As a networking student I remember reading about IPv6 and its imminent introduction on more than one occasion. Articles predicting the complete depletion of the IPv4 address space were plenty and you could be forgiven for thinking that IPv4 would simply disappear overnight and be replaced with the new protocol. This didn’t turn out to […]
Category: researchblog
Changes to the Cyber Essentials Questionnaire
A new version of the CREST Cyber Essentials questionnaire (part of the Cyber Essentials assessment) has been made available by CREST, with a grace period of until September the 28th 2017 for using the older version for submissions. There are several changes which are summarised as follows. Passwords A major change relates to the ongoing […]
Do You WannaCry? A Taste of SMB Exploitation
On Friday, 12th May 2017, an unprecedented ransomware attack, named WannaCry infected more than 230,000 computers in 150 countries and a number of large organisations such as the NHS, Telefónica, FedEx and Deutsche Bahn were among them. WannaCry spreads across local networks and infects systems that have not been updated with recent Windows security updates […]
Analysing Java Stack Traces and Determining the Open Source Software Version
Stack traces are commonly used for debugging purposes by software developers in order to find what went wrong in the application they are developing. The traces contain useful information and only occur when something goes wrong, unless someone intentionally causes an error. These errors should be gracefully handled by their code, logged, and safely served […]
Reposcanner
Reposcanner is a Python script designed to scan Git repositories looking for interesting strings, such as API keys or hard-coded passwords, inspired by truffleHog. Sensitive information like this often gets included in the earlier stages of the development process (or accidentally), and is generally removed before the application or source code is released. However, since […]
Umbraco Forms Local File Inclusion
In a recent engagement, I was working on a fairly secure website and I came across an interesting Umbraco content management system (CMS) package called Umbraco Forms. Umbraco Forms version 4.1.5, 4.2.1, 4.3.2 and earlier minor versions are vulnerable to local file inclusion (LFI) in the “GetExport” web API endpoint within the administration section. Umbraco […]
An Overview of OWASP Top 10 2017
The release candidate (RC1) version of OWASP (Open Web Application Security Project) Top Ten Web Vulnerabilities for 2017 has recently been published and it is currently undergoing a public comment period. OWASP Top 10 2017 has several changes and I deemed this a good chance to discuss the changes as well as reiterate some concepts. […]
Adventures in Risk Assessments
ISO 27001 heavily uses risk assessments as part of the process of maintaining an Information Security Management System (ISMS). As part of the process, realistic threats to the company are listed, controls implemented, and effectiveness monitored. Below are some ideas for making risk assessments that work in everyday use, and larger ideas for company wide […]
PCI DSS 3.2 and Changes to PCI SAQs
PCI PCI DSS 3.2 became mandatory on the 1st of November 2016. This article will discuss changes introduced to the SAQs by the new version of the standard.
The Risk of Data Recovery from Damaged Drives
One of the biggest risks with selling used or second-hand computers is the chance the new owner will be able to recover usable information from the hard drive. Over the years, a large number of different people and companies have demonstrated that used computers are frequently sold without having been properly wiped, and this can […]