Cyber Defense eMagazine March Edition for 2022
The view from the Publisher’s desk is very encouraging, based on celebrating 10 years of growth and success at Cyber Defense Magazine! When our tiny team began our journey at Cyber Defense Media Group (CDMG) together in January 2012, we were happy to help smaller, lesser-known innovators of infosec, get their message out there and Rise Above the noise. Now, after 10 years, we’re even helping multi-billion-dollar companies and governments around the globe with our offices in DC, London, FL, NY and other locations in play, as we continue to scale, thanks to you – our readers, listeners, viewers and media partners. Beyond the magazine, in response to the demands of our markets, the scope of CDMG’s activities has grown into many media endeavors. They now include Cyber Defense Awards; Cyber Defense Conferences; Cyber Defense Professionals (job postings site being revamped); Cyber Defense TV, Radio, and Webinars; and Cyber Defense Ventures (partnering with investors). Please check them out and see how much more CDMG has to offer! Very respectfully and with much appreciation, Gary Miliefsky, Publisher
The view from the Publisher’s desk is very encouraging, based on celebrating 10 years of growth and success at Cyber Defense Magazine! When our tiny team began our journey at Cyber Defense Media Group (CDMG) together in January 2012, we were happy to help smaller, lesser-known innovators of infosec, get their message out there and Rise Above the noise. Now, after 10 years, we’re even helping multi-billion-dollar companies and governments around the globe with our offices in DC, London, FL, NY and other locations in play, as we continue to scale, thanks to you – our readers, listeners, viewers and media partners. Beyond the magazine, in response to the demands of our markets, the scope of CDMG’s activities has grown into many media endeavors. They now include Cyber Defense Awards; Cyber Defense Conferences; Cyber Defense Professionals (job postings site being revamped); Cyber Defense TV, Radio, and Webinars; and Cyber Defense Ventures (partnering with investors).
Please check them out and see how much more CDMG has to offer!
Very respectfully and with much appreciation,
Gary Miliefsky, Publisher
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intruders were able to gain control over simulated assets. 1 Would-be attackers’ knowledge of railway<br />
systems has progressed even further in the seven years since this experiment.<br />
On the one hand the distributed network architecture of the railway infrastructure allows incredible<br />
adaptability and <strong>for</strong> the use of a wide variety of modular assets. On the other hand, many of these assets<br />
are no longer up-to-date or patchable. So, the fast-changing nature of cyber threats clashes with/comes<br />
up against the long service life and diversity of equipment, making the en<strong>for</strong>cement of security policies<br />
daunting. The same high-connectivity pathways that increase accessibility <strong>for</strong> trusted railroad engineers<br />
also increase accessibility <strong>for</strong> malicious intruders, which is why specially designed cybersecurity<br />
appliances and software can be so essential.<br />
Every system needs individual protection<br />
Each rail subsystem is a different set of assets with its own individual cybersecurity requirements. Every<br />
rail subsystem application classified as security-relevant has been systematically type-tested and<br />
secured according to the relevant certifications be<strong>for</strong>e leaving the factory. However, the downside of<br />
certifications is that they introduce general patterns into defenses that hackers can learn to anticipate<br />
and exploit. <strong>Defense</strong>s <strong>for</strong> critical services need to go beyond the bare minimum necessary to meet<br />
certifications or regulations and include protections that give hackers a hard time. Furthermore, the<br />
ongoing support of dedicated security researchers is necessary to adapt these defenses against new<br />
cyber threats.<br />
User-friendly tailored solutions<br />
<strong>Cyber</strong>security begins with education of the staff, but the busy day-to-day work of railway personnel rarely<br />
leaves space <strong>for</strong> that. Thus, all defensive solutions must be as failsafe and streamlined as possible to<br />
promote ease of use. Ideally railway subsystems need appliances that have the necessary protocol<br />
sensitivity to check network traffic <strong>for</strong> suspicious actions and deny unusual or unlikely behavior. Such<br />
appliances have the further benefit of significantly reducing the likelihood of human error.<br />
Each subsystem is dependent on solutions created to meet its specific needs. TXOne Networks suggests<br />
an OT zero trust approach to securing operational environments, which includes three phases:<br />
segmenting networks, scanning inbound and mobile assets with a portable rapid-scan device, and<br />
securing endpoints with defensive solutions tailored to the endpoint’s type (legacy or modernized).<br />
Stop intruders and isolate malware<br />
Traditional intrusion prevention systems (IPSes) were mere filtering systems, which are no longer<br />
adequate protection <strong>for</strong> critical infrastructure networks. Instead, modernized solutions like TXOne’s Edge<br />
series of next-generation IPSes and firewalls bring more sophisticated protection to assets at the station<br />
and wayside. Edge series defenses, based on the OT zero trust methodology, detect suspicious behavior<br />
1<br />
Vlad Gostomelsky, “Securing the Railroads from <strong>Cyber</strong>attacks”, Mass Transit Magazine, Dec 17 2019<br />
<strong>Cyber</strong> <strong>Defense</strong> <strong>eMagazine</strong> – <strong>March</strong> <strong>2022</strong> <strong>Edition</strong> 81<br />
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