Managing communications with security vendors effectively is vital for maintaining a robust cybersecurity posture. The strategy involves a series of steps, beginning with establishing a communication protocol and prioritising vendor communications. Regular monitoring of vendor reports and incorporating their insights into incident response planning is equally crucial. It's also important to foster collaboration with vendors for mutual benefit. Regular reviews of outcomes ensure alignment with security needs, and adherence to compliance and reporting requirements is mandatory

September 6, 2023

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Building, Testing, and Refining Your Incident Response Plan: A Comprehensive Guide

The blog discusses crucial metrics in evaluating an organization's incident response efficacy, including Mean Time to Detect (MTTD), Mean Time to Respond (MTTR), Mean Time to Recover (MTTRw), Incident Resolution Rate, False Positives, and Incident Severity. It also outlines the steps for building an effective incident response plan, which includes defining roles and responsibilities, ensuring visibility, containing incidents, recovery, problem management, and a communication strategy. Testing the plan's effectiveness is equally vital, and methods include simulated exercises, Red Team vs. Blue Team Exercises, Tabletop drills, and continuous monitoring. These practices help refine the response and mitigate cybersecurity threats.

August 30, 2023

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Effective Communication Strategies between Cybersecurity Professionals and Business Users

This blog post outlines key strategies for effective communication between cybersecurity professionals and business users. The emphasis is on simplifying complex concepts, aligning security measures with business objectives, and fostering a secure working environment. It recommends strategies such as using real-world analogies, understanding business goals, conducting regular training and awareness sessions, and tailoring communication based on the audience's technical expertise. Other suggestions include appointing a Cyber Champion to facilitate communication, involving business users in risk assessments, and maintaining open channels for updates and guidance. These practices aim to improve overall cybersecurity posture and resilience within organizations.

August 23, 2023

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Navigating Data Protection in the Digital Age

‍In our rapidly evolving digital landscape, data plays a pivotal role in empowering businesses to make informed decisions and enhance lives. However, this should never come at the expense of compromising personal data. Data privacy has emerged as a paramount concern that demands attention from both organizations and governments alike. This blog delves into the intricacies of data protection, exploring the challenges and opportunities as we forge ahead towards a future that prioritizes privacy.

August 9, 2023

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An In-depth Analysis of Akira Ransomware Attacks

Small and medium-sized businesses worldwide are currently under active targeting by the newly discovered Akira ransomware. The primary focus of these attacks reportedly lies on the United States and Canada. Since its discovery in March 2023, Akira has already compromised at least 63 victims. Interestingly, Akira is offered as a ransomware-as-a-service.Preliminary research suggests a connection between the Akira group and threat actors associated with the notorious ransomware operation Conti.

July 28, 2023

• Rakesh, Praveen

How to Evaluate Cybersecurity Vendor partner?

In this blog, Discover strategies for selecting outcome-focused vendor partners to effectively tackle the evolving cyber threat landscape.

July 12, 2023

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How BluSapphire Elite tackled New Wiper Malware used against Ukrainian organizations

Since relations between Ukraine and Russia became sour following the Revolution of Dignity in 2014, organizations throughout Ukraine have been subject to recurring cyber-attacks. The wiper malware was used to target specific organizations in the country to disrupt the government's efforts and the economic landscape of the country in order to divert its effort from the front line.

March 7, 2023

• Praveen Yeleswarapu

Considerations While Outsourcing Cybersecurity Operations

Despite the inflated costs, hiring difficulties, and recurring breaches, enterprises still refrain from outsourcing their cybersecurity operations to external service providers. Here are some of the reasons why organizations show resistance even when outsourcing presents a better value proposition.

January 25, 2023

• Praveen Yeleswarapu

A CyberNews Report: Interview with Praveen Yeleswarapu

Our head of Client Engagement- Praveen Yeleswarapu has engaged in a conversation with CyberNews where they discussed at length the threat landscape of 2021 and its cascading effect on 2022 as well as how the future looks for BluSapphire. The same has been penned down by Kristina Jarusevičiūtė.

February 18, 2022

• Hasita Krishna

Cybersecurity and emerging tech: Blockchain and its security implications

This article is a summary of the #CybersecurityAfterHours event held in January 2022 with blockchain expert Rohas Nagpal.‍ The blockchain network essentially comprises a shared ledger system which is composed of unique addresses, data streams, and a ledger of all transactions between different addresses.

January 11, 2022

• Praveen Yeleswarapu

What’s been, what is and what could be: A brief look at the landscape of cybersecurity in 2022 and beyond

From the Kaseya attack in June to the Log4Shell vulnerability exploits in December, the year 2021 has been victim to some of the most devastating cybersecurity failures of all time. As 2021 comes to an end, we explore rising trends in this article that are likely to materialise in 2022 and leave their impressions for years to come.

January 7, 2022

• Praveen Yeleswarapu

When it comes to cloud security, what you don’t know can harm you

Today, a large number of companies use over 1000 cloud-based services, with 21% per cent of the uploaded files containing sensitive data. However, as cloud reliance grows, the increased volume of data on the cloud makes it harder for companies to identify and resolve vulnerabilities. Therefore, to protect data on the cloud it becomes critical for companies to identify what they need to protect and what they need to protect it from. In this article, we discuss the importance of visibility in cyber security, why company data is exposed to risks and how to improve the cyber security posture for data on the cloud.

December 21, 2021

• Praveen Yeleswarapu

Decoding The Log4Shell Pandemic: How are BluSapphire's customers protected today?

On the morning of December 9, 2021, the security team at Alibaba Cloud published a vulnerability involving arbitrary code execution involving Log4j, a widely used Java-based logging framework, which allows threat actors to gain complete remote access to web servers and application logs. The vulnerability was dubbed Log4Shell.

December 17, 2021

• Rakesh

Cybersecurity guide to preparing for the holiday season

As the holiday season approaches, cyber attackers begin preparations, and to counter them, so do cyber security teams. This guide is a great starting point to prepare for the many threats that lie ahead.

November 25, 2021

• Praveen Yeleswarapu

More than just numbers- calculating the real ROI of a good cyber defense system

This article deals with the ROI calculation for cyber defense across various organizational sizes, as well as industries, including suggested formulas for ROI calculation.

February 8, 2023

• Praveen Yeleswarapu

The Practical Guide To Building A Zero-Trust Architecture

Zero-Trust architecture achieves higher security standards by protecting the network from both internal and external vulnerabilities. Now that the employees who were working within the secured perimeter of an office complex are working from their homes, it is harder for businesses to control the flow of data. The use of unregulated networks and unsecured devices have left access to information unchecked. This makes enterprise assets vulnerable to cyber threat actors.

October 27, 2021

• Vinod Joseph

Perspectives On MDR and Threat Hunting

This article is a written summary of the third #CybersecurityAfterHours event that happened in September 2021. It discusses Managed Detection and Response, and Threat Hunting, with Ravi Prakash and Chaitanya Kulkarni of LTI.

September 27, 2021

• Praveen Yeleswarapu

Mapping your cyber defense strategy: How to counter adversaries in present and future cyber attacks

Several parameters define the success or failure of a good cybersecurity strategy. Ranging from pure statistics to quality of actions, the factors listed in this article can help determine the efficacy of the approach you take to good cyber defense.

October 29, 2021

• Praveen Yeleswarapu

Case Study: Detection Of Multiple User and Network Behavior Anomalies In A Strategic Government Body

This case study analyzes the security environment of a strategic Government entity, and discusses scenarios before and after the deployment of BluSapphire Elite.

September 3, 2021

• Praveen Yeleswarapu, Rakesh Dharmavaram

The Complete Guide to Mitigating and Managing a Cyber Attack

The attack landscape is evolving at an unprecedented scale. Zero-day exploits are becoming common. Preventive solutions have to be scalable and be able to be integrated into multiple systems and platforms.

