The Cyber Defense eMagazine March Edition for 2024

Security: Back to Basics in 2024
By Nick Hyatt Director of Threat Intelligence at Blackpoint Cyber
New year, new you, right? Every year when the ball drops in Times Square, we make (perhaps slightly
drunken) resolutions to improve our lives. Eat right, join that gym – it all sounds good until we make it
halfway through February and we’ve reverted to our old habits because the time just got away from us.
Just like in our personal lives, we often revert to old habits with security, too. I get it, security is hard! With
the constant barrage of vulnerabilities, incidents, and day-to-day firefighting, even the most efficient and
experienced security team can be hard-pressed to keep up. There are ways to improve your security
posture without breaking the bank, buying a new tool, or even doing anything beyond the basics. Sounds
too good to be true, right? Stick with me.
The first few months of the year have brought with them some concerning stories. In January, Microsoft
disclosed further details of the attack they suffered from the Midnight Blizzard threat actor. Midnight
Blizzard is a Russia-aligned threat actor – they’re no slouches. You would think the attack they pulled on
Microsoft would be some sort of incredibly spooky zero-day malware, right? Not in this case. Microsoft
had a legacy system out in a tenant that had a simple password and no multi-factor authentication
present, which allowed Midnight Blizzard to compromise the account and pivot internally.
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