Securosis Blog

Would you like the ability to revert unapproved security group (firewall) changes in Amazon Web Services in 10 seconds, without external tools? That’s about 10-20 minutes faster than is typically possible with a SIEM or other external tools. If that got your attention, then read on…

Now that we have sketched out the elements a Hadoop cluster, and what one looks like, let’s talk threats to the databases. We want to consider both the database infrastructure itself, as well as the data under management. Given the complexity of a Hadoop cluster, the task is closer to securing an entire data center than a typical relational database. All the features that provide flexibility, scalability, performance, and openness, create specific security challenges. The following are some…

Our goal for this post is to succinctly outline what Hadoop (and most NoSQL) clusters look like, how they are assembled, and how they are used. This provides better understanding of the security challenges, and what sort of protections need to be leveraged to secure them. Developers and data scientists continue to stretch system performance and scalability, using customized combinations of open source and commercial products, so there is really no such thing as a ‘standard’ Hadoop deployment.…

It’s been three and a half years since we published our research paper on Securing Big Data. That research paper has been one of the more popular papers we’ve ever written. And it’s no wonder as NoSQL adoption was faster than we expected; we see hundreds of new projects popping up, leveraging the scale, analytics and low cost of these platforms. It’s not hyperbole to claim it has revolutionized the database market over the last 5 years, and community support behind these platforms – and…

Last week Rich sent around Cockroaches Versus Unicorns: The Golden Age Of Cybersecurity Startups, by Mahendra Ramsinghani over at TechCrunch, for us to read. It isn’t an article every security professional needs to read, but it is certainly mandatory reading for anyone who makes buying decisions, tracks the security market, or is on the investment or startup side.

Once again Securosis and friends are hosting our RSA Conference Disaster Recovery Breakfast. It’s really hard to believe this is the eighth year for this event. Regardless of San Francisco’s February weather, we expect to be seeing clouds all week. But we’re happy to help you cut through the fog to grab some grub, drinks, and bacon.

I have always gotten great meaning from music. I can point back to times in my life when certain songs totally resonate. Like when I was a geeky teen and Rush’s Signals spoke to me. I saw myself as the awkward kid in Subdivisions who had a hard time fitting in. Then I went through my Pink Floyd stage in college, where “The Wall” dredged up many emotions from a challenging childhood and the resulting distance I kept from people. Then Guns ‘n Roses spoke to me when I was partying and raging, and…

Rich here.

When I hurt my knee running right before Thanksgiving everyone glanced at my brace and felt absolutely compelled to tell me how much “getting old sucks”. Hell, even my doctor commiserated as he discussed his recent soccer injury.

I’m not sure how it happened, but XX1 turned 15 in November and got her driver’s permit. Wait, what?!?! That little girl can now drive. Like, legally? WTF? Clearly it is now January, and I am still in shock that 15 years has passed by in the blink of an eye.

Another SIEM blog series? Really? Why are we still talking about SIEM? Isn’t that old technology? Hasn’t it been subsumed by new and shiny security analytics products and services? Be honest – those thoughts crossed your mind, especially because we have published a lot of SIEM related research over the past few years. We previously worked through the basics of the technology and how to choose the right SIEM for your needs. A bit over a year ago we looked into how to monitor hybrid cloud…