Excessive Personal Use

Domain Name System (DNS) filtering allows the blocking of domain resolution for specific domains or automatically categorized classes of domains (depending on the functionality of the software or appliance being used). DNS filtering prevents users from accessing blocked domains, regardless of the IP address the domains resolve to.

Examples of automatically categorized classes of domains are ‘gambling’ or ‘social networking’ domains. Automatic categorizations of domains are typically conducted by the software or appliance being used, whereas specific domains can be blocked manually. Most DNS filtering software or appliances will provide the ability to use Regular Expressions (RegEx) to (for example) also filter all subdomains on a specified domain.

DNS filtering can be applied on an individual host, such as with the hosts file, or for multiple hosts via a DNS server or firewall.

Mandatory security awareness training for employees can help them to recognize a range of cyber attacks that they can play a part in preventing or detecting. This can include topics such as phishing, social engineering, and data classification, amongst others.

A social media policy is a set of rules that governs how employees should use social media platforms in connection with their work. It outlines acceptable and unacceptable behaviors, helps employees understand the consequences of misuse, and serves as a deterrent by promoting accountability, raising awareness of risks, and ensuring consistent enforcement.

An Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) is a set of rules outlining acceptable and unacceptable uses of an organization's computer systems and network resources. It acts as a deterrent to prevent employees from conducting illegitimate activities by clearly defining expectations, reinforcing legal and ethical standards, establishing accountability, specifying consequences for violations, and promoting education and awareness about security risks.

A web proxy can allow for specific web resources to be blocked, preventing clients from successfully connecting to them.

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.

Social Media Monitoring refers to monitoring social media interactions to identify organizational risks, such as employees disclosing confidential information and making statements that could harm the organization (either directly or through an employment association).