why are impact indicators important? cyber operations fundamentals course

by Ms. Henriette Schulist 6 min read

Why are key performance indicators important?

Dec 08, 2021 · Cybersecurity is important because it protects all categories of data from theft and damage. This includes sensitive data, personally identifiable information (PII), protected health information (PHI), personal information, intellectual property, data, and governmental and industry information systems. Without a cybersecurity program, your organization cannot defend itself …

Why is cybersecurity reporting important for CISOs?

The purpose of the indicationis to provide insight into the adversary’s potential course of action. Thus, the difference between an indicator and an indicationis one between theory and practice; or expectation and an actual development (Goldman 2002, 3).

What can you do with a cyber operations major?

Dec 29, 2021 · When it comes to protecting sensitive data, preventing data breaches, and detecting cyber attacks, a checklist should be followed to track your efforts. Key performance indicators (KPIs) are an effective way to measure the success of any program (including cybersecurity) and aid in decision-making. According to PwC, just 22 percent of Chief Executive …

How do you measure the success of your cybersecurity program?

Cyber criminals and attackers use botnets to conduct a wide range of operations including spam campaigns, phishing scams, malware delivery, denial of service attacks, and click fraud.

What are the factors that contribute to cybercrime?

Other factors driving the growth in cybercrime include: 1 The distributed nature of the Internet 2 The ability for cybercriminals to attack targets outside their jurisdiction making policing extremely difficult 3 Increasing profitability and ease of commerce on the dark web 4 The proliferation of mobile devices and the Internet of Things.

What is the cause of 90% of data breaches in 2019?

Human error was the cause of 90% of data breaches in 2019. This concerning statistic, however, has a silver lining. If staff are taught how to identify and correctly resond to cyber threats, the majority of data breach incidents could be avoided. Such educational programs could also increase the value of all cybersecurity solution investments because it would prevent staff from unknowingly bypassing expensive security controls to facilitate cybercrime.

What is cyber security?

Cybersecurity is the state or process of protecting and recovering computer systems, networks, devices, and programs from any type of cyber attack. Cyber attacks are an increasingly sophisticated and evolving danger to your sensitive data, as attackers employ new methods powered by social engineering and artificial intelligence to circumvent ...

How many Yahoo accounts were compromised?

‍#N#Yahoo disclosed that a breach in August 2013 by a group of hackers had compromised 1 billion accounts. In this instance, security questions and answers were also compromised, increasing the risk of identity theft. The breach was first reported by Yahoo on December 14, 2016, and forced all affected users to change passwords, and to reenter any unencrypted security questions and answers to make them encrypted in the future. However, by October of 2017, Yahoo changed the estimate to 3 billion user accounts. An investigation revealed that users' passwords in clear text, payment card data and bank information were not stolen. Nonetheless, this remains one of the largest data breaches of this type in history.

Where is sensitive information stored?

Sensitive information like social security numbers, credit card information and bank account details are now stored in cloud storage services like Dropbox or Google Drive. The fact of the matter is whether you are an individual, small business or large multinational, you rely on computer systems every day.

What is the purpose of NIST?

This has driven standards boards like the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to release frameworks to help organizations understand their security risks, improve cybersecurity measures and prevent cyber attacks.

What is the easiest form of cyber attack?

Social engineering remains the easiest form of cyber attack with ransomware, phishing, and spyware being the easiest form of entry. Third-party and fourth-party vendors who process your data and have poor cybersecurity practices are another common attack vector, making vendor risk management and third-party risk management all the more important.

What are the challenges of cyber security?

In light of rapidly evolving technology and cyber threat landscapes, increased availability of commodity and modular polymorphic malware, as well as open-source hacking and post-exploitation tools, governments and international organizations face significant challenges in ensuring robust and effective defenses in the cyber domain. While traditional approaches of detecting and mitigating cyberattacks have been successfully applied to protect networks and maintain cyber resilience, these approaches are primarily reactive and retroactive, rather than proactive and implemented in advance of an impending cyber incident.1 Cybersecurity representatives from governments, international organizations, and the private sector have expressed concern with this method and a desire to enrich it by designing a more forward-looking, practical approach to provide indications and warning (I&W) – or actionable intelligence and monitoring of potential threats – sufficiently in advance to enable the early detection and reaction to cyber incidents before they occur. The ability to design such an approach is hindered by the lack of a commonly accepted definition of cyber I&W, the highly classified nature of the field, and the layers of complexity introduced by constantly changing threats and networks.

What is the purpose of indications and warnings?

The conceptualization of indications and warning provides valuable insights into the evolution of threats and the utility of I&W approaches adopted to defend against them. The overview provided in this section describes the main elements of the I&W concept adopted and employed by the U.S. intelligence community since World War II, outlines variations in the definition of some of the key terms used in I&W frameworks in the cybersecurity community, and concludes by proposing a definition of cyber I&W.

What is warning intelligence?

Warning intelligence is an art that requires understanding and continuous study of the capabilities, culture, history, and biases of potential adversaries. It applies to routine continuous monitoring and in crisis situations (Goldman 2002, iii-3).

What is the I&W framework?

There are several well-known and widely-used I&W frameworks that the U.S. IC has been using to monitor and detect potentially threatening adversary behavior. Two such classic frameworks, summarized in this section, are the Lockwood Analytical Method for Prediction (LAMP) and the DoD’s Defense Warning Network Handbook (Lockwood 2002, Joint Chiefs of Staff). These approaches can serve as the foundation in formulating a cyber I&W framework.

