Why choose InsiderSecurity for CCoP 2.0

InsiderSecurity products are built for compliance

• Ease of use, especially useful for small IT teams
• Automated review of account activity saves hours in monitoring
• Built-in workflow that support governance and audits

Do you also know:

• InsiderSecurity is used and trusted by Singapore CII today
• InsiderSecurity is IMDA accredited
• InsiderSecurity is an award-winning Singaporean technology company that has its engineering and technical support teams in Singapore

What is Cybersecurity Code-of-Practice (CCoP) 2.0?

The Cybersecurity Code-of-Practice (CCoP) 2.0 refers to the Cybersecurity Code of Practice for Critical Information Infrastructure 2.0, which is an updated version of the CCOP 1.0 released in 2018. The CCoP 2.0 published on 4 July 2022. It specifies the minimum cybersecurity requirements that organizations operating Critical Information Infrastructure (CII) must implement to ensure the security and resilience of their IT or OT system and/or network infrastructure, including physical devices and systems, software platforms, and applications of the CII.

The primary objective of CCoP 2.0 is to enhance the defensive capabilities of organisations against the sophisticated tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) employed by cyber attackers. It seeks to impede their progress of attacks and improve the agility to tackle emerging risks in domains such as cloud, AI, and 5G. Additionally, it facilitates coordinated defenses between the government and private sectors to promptly identify, discover, and respond to cybersecurity attacks and threats.

Whom will CCoP 2.0 affect?

The designated CII sectors, which are responsible for the continuous delivery of essential services in Singapore, are Government, Energy, Water, Healthcare, Banking & Finance, Transport (encompassing Land, Maritime, and Aviation), Media, Infocomm, and Security & Emergency Services.

How does InsiderSecurity meet CCOP 2.0?

InsiderSecurity helps to meet key CCoP 2.0 requirements that are challenging and tedious to comply with. As a leader in automated analytics, InsiderSecurity’s solutions are especially useful for smaller IT teams. InsiderSecurity solutions are used in Singapore CII today. 

InsiderSecurity meets CCOP2.0 in the below two areas: 

• Database security
  InsiderSecurity’s simplified database monitoring flags out data access anomalies. InsiderSecurity saves manpower in monitoring.
• Monitor for anomalies in user behaviour patterns
  InsiderSecurity’s automated log analysis flags out anomalies in behaviour patterns and detects early signs of breach. With InsiderSecurity, the user does not have to manually review high volume log events or alerts. InsiderSecurity makes sense of the logs and saves manpower in monitoring.

Which CCOP2.0 requirements are addressed by InsiderSecurity?

CCoP 2.0 Requirements	Clause	InsiderSecurity
5.2 Account Management	5.2.1(d) Establish mechanisms and processes to monitor the activities of each account, including behavioural patterns, for any anomalies and to trigger an alert for investigation when any anomaly is detected;	Yes
5.13 Database Security	5.13.4 The CIIO shall monitor databases in a CII for anomalous activities and trigger an alert for investigation when any anomaly is detected.	Yes
	5.13.5 The CIIO shall monitor for bulk queries that exceed a predetermined threshold of data to be retrieved and trigger an alert for investigation when any such bulk query is detected.	Yes
6.1 Logging	6.1.1 The CIIO shall generate, collect and store logs of the following:	Yes
	(a) All access and attempts to access the CII and the activities during such access, including application and database activities, and access to data in the CII;	Yes
6.2 Monitoring and Detection	6.2.1 The CIIO shall establish and implement mechanisms and processes for the purposes of:	Yes
	(a) Monitoring and detecting all cybersecurity events in respect of the CII;	Yes
	(b) Collecting and storing records of all such cybersecurity events (including, where available, logs relating to the cybersecurity event);	Yes
	(c) Analysing all such cybersecurity events, including correlating between cybersecurity events, and determining whether there is or has been any cybersecurity incident; and	Yes
	6.2.2 For the purposes of monitoring and detecting cybersecurity events, the mechanisms and processes established by the CIIO shall include:	Yes
	(b) Establishing the normal day-to-day operational activities and network traffic in the CII, and using this as a baseline against which the CIIO is to monitor for deviations and anomalous activities; and	Yes
	(c) Ensuring that alerts for further investigation are triggered for all deviations and anomalous activities that are detected.	Yes

CSA has also provided more clarification via their Responses to Feedback Received dated July 2022. The below compliance table outlines how InsiderSecurity meets the CSA responses on CCoP 2.0:

CSA responses on CCoP 2.0	InsiderSecurity
11.4 The CIIO is expected to monitor the behavioural patterns of user accounts within the CII environment and to trigger an alert if a CIIO detects suspicious behaviour patterns or behaviour patterns that deviate from the expected baseline.	Yes
11.12 The intent of the clause is to facilitate early detection of any unauthorised access and malicious activities performed by the privileged accounts. The CIIO should log privileged account related activities such as login attempts, configuration changes etc.	Yes
11.41. The CIIO should log and monitor all application access and activities to detect any unauthorised access or malicious activities to the application. Following the feedback, CSA has revised the clause to provide clarity.	Yes
12.15. Examples of the components of the threat hunting include having data to baseline normal traffic to find outliners, develop hypothesis based on tools and framework, and investigate and analyse potential threats to discover any new malicious patterns in the data and uncover threat actor’s TTPs.	Yes

What are the InsiderSecurity products that meet CCOP2.0?

