Part Two: Reverse Engineering and Patching with Ghidra

Dan McInerney, Senior Security Consultant, Coalfire

In the first installment of our three-part blog series we learned how to root the Flashforge Finder 3D printer and acquire its firmware. In this post, we will delve into reverse engineering and patching the software using the new open source NSA tool Ghidra, which rivals its expensive competitors such as IDA Pro in value and ease of use.

So your company has decided to do FedRAMP - What does that mean?

Nick Peters, Senior Manager, FedRAMP Assurance Services, Coalfire

The exponential increase in cloud adoption in recent years has led to a dramatic increase in technology companies evolving from software and application companies to Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS) or Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) providers. The 2011 release of the Cloud First Initiative in the Federal government launched the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP). To sell cloud services to the Federal government, FedRAMP requires Cloud Service Providers (CSPs) to have their multi-tenant Cloud Service Offering (CSO) assessed and authorized, and then they must maintain compliance via continuous monitoring and annual assessments.

How to Strengthen your Cybersecurity Program

Nick Picano, Senior Consultant, Cyber Risk Advisory, Coalfire

The first step toward becoming physically fit is looking in the mirror, acknowledging your weaknesses, and making a commitment that you’ll do whatever it takes to improve yourself. This is true for personal fitness, but can this approach also apply to the cybersecurity program at your growing business?

Updated: COVID-19 Incites Crimes of Opportunity

Adversary Ops, Coalfire

On April 21, 2020, Mike Weber, vice president of innovation, updated his blog covering some of the top scams cybercriminals are unleashing on businesses as well as identifying the newest targets for those crimes. In the current panicked state of the economy, understanding the attack vectors is the smartest thing companies and individuals can do to remain cyber secure.

Privacy by Design: Building Customer Trust

Paul Sonntag, Director, Privacy

Historically, the question of privacy has been the domain of the legal community. This makes perfect sense, because privacy has its roots almost exclusively in laws and regulations. The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), and similar regulations that are cropping up with increasing frequency around the world create a thorny regulatory environment, and figuring out how this network of laws applies to their respective organizations is a task best suited to the legal profession.

PCI DSS for Large Organizations: A Coalfire Perspective

Dan Stocker, Practice Director, Payments, Cloud & Tech

As organizations grow, PCI DSS responsibilities become more complex. Logically, they gain more interconnected relationships internally and with third parties. Multiple payment channels, complex network architectures, and large inventories of devices in scope require preparation before performing assessments or maintenance. As a result, large organizations need to evolve their approach to PCI DSS awareness and compliance management across the entire organization so that security becomes business as usual.

How the COVID-19 Epidemic is like Cybersecurity

Nick Vigier, CxO Advisor, Coalfire

Today, every citizen is on the front lines of the epidemic. We are flooded with information about staying safe, keeping an eye out, and left to process unfamiliar language. We are all suddenly doctors and epidemiologists analyzing information and predicting how the world is changing. With countless health professionals, scientists, and officials publishing cautionary tales, it may sound like when your organization’s CISO tells you that Cybersecurity is everyone’s job, and perhaps throws some cyber-jargon at you.

Should Cloud Service Providers be Concerned with FIPS 140-3?

Christine Biggs, Principal, FedRAMP & Assurance Services, Coalfire

If you’ve dealt with FedRAMP, you may already know that FIPS 140-2 is the standard for cryptographic modules published by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). All cloud service providers (CSPs) who wish to be FedRAMP compliant must use only crypto modules that have been validated by NIST in their Cryptographic Module Validation Program (CMVP) to ensure they comply with FIPS 140-2.

Minimize Business Disruption and Move Forward with Solid Assessment Guidance

Dixon Wright, VP SOC, ISO, and Healthcare Services, Coalfire

COVID-19 has seized the world’s attention by disrupting the economy, the workforce, and our personal lives. While no one knows when this pandemic is going to end or its lasting impact, Coalfire is listening closely to our customers and doing everything we can to minimize disruption to their businesses. We are keenly aware that businesses must move forward with selling products and services and still have a need – albeit not “mission critical” – for third-party assurance.

