Intentionally Weakening Network Security Controls For a Third Party

Network Intrusion Prevention Systems (NIPs) can alert on abnormal, suspicious, or malicious patterns of network behavior, and take autonomous actions to stop the behavior, such as resetting a network connection.

An agent capable of Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) is a software agent installed on organization endpoints (such as laptops and servers) that (at a minimum) records the Operating System, application, and network activity on an endpoint.

Typically EDR operates in an agent/server model, where agents automatically send logs to a server, where the server correlates those logs based on a rule set. This rule set is then used to surface potential security-related events, that can then be analyzed.

An EDR agent typically also has some form of remote shell capability, where a user of the EDR platform can gain a remote shell session on a target endpoint, for incident response purposes. An EDR agent will typically have the ability to remotely isolate an endpoint, where all network activity is blocked on the target endpoint (other than the network activity required for the EDR platform to operate).

An agent capable of User Activity Monitoring (UAM) is a software agent installed on organization endpoints (such as laptops); typically, User Activity Monitoring agents are only deployed on endpoints where a human user Is expected to conduct the activity.

The User Activity Monitoring agent will typically record Operating System, application, and network activity occurring on an endpoint, with a focus on activity that is or can be conducted by a human user. The purpose of this monitoring is to identify undesirable and/or malicious activity being conducted by a human user (in this context, an Insider Threat).

Typical User Activity Monitoring platforms operate in an agent/server model where activity logs are sent to a server for automatic correlation against a rule set. This rule set is used to surface activity that may represent Insider Threat related activity such as capturing screenshots, copying data, compressing files or installing risky software.

Other platforms providing related functionality are frequently referred to as User Behaviour Analytics (UBA) platforms.

An agent capable of User Behaviour Analytics (UBA) is a software agent installed on organizational endpoints (such as laptops). Typically, User Activity Monitoring agents are only deployed on endpoints where a human user is expected to conduct the activity.

The User Behaviour Analytics agent will typically record Operating System, application, and network activity occurring on an endpoint, focusing on activity that is or can be conducted by a human user. Typically, User Behaviour Analytics platforms operate in an agent/server model where activity logs are sent to a server for automatic analysis. In the case of User Behaviour Analytics, this analysis will typically be conducted against a baseline that has previously been established.

A User Behaviour Analytic platform will typically conduct a period of ‘baselining’ when the platform is first installed. This baselining period establishes the normal behavior parameters for an organization’s users, which are used to train a Machine Learning (ML) model. This ML model can then be later used to automatically identify activity that is predicted to be an anomaly, which is hoped to surface user behavior that is undesirable, risky, or malicious.

Other platforms providing related functionality are frequently referred to as User Activity Monitoring (UAM) platforms.

Audit Logs are records generated by systems and applications to document activities and changes within an environment. They provide an account of events, including user actions, system modifications, and access patterns.

Email gateway solutions offer the ability to trace inbound and outbound emails to an organization. This can be used to retrieve information such as emails sent or received, the subject line, content, attachments, timestamps, and recipients.

Custom or pre-built detection logic can be used to determine if a user account has authenticated from two geographic locations in a period of time that is not feasible for legitimate travel between the locations.

Network Intrusion Detection Systems (NIDS) can alert on abnormal, suspicious, or malicious patterns of network behavior. 

By comparing three notable Event IDs, it is possible to build a timeline of when a user account was actively logged into a system. This can help to identify potential periods of inactivity where the account isn't actively being used.

Event ID 4624:  A user successfully logged on to a computer.

Event ID 4634:  The logoff process was completed for a user.

Event ID 4647:  A user initiated the logoff process.