September 3, 2021

• Praveen Yeleswarapu

Financial Services Compliance Checklist: Cybersecurity in the Banking, Finance, Insurance and Retail Sectors

Although digitalization has given us faster transaction time and undoubtedly transformed and enhanced the banking experience across the board, it has also increased the threat level for cyberattacks on the BFSI sector.

August 16, 2021

• Praveen Yeleswarapu

The Complete Guide To Incident Response: Act Swiftly During A Cyberattack

You could be next. If we sum up the entirety of #cybersecurity as a domain, we'd say just that. Shutting down systems isn't the best way to be in business, which is why we need to know more about rapid Incident Response.

August 19, 2021

• Praveen Yeleswarapu

The Complete Guide To Threat Hunting

Incident response strategy has evolved rapidly over the past decade as Cyber attacks are targeted and complex, executed by extremely advanced adversaries who are no longer compromising one or two systems in an enterprise. Rather, they move laterally within the organization’s network in stealth and may present virtually everywhere.

July 23, 2021

• Praveen Yeleswarapu

All About APT: Advanced Persistent Threats

APT, or “Advanced Persistent Threat,” is a kind of stealthy cyberattack. The term traditionally applied to nation-state-sponsored cyber attacks, but in recent years, even non-nation state groups or criminals have been seen to conduct targeted intrusions on a large scale, with specific goals in mind.

July 8, 2021

• Praveen Yeleswarapu

The Definitive Guide To Ransomware

Ransomware, true to its name, is a formidable cyber weapon, often deployed to attack organizations in the hope of a large payoff. Ransomware is a particularly devious form of malware that is concealed and disguised as something else, usually an innocuous document.

July 7, 2021

• Praveen Yeleswarapu

Continuous Security Monitoring (CSM): The Need Of The Hour

If you want to win, you need to stay one step ahead of your opponent. You need to know what to expect. You need to predict what their next move could be. The only difference is that the stakes are much higher here. One misstep or one momentary lapse in attention can cost you the whole game. This is why CSM is even more crucial for your organization than it seems at first glance.

June 30, 2021

• Praveen Yeleswarapu

What Is EDR? Is EDR Alone Enough For My Business?

End Point Detection and Response (EDR) is a solution which records and stores endpoint-system-level behavior, uses various data analytics techniques to detect suspicious system behavior, provides contextual information, blocks malicious activity, and provides remediation suggestions to restore affected systems.

July 2, 2021

• Praveen Yeleswarapu

Making Cybersecurity A Priority. Is It Too Late?

Cybersecurity today continues to lag behind the emerging threat landscape, even as the threats themselves continue to get more complex and sinister. In that context, what a business needs is advocacy for cybersecurity at the leadership, management, and individual levels.

January 11, 2023

• Praveen Yeleswarapu

NextGen SIEM 101: What Is SIEM, And Why Do You Need It?

SIEM or Security Information and Event Management collects, collates, and analyzes activity from a variety of active sources (servers, domain controllers, security systems and devices, networked devices, to name a few) that span your company’s IT infrastructure.

June 8, 2021

• Praveen Yeleswarapu

All You Need To Know About Zero-Day Attacks

Software programs can have inherent, unintentional flaws or “holes” that can leave them exposed to attack, which gives a cybercriminal a back door to access data that is otherwise secure. If a hacker successfully exploits this “zero-day vulnerability,” the feat (and it is one!) is referred to as a “zero-day attack.”

June 8, 2021

• Praveen Yeleswarapu

Cybersecurity 101: The Definitive Guide to Cybersecurity in 2021

Cybersecurity is the armor for your business in the digital era, meant to protect your organization’s data from attacks. Since unauthorized access can be attempted both externally and from within an organization, cybersecurity is vital to protect not just data, but also computers, software programs, and networks from attack and damage.