Clearing the Clouds: Comparing CMMC to other Frameworks

Jim Masella, Director, FedRAMP & Assurance Services, Coalfire

These days, I spend a lot of time talking to our cloud-based clients about Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC): what it is, why it’s important, and how they can prepare.  As one of the leading cybersecurity consulting firms and third-party assessment organizations (3PAO), Coalfire’s clients range from small businesses to the largest technology companies in the world; many of whom are offering essential services to the Department of Defense (DoD).  Our firm conducts compliance assessments across multiple frameworks such as SOC, ISO, HIPAA, HITRUST, PCI, FedRAMP, NIST 800-53, NIST 800-171, DFARS, DoD SRG, and many others.  Many of our customers are cloud services providers (CSPs) that undergo multiple audits every year to maintain their security posture and the compliance certifications required to offer services in their various markets. To them, the DoD’s new CMMC may just seem like another framework.

Establishing Remote Data Center Assessment Standards

Saree Costa, Senior Consultant, Payments Assurance, Coalfire

For the foreseeable future, the COVID-19 crisis has changed the very nature of on-site cybersecurity compliance assessments and testing. Leading the way, the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) quickly recognized that its requirements for physical, on-site data center assessments needed rapid modification due to travel restrictions and health concerns. Though assessors may be temporarily prevented from testing on location, data center security is essential and must continue.

The Cloud is Beige - The demise of black box testing

Adversary Ops, Coalfire

Developing COVID-19 Outbreak Communication and Adjustment to Planned Assessment Activities

Aaron Reynolds, VP, Cyber Assurance – Payments, Coalfire

As the coronavirus outbreak continues and safety concerns relating to travel and large meeting groups increase globally, Coalfire’s Payments Assurance Practice has been monitoring the effect of this crisis on both its customers and its employees. As a Qualified Security Assessor Company (QSAC), Coalfire maintains certifications with the PCI Security Standards Council (PCI SSC). Our remote assessment approach is intended to follow a “safety first” mindset, but also ensure compliance deadlines are not put at risk. Coalfire has been in communication with the PCI SSC via recent Global Executive Assessor Roundtable (GEAR) meetings and has received guidance around this developing, worldwide event and have released guidance pertaining to COVID-19 referenced below.

Controlling Cyber Risk for Teleworkers with HITRUST

Jason Kor, Senior Manager, Healthcare Risk Assurance Services, Coalfire

Organizations across the globe have sent workers home to avoid spreading the Coronavirus and, as a result, technology leaders are hard-pressed to create cyber-safe work-from-home environments. Organizations must quickly identify and treat new cybersecurity risks introduced by the newly formed remote workforce.

The HITRUST Shared Responsibility Matrix – the Assessor’s Point of View

Mark Weech, Director, Healthcare Certification, Coalfire

HITRUST® announced the availability of the new Shared Responsibility Program and Matrix^TM Version 1.0 to help communicate and assign security and privacy responsibilities between cloud service providers (CSPs) and their customers. Coalfire is proud that we helped develop the Matrix as part of the Shared Responsibilities Working Group and we appreciate the opportunity to offer some thoughts from the assessor’s perspective.

With IoT, Common Devices Pose New Threats

Dan McInerney, Senior Security Consultant, Coalfire

For Instance… Hackers Setting Your 3D Printer on Fire

The world is careening toward the reality that almost all electronics in your home and business are connected to the internet. Many of these devices contain things like heating elements, batteries, and motors that are entirely software-controlled. Do you… trust them? Coalfire decided to see how low the barrier was for hackers to attempt to cause life-threatening harm by weaponizing one of today’s increasingly common and cheap devices. In this three-part blog post, we will identify the target, uncover challenges, and hopefully answer our query above.

Security Considerations for the Social Distancing Era?

Andrew Barratt, Managing Director, Europe

COVID-19 is changing the way nearly all of us work and, for some specialist security operations, this is a real challenge. For others, it’s an excellent opportunity to add value to the business for when the economy starts to recover.