InsiderSecurity’s Database Activity Monitor (DAM) discovers data access anomalies early before there is serious data loss. Some of its key features are:

• Easy Deployment and Reduce Operation Cost
  By leveraging on machine learning and AI, Database Activity Monitor does not require the user to configure complex, error-prone database rules. Database Activity Monitor works practically out-of-the-box.
• Automated monitoring for suspicious data activity
  Automatically detect suspicious database administrator activities, data theft and unusual network activities in the databases.
• Save manpower
  With smart algorithms making sense of events 24/7, customers only need to review high-risk accounts and activities instead of long, complex reports.
• Built for compliance
  Features for IT governance and support for audit.

InsiderSecurity’s Automated UEBA flags out anomalies in behaviour patterns and detects early signs of breach. Some of its key features are:

• Stop Internal Threats
  Continuous, automated monitoring of all user behaviours to uncover suspicious user activities early, before there is any serious data loss
• Automated Threat Detection
  Detect automatically and save on manpower.
• Advanced Sensors
  Provide visibility needed to catch Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs)
• Built for compliance
  Features for IT governance and support for audit.

About InsiderSecurity

InsiderSecurity is a Singapore-based cybersecurity technology company that has garnered industry recognition and awards. Founded by a team of cybersecurity experts, InsiderSecurity provides cutting-edge user behavior analytics to detect internal cyber threats early.

InsiderSecurity is a two-time winner on CSA Cybersecurity Innovation Day, in 2020 and 2022, and has also been listed in the ASEAN 40 under 40 for its groundbreaking cybersecurity innovations. InsiderSecurity is the only company accredited by Singapore Government in the area of User and Entity Behavior Analytics. This means that InsiderSecurity met IMDA’s high standards for deployment in enterprises and government agencies.

InsiderSecurity solutions are used by large enterprises and government agencies today.

Complying CCoP2.0 with InsiderSecurity

For more information on how InsiderSecurity can help you meet your compliance and security needs

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Uber Technologies disclosed it was investigating a cybersecurity incident after reports that hackers had breached the company’s network. An in-depth analysis of the attack reveals how the attack occurred and ways organizations can prevent similar incidents in the future. The security industry, however, is still abuzz following this incident, with experts concerned about how an allegedly 17-year-old attacker hacked Uber’s IT infrastructure and acquired sensitive data.  

Experts at InsiderSecurity dissected the attack and came up with hackers’ progression along Uber’s killchain, starting from the initial access, discovery, lateral movement, and data exfiltration. This breach is a reminder that threats are always present and evolving, hence we must do our utmost to learn and adapt to the ever-changing threat landscape. Therefore, based on the Uber incident details, we provide a list of effective strategies organizations can use to identify and mitigate similar incidents in the future.  

What and How Did the Attack Happen? 

1. Initial Access 
   The hackers accessed Uber’s IT environment after accessing the company’s VPN infrastructure credentials. We got this information from Uber’s September 19 security update that names Lapsus$ as the potential threat actor.  
   “An Uber EXT contractor had their account compromised by an attacker,” reads Uber’s security update. “It is likely that the attacker purchased the contractor’s Uber corporate password on the dark web after the contractor’s device had been infected with malware, exposing those credentials.” 
   It’s important to note that Uber has implemented multifactor access control for its systems. However, according to their update, the attacker successfully logged in after the contractor accepted one of the many attempted two-factor login approval requests.  

2. Discovery  
   The contractor whose credentials were stolen did not have privileged access to critical systems. Nevertheless, the contractor had access to a network share. This access is authorized for most internal users. Furthermore, even with restricted access, the cyber actor located a PowerShell script containing hard-corded privileged credentials for Thycotic, the target’s Privileged Access Management (PAM) solution. The PAM user credentials granted access to Uber’s secret services, such as DA, DUO, AWS, GSuite, and Onelogin.  

3. Privilege Escalation and Access to Critical Systems   
   The hacker stole the admin credentials needed for elevated permission to different critical systems and tools. This attack is unique and worthy of attention as it shows how credential theft can lead to a breach of multiple systems. For instance, the attacker in Uber’s case accessed Slack, Google Workspace Admin, AWS accounts, HackerOne admin, SentinelOne EDR, vSphere, and financial dashboard.  
   Besides, the hacker posted a message to a company-wide Slack channel and reconfigured OpenDNS to display a graphic image on internal sites.  

