This week, CISA announced a new plan to align the “collective operational defense capabilities” of over 100 US central Government agencies outside defense to reduce their cyber-risk.
CISA notes in the plan that there is currently “no cohesive or consistent baseline security posture” across agencies, which fails to consider the current threat environment and the complex digital ecosystem.
The plan, known as FOCAL, for Federal Civilian Executive Branch (FCEB) Operational Cybersecurity Alignment, sets out both “broad organizing concepts for federal cybersecurity” and tactical guidance agencies should implement in the coming year. It covers five areas of cybersecurity including:
- Asset management
- Vulnerability management
- Defensible architecture
- Cyber supply chain risk management
- Incident detection and response
While CISA stresses that each FCEB agency has its own mission, supported by its own networks and systems, with standardization and consistency, CISA also believes that a collective approach to cybersecurity will further reduce risks across all federal cyber defenses as agencies interact with each other and share data.
Emily Phelps, Director, Cyware had this to say:
“CISA’s FOCAL plan highlights the value of collective defense in securing the federal cyber landscape. This approach leverages the strengths and knowledge of each entity to build a more robust defense against evolving threats. The interconnected nature of today’s digital ecosystem means that vulnerabilities in one area can ripple across others, making a collective defense strategy essential for reducing risk. By fostering collaboration, information sharing, and standardization, agencies can more effectively defend against sophisticated cyber adversaries while reinforcing the overall security of the nation’s critical infrastructure.”
Stephen Gates, Principal Security SME, Horizon3.ai follows with this:
“This initiative is not just necessary—it’s long overdue. Now is the time to embrace a proven strategy that aligns with the five key objectives outlined in the plan. Organizations must begin by assessing their own environments, using the same tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) that adversaries use. This ensures they’re effectively managing high-risk assets, identifying and mitigating exploitable vulnerabilities, and fortifying their architectures. This approach should extend to their supply chain, ensuring partners meet the same standards, and that incident detection and response systems are proven to be fully operational.”
This is a good move by the CISA who has a history of coming up with good initiatives to improve cybersecurity inside and outside government. This is something that seriously needs to be copied by the private sector as I think you will see that this is going to be highly effective in terms of deterring cyberattacks.
API and Bot Attacks Cost Businesses $186 Billion Annually
Posted in Commentary with tags Thales on September 18, 2024 by itnerdA new report from Imperva Inc., reveals that API and bot attacks are costing businesses up to $186 billion annually as incidents surge. The report, titled “Economic Impact of API and Bot Attacks,” shares analysis of over 161,000 cybersecurity incidents. Conducted in conjunction with a study by the Marsh McLennan Cyber Risk Intelligence Center, the report highlights how large organizations with over $1 billion in revenue are two to three times more likely to experience automated API abuse by bots compared to smaller companies.
The report points to the sheer volume of APIs as a key vulnerability. On average, enterprises managed 613 API endpoints in 2022, exposing them to increasing risks as API ecosystems expand. Imperva Threat Research found that automated threats accounted for 30% of all API attacks in 2023, contributing to losses of up to $17.9 billion annually from API bot abuse.
Nanhi Singh, general manager of application security at Imperva, emphasized the urgency, stating, “It’s imperative that businesses across the world address the security risks posed by insecure APIs and bot attacks, or they face a substantial economic burden.” Singh warns that without proactive measures, the economic toll from these automated threats will continue to rise as API ecosystems grow and bots evolve.
George McGregor, VP, Approov Mobile Security had this to say:
“It would have been interesting to see specific analysis of the economic impact of mobile originating bots which are a growing threat to APIs. These are hard to stop using back-end security techniques because of a lack of visibility to contextual information about use of mobile apps and devices.
“Blocking mobile bots and botnets effectively requires methods that capture detailed information about the devices and apps which originate requests to APIs. Also, there is limited coverage of applying a Zero Trust approach to API security where every request is validated in real time using contextual information.”
With the amount of money that is lost due to bots, this is a today problem that needs to be addressed in a meaningful way and done so quickly. Because this is a problem that is only going to get worse.
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