies to person or property.  So, in the end most will opt to save their own property over the property of the innocent bystander.

So, if a server is compromised and being used to attack my company, don’t I have the right to defend against that server? In this scenario I am assuming I cannot identify who owns the server.  If I could I would simply call that person or company and ask that the server be shut down or the malware removed. Also, is the owner of the compromised used to attack me truly an innocent bystander? Is there contributory negligence on the part of that server owner for not having adequate security and allowing his system to be compromised? In a perfect world you could say no, but today many if not most compromises occur because companies have not used due diligence in keeping systems patched and implementing basic security.  Enough for now, comments?

Security

‘Active Defense’ will Improve Cyber Security

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Lately I’ve seen many articles about “active defense” and “hack back.” This is good because current defenses aren’t working and being in a constant state of defensive mode is not a lot of fun.  Something needs to be done.  The problem is many of these articles take a doomsday approach to the topic. 

Comments like, “it’s illegal, you can’t do it;” “you will disrupt someone’s life support in a hospital;” “we will end up with vigilantes hacking back;”and many more, do not facilitate a discussion but appear to seek to end the debate.  Many of the naysayers claim the only solution is law enforcement and more of it.  How many more police would be enough and is this a realistic response? 

Consider this: one person can command a million bot attack from the comfort of his living room; nation-states are training their people to use cyberspace to attack, steal, disrupt; and working for organized crime and terrorist groups pays much better than working a legitimate job in many countries.  So, what will it take to raise the stakes and make hacking a more risky business?

Active defense will actually improve security for those who consider it.  However, regardless of how the debate proceeds and no matter what the perceived outcome, companies are not likely to suddenly flip a switch and begin hacking back.  There are still too many variables and unknowns involved, e.g. risks, liability and legal issues.  There will continue to be much caution and debate, primarily since the law on this topic is so unsettled and at this point it is difficult to tell from one jurisdiction to the next how this activity will be perceived.

A company with any sense of corporate responsibility will attack this problem with a very cautious approach.  For instance, if your company is persistently attacked the first question is why and how.  Is the company being targeted for a particular reason or is your security so crappy that every hacker and his brother are using you as their playground? 

If your security is good, which is relative because no matter whom you are, your security can always be improved, you will likely take an escalated approach to the problem and not jump right in to hacking back.  During this escalated approach you should be collecting the necessary intelligence to evaluate the problem. 

To use an analogy, let’s say you are in a combat zone and encounter a sniper.  In most circumstances you will not call in an airstrike on the sniper.  There are many factors to consider, like where is he, what type of collateral damage may occur, what is the least amount of effort and resources necessary to take him out, etc.?  So, when facing a cyber-attack the same considerations apply:

  • Where is the hacker coming from;
  • What is his motive and end-state;
  • Based on the Intel you have collected, what tools and techniques can you use;
  • What collateral damage may occur; and,
  • Since time and resources are money, what is the least time and resource intensive course of action you can take to resolve this issue?

Companies have too much to lose to take this lightly and jump forward without a very careful analysis.  It is this analysis that will inevitably lead to much better security and more focus on the problem.

Other questions for a company to ask are, is the attack persistent or a one-time hit and how much Intel can be collected regarding the attack: can a motive be determined, what is the source and means of the attack, potential location and/or identity of the attacker, how many hops in-between your network and the attacker, what type of servers and who owns those servers; then, what is your end-state (block attack, find hacker, prevent further disruption, retrieve intellectual property/trade secrets, etc.), and finally, what are the risks, liability, and legal issues involved? 

Any company that would attempt to hack back without ensuring that their security is good or better than average is just asking for trouble.  A lot of avenues of approach beyond the standard defenses currently employed exist for companies persistently attacked.  The fear mongering spewed in many articles over active defense and hack back will simply drive companies, which are persistently attacked and frustrated with the state of security, to go underground with their response, act in a haphazard manner, and hope they don’t get caught.

Security

Hacking Back Part II

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In my last blog on “Hacking Back” I asked is it legal, ethical, and do I have a right to defend my network against yours? Well, I believe it is legal and ethical, and absolutely, I have the right under “self-defense” to defend my network from being attacked by yours, even if you do not know that your network is attaching mine!

Obviously if I know who you are and can contact you I would be obligated to do so. This scenario assumes I have no idea where the attack is coming from.

When considering hacking, hack back, self-defense in cyber space, etc., you must consider the fact that everything happens literally at the speed of light. So, saying I must contact law enforcement, collect evidence, and go to court is the same as saying “just accept it, and hope to recover all of your losses from a court, even if your company has since been put out of business.”

Here is my next question for comments:

Does anyone wish to argue that if their network has been compromised by hackers and is attacking others without their knowledge, the party or parties they are attacking have NO right to take action to stop those attacks?

My hacking back article can be found on Titan Info Security Group under white papers.