4. Data Exfiltration  
   Uber divulged that the cyber actor accessed the company’s bugs and vulnerabilities reports, but the security team had remediated the bugs. However, the hacker stole crucial information from the Slack business messaging app.   
   An excerpt from the company’s security update reads, “it does appear that the attacker downloaded some internal Slack messages as well as accessed or downloaded information from an internal tool our finance team uses to manage some invoices.”  
   Uber responded by identifying and blocking compromised accounts to ensure the attacker had no further access to systems. In some cases, the company required a password reset to restore accounts. Uber also disabled affected tools, rotated keys to reset access to internal servers, locked down the codebase, and required employees to re-authenticate to regain access.  

Lessons from the Breach and Ways to Mitigate Similar Attacks  

Uber’s security incident involved both human users and systems. Therefore, it’s worth pointing out that a single technology solution could not avoid such a breach. Instead, cybersecurity professionals and companies require a set of controls and training to mitigate similar attacks in the future.  

1. Strengthen Security Configuration  
   As pointed out above, Uber had MFA in place for user access. That is to say; multifactor authentication is not a silver bullet in today’s cybersecurity landscape. Today, hackers have developed various methods to circumvent access control mechanisms, including MFA.
   A crucial step towards safeguarding your systems and information is to get rid of embedded credentials. Additionally, it is vital to remove standing access to sensitive infrastructure and cloud interfaces, which in turn can limit lateral movement.  

2. Implement Cloud Security Monitor (CSM) 
   Organizations can enhance security by implementing a CSM solution that provides a clear view of their systems and networks for visibility of any unusual activity or behavior. For instance, InsiderSecurity’s CSM is a simple-to-use SaaS for enterprises to monitor their data security in cloud services like Microsoft 365. CSM provides automated monitoring of cloud user logs. The solution uses award-winning automated cybersecurity analytics and machine learning, allowing you to discover threats early before serious data loss.  

3. Social Engineering is Still a Serious Threat  
   The fact remains that end users are an organization’s biggest security risk. According to Dark Reading’s 2021 Strategic Security Survey, 48% of participants still perceive users breaking security policies as the biggest risk, while 15% believe social engineering attacks still cannot be anticipated or prevented by current technology. As staff members and other authorized users still remain the gatekeepers of your company data, it is essential to train them to detect and report social engineering attacks like phishing to avoid credential theft.  

4. Detect Login Anomalies from Privileged Accounts   
   Certainly, privileged accounts remain attractive targets for cyber attackers due to their access to sensitive information and systems.  In fact, data breaches and compromised privileged accounts go hand-in-hand. Therefore, you should secure your vital secrets and privileged credentials before extending the same to other data and information. Companies can monitor account use through continuous visibility and reporting that ties activities to specific users. Keep an open mind and look at admin accounts’ events from all angles to detect indicators of compromise.  

5. Detect and Investigate Excessive Downloads  
   Excessive downloads can be categorized as risky because it indicates an insider or a compromised user who is trying to exfiltrate data. Implementing automated activity monitoring across the entire IT environment to identify unusual file download activity. For example, if a user is seen to have downloaded a large amount of data outside of their expected download behavior, an alert will be triggered. This behaviour can be learned via machine learning algorithms that capture the user’s profile within the environment.  

6. Detect Suspicious Email Transport Rule Activities and Other Privileged Activities 
   There are legitimate scenarios for using mailbox rules that either forward or delete all emails that matches certain criteria. However, attackers are also known to add suspicious email transport rules in victims’ mailboxes so that any new email received will be forwarded elsewhere, typically to an attacker’s email account. For example, a hacker might want to collect financial data from a company. In this case, they create an inbox rule on a compromised user mailbox to forward all emails containing finance and accounting keywords in the subject or the message body to an external mailbox.  
   Malicious inbox rules are widely common in phishing campaigns and business email compromise, making it important to monitor them consistently. 
   Certainly, unexpected rule changes could be a sign of a compromised email account. Therefore, it is important to verify with the user if the mailbox rules were added intentionally in the case of updated email transport rules. 

Avoid Attacks with InsiderSecurity  

An analysis of recent incidents reveals there is no foolproof against modern frequent and sophisticated data breaches. Fortunately, implementing layered and robust security measures along with training of employees as well as the use of cloud security solutions to monitor and report anomalous activities can help mitigate attacks. Unfortunately, some firms lack the resources and expertise to implement such controls. To make matters worse, they might not know if they are breached until months later, when it is too late.  

InsiderSecurity offers advanced cybersecurity solutions and expertise needed to help your company to find cyber threats before there is any serious data loss. We offer a range of solutions, including the Cloud Security Monitor for ensuring data security in your cloud services and Automated UEBA for securing on-premise and cloud IT infrastructure.