What is the final step in RAND?

The final step in RAND’s Practical Approach for Cyber I&W is the culmination of all previous steps: it tests relevant adversary TTTPs and playbooks against the organization’s environment. By this stage, the defenders know who their threats are, how they behave, the details of their tools (capability/how), when (opportunity), and why (intent) they might attack. In this step, if using the Purple Team concept, the defender emulates adversary behavior and current playbooks as closely as possible while tuning defenses to prepare for a potential similar incident. Performing these activities is akin to step 5 of the DIA Warning framework, and incorporates steps 4, 5, and 7 of the INSA framework. Another advantage this step has is that it allows cyber defenders to continuously discover, understand and test for detection visibility gaps, continuously improve their Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) and other detection content, and improve the security settings or architectural design details of an organization’s network ahead of time. It also allows an organization to define and refine Courses of Action (COAs) to take during the containment phase of an attack, each of which can map to different phases of the Lockheed Martin cyber intrusion Kill Chain.

What is an indicator?

An indicatoris a theoretical or known development or an action which the adversary may undertake in preparation for a threatening act such as a deployment of forces, a military alert, a call-up of reservists, or the dispatch of a diplomatic communique .

What is a real world example of a RAND practical approach to cyber I&W?

Finally, we share a real-world example of an organization applying the RAND practical approach to the cyber I&W set forth in this article: integrated into normal cyber defense operations against the backdrop of strategic geopolitics, corresponding cyber espionage activity, and “friendly” government agencies conducting their own cyber I&W and counter-threat operations. The example involves the widespread November 14, 2018 post-midterm U.S. election phishing campaign, widely believed to have been perpetrated by the Russian-nexus intrusion set publicly known as APT29 (attributed to the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), see Modderkolk 2018). We use “Organization Z” to denote one of the targets of the November attack, and describe examples of their cyber I&W actions to prepare for a probable attack.

What is Upguard's Executive Summary Report?

UpGuard's Executive Summary Report provide you with instant access to your average vendor rating over the last twelve months, as well as your distribution of vendor ratings. Traditional vendor management practices were limited to a snapshot of your vendor security ratings at a single point in time. By continuously monitoring vendor risks, you can greatly reduce your third-party and fourth-party risk.

Is a security incident a cyber attack?

‍#N#A security incident isn't just a successful cyber attack, intrusion attempts to vendors can signify your organization as a potential target. The longer it takes vendors to respond to incidents, the higher the chance you will suffer from a third-party data breach. In fact, some of the biggest data breaches are result of poor vendor management.

Why are metrics important?

Metrics provide quantitative information that you can use to show management and board members you take the protection and integrity of sensitive information and information technology assets seriously.

What is a cyber operations major?

Upper class Cyber Operations majors may engage in independent study, or participate in summer internships with the National Security Agency, the Defense Information Systems Agency, Defense Intelligence Agency, or the Naval Research Labs. Annually, a select group of Cyber Operations majors participate with midshipmen from the Computer Science and Information Technology majors in the Service Academy Cyber Defense Exercise. Foreign travel designed to expand awareness of international cyber operations and cyber security may also be possible.

What is cyberspace?

Per existing National Security directives, Cyberspace is “a global domain within the information environment consisting of the interdependent network of information technology infrastructures, including the internet, telecommunications networks, computer systems, and embedded processors and controllers …common usage of the term also refers to the virtual environment of information and interactions between people.” Cyber Operations is an interdisciplinary major that covers the entire scope of cyberspace and related operations, both technical and non-technical. As such, the Cyber Operations major provides a basic foundation in computer architecture, programming, data structures, networks, internet, database systems, information assurance, cryptography, and forensics. The technical aspects of the program are balanced with additional courses and electives emphasizing applications in areas such as policy, law, ethics, and social engineering. After completing the Cyber Operations program at the Naval Academy, future officers can go on to advanced study or possibly assignments with the various military Cyber-related Cyber forces in support of national security.

What is IP officer?

IP officers harness technology, information and knowledge to ensure battlespace dominance and IW officers conduct a wide range of cyber warfare operations. Cyber Security and Cyber Operations are one of the fastest growing industries and fields in the United States.

Abstract and Figures

Threat intelligence is proved based information, including setting, instruments, pointers, suggestions and noteworthy guidance, around a current or developing threat or risk to assets (such as unauthorized access, unauthorized use of assets, discloses sensitive information, unauthorized changes to an asset, deny access).

References (20)

ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any citations for this publication.

What is the purpose of KPIs?

While most businesses will use flash reporting to measure daily operations, flash reports can monitor projects, risks, and employee measures.

What is a KPI?

Key Performance Indicators, or KPIs, are a pertinent part of measuring the successes and failures of your business. Also known as a flash report or dashboard, a KPI allows business owners and managers to get an overview of how their business – or individual departments – is performing at any given time. A KPI measures the goals of the business ...

What is flash report?

A flash report will monitor what the base loan amount is, how much the business borrowed against that amount, how much is left over, and what is to be done to reduce the percentage used.

How long does it take to complete a financial analysis?

Responsible owners complete a financial analysis 10-to-20 days after the end of the month. This is called a post-mortem. A flash report, done weekly, gives some semblance of how the business operates in real-time.