By Anthony Grieco, Senior Director
Security and Trust Organization, Cisco
The level of knowledge and capability enabled by the Internet of Things (IoT) is transforming all aspects of modern life, including how municipal governments interact with their citizens and provide information and services. We have become so used to daily online activity that we scarcely give thought to the technology undergirding it all. However, secure communication depends upon the security and reliability of the network.
Data protection and privacy are more important than ever for cities, towns and their employees and constituents. In order to stay ahead of the growing threats, municipalities must make a commitment to security and to trustworthy systems to enable them to protect their networks and their data, detect intrusions and remediate malicious events.
As cybercriminals continue to adapt their attack vectors in increasingly sophisticated ways, the resulting risks to a municipality’s network may go undetected for days, months or even years. According to the Ponemon Institute’s 2015 Cost of Data Breach Study, malicious attacks take an average of 256 days to identify. The network plays a critical role in not only identifying malicious attackers, but also ensuring that mitigation and isolation steps to rid them from a network are possible. This critical dependence on the network not only for critical communications, but a critical security tool requires necessitates visibility into the integrity of network hardware and software. This is a critical first step in ensuring that IT systems are built with a foundation of trust. Non-genuine or suspect networking hardware and software are serious threats to network health and performance.
Threats to a municipality’s cybersecurity include:
1. Non-genuine software – Unauthorized software modifications can compromise the operation of the device. Malicious software can provide an attacker with the ability to monitor and exfiltrate information. Non-genuine software could also disable or “brick” hardware while attempting to perform platform maintenance or software upgrades.
2. Counterfeit product – This includes hardware and/or software that was not built by the manufacturer or was altered post-manufacture without consent and with the intent to imitate a genuine product, as well as devices containing pirated, tampered or malicious software.
3. Unauthorized channels – Leading-brand equipment obtained through an unauthorized distribution channel may be stolen or second-hand. Equipment of this type poses a higher risk for pirated, tampered or malicious software. Unauthorized third-party components can also compromise the quality of existing equipment.
As technology has matured, the ability of vendors to embed capabilities that prevent or quickly identify risks posed by these key cyber threats are becoming more prevalent. Many modern pieces of network infrastructure today have capabilities built-in that mitigate these risks. Such mitigations include anti-counterfeit technologies and secure boot, mechanisms to ensure non-authorized software will not run, as well as many others. Procurement through authorized channels is another critical non-technical practice that can be used to minimize the likelihood of these threats.
It is simplistic in today’s world of advanced threats to think of security breaches only in terms of external malicious actors. The reality is much more complex. The very network infrastructure you rely on may be betraying you because it contains hardware or software that has not been updated or refreshed with the newer security features built-in. Municipal governments like cities or towns have a mandate to secure the data of constituents and employees, which now necessitates paying close attention to the entire IT value chain. Gaining visibility into network hardware and software integrity improves the overall security and reliability of your network infrastructure. Having this kind of visibility enables you to conduct proactive audits, verify that the platform is performing as required and ensure that network security is doing its job.
For more information, visit Integrity Verification Services or https://trust.cisco.com.