The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the National Security Agency (NSA) have released a list of the ten most common and troublesome misconfigurations. These misconfigurations pose significant cybersecurity risks to organizations and can lead to data breaches and other malicious activities. The report aims to raise awareness about these misconfigurations and provide guidance on how to configure systems to avoid them.
The ten misconfigurations identified by the agencies are as follows:
1. Default configurations of software and applications: Many software and applications come with default configurations that are not secure. Organizations should review and update these configurations to enhance security.
2. Improper separation of user/administrator privilege: It is essential to ensure that user and administrator privileges are properly separated to limit the potential damage caused by unauthorized access.
3. Insufficient internal network monitoring: Organizations should implement robust internal network monitoring to detect and respond to suspicious activities within their networks.
4. Lack of network segmentation: Network segmentation helps to contain and limit the scope of a potential breach. Organizations should segment their networks to minimize the impact of a security incident.
5. Poor patch management: Regularly applying security patches is crucial to protect against known vulnerabilities. Organizations should have a robust patch management strategy in place.
6. Bypass of system access controls: Weak access controls can allow unauthorized individuals to bypass security measures and gain unauthorized access to sensitive information. Organizations should implement strong access controls to prevent such bypasses.
7. Weak or misconfigured multifactor authentication (MFA) methods: Multifactor authentication adds an extra layer of security, but weak or misconfigured MFA methods can be exploited by attackers. Organizations should ensure that their MFA methods are strong and properly configured.
8. Insufficient access control lists (ACLs) on network shares and services: Access control lists help to control who can access specific resources within a network. Organizations should implement proper ACLs to restrict access to sensitive data and services.
9. Poor credential hygiene: Weak passwords and shared credentials increase the risk of unauthorized access. Organizations should promote good credential hygiene, including the use of strong, unique passwords and regular password changes.
10. Unrestricted code execution: Allowing unrestricted code execution can open the door to malicious code and potential system compromise. Organizations should ensure that code execution is properly controlled and restricted.
The report goes into detail about the consequences of each misconfiguration and provides guidance on best practices to configure systems securely. By following these guidelines, organizations can significantly reduce their risk of falling victim to cyberattacks.
In addition to the list of common misconfigurations, CISA and NSA also released guidelines on addressing identity and access management challenges. The guidance focuses on technology gaps that limit the adoption and secure employment of multifactor authentication (MFA) and single sign-on (SSO) technologies within organizations.
The agencies recommend conducting research to develop a secure-by-default, easy-to-use SSO system to address gaps in the market. They also advise IAM vendors to detect insecure implementations of identity federation protocols and raise awareness about these issues.
These guidelines aim to help organizations address the tradeoff between SSO functionality and complexity, ensuring that identity and access management solutions are implemented securely and effectively.
Overall, the release of these guidelines by CISA and NSA highlights the importance of properly configuring systems and managing identity and access to reduce cybersecurity risks. By following the recommended best practices, organizations can enhance their cybersecurity posture and better protect their data and systems from malicious actors.