#211 - Allowlisting and Ringfencing (with Kieran Human)
Dec 16, 2024
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Kieran Human, a special project engineer at ThreatLocker with a master's in cybersecurity, shares compelling insights on modern endpoint protection. He explores the evolution from traditional antivirus systems to advanced EDR, revealing the critical role of allowlisting and ring fencing in today's threat landscape. Kieran discusses the limitations of conventional methods against fileless malware and ransomware, emphasizing proactive strategies to safeguard endpoints. Practical tips and real-world experiences highlight how organizations can effectively mitigate cyber risks with ThreatLocker’s innovative solutions.
The transition from traditional antivirus to advanced solutions like allowlisting significantly enhances cybersecurity by limiting the execution of unauthorized applications.
Ring fencing provides granular control over approved programs, helping to mitigate risks by preventing exploitation of vulnerabilities within trusted software.
Deep dives
Evolution of Endpoint Protection
The history of endpoint protection began with antivirus software, notably John McAfee's VirusScan in 1987, which laid the foundation for future security measures. The evolution continued with the introduction of tools like Norton Antivirus, which aimed to identify and quarantine malicious software through signature-based detection. While these early tools were effective against the limited malware of the time, the rapid increase in variants led to their inadequacy, necessitating a shift toward more advanced solutions. As cyber threats evolved, the industry recognized the need for dynamic strategies, paving the way for Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) systems that focused on monitoring and analyzing endpoint activities.
Next-Generation Endpoint Protection
The limitations of traditional antivirus and EDR solutions highlighted the necessity for next-generation endpoint protection, which employs allow listing to enhance security. Unlike previous methods that focused on identifying malicious software, allow listing permits only approved applications to run, significantly reducing the attack surface. This approach is aligned with zero trust principles, ensuring that unapproved software, including potential malware, cannot execute without prior approval. By limiting what runs on devices, organizations can better protect themselves against increasingly sophisticated threats, such as ransomware and fileless malware.
The Role of Application Containment
Application containment through techniques such as ring fencing offers granular control over what approved applications can access, enabling organizations to mitigate potential risks. By limiting application behaviors, it becomes possible to prevent exploitation of vulnerabilities within trusted software, such as PowerShell or legacy drivers, and stop lateral movement in attacks. This depth of control not only enhances security against outside threats but also protects sensitive internal resources from unauthorized access. Industry recommendations and guidelines increasingly include application allow listing and containment as essential strategies for robust endpoint security.
Implementation and Best Practices
Implementing next-generation endpoint protection requires a shift in thinking, with emphasis on visibility and understanding of the current software environment. Organizations must acknowledge that simply reacting to alerts from EDR tools is insufficient; they need proactive measures that clearly define what applications should run. During deployment, understanding the existing software landscape allows for a more effective transition to an allow listing model. As security landscapes evolve, maintaining adaptability, combined with continuous monitoring and periodic reassessment of policies, is critical to safeguarding against emerging threats.
In this episode of CISO Tradecraft, host G Mark Hardy discusses the history and evolution of endpoint protection with guest Kieran Human from ThreatLocker. Starting from the inception of antivirus software by John McAfee in the late 1980s, the episode delves into the advancements through Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) and introduces the latest in endpoint security: allowlisting and ring fencing. The conversation highlights the limitations of traditional antivirus and EDR solutions in today's threat landscape, emphasizing the necessity of default-deny approaches to enhance cybersecurity. Kieran explains how ThreatLocker’s allowlisting and ring-fencing capabilities can block unauthorized applications and actions, thus significantly reducing the risk of malware and ransomware attacks. Practical insights, war stories, and deployment strategies are shared to help cybersecurity leaders implement these next-generation tools effectively.