Prism Infosec Ltd - Experts & Thought Leaders

Prism Infosec, the independent cybersecurity consultancy, has announced the launch of its innovative PULSE testing service to enable organisations that may not have the bandwidth or resources to dedicate to a full-scale red team exercise to assess their defence capabilities against real-world threats. PULSE addresses the gap that currently exists between penetration testing and red teaming which can prevent organisations from gaining an accurate understanding of their security posture and provides an agile alternative that utilises an intensive testing approach. Threat actor simulation Penetration Tests contain evaluations that assess security boundaries and controls of distinct systems that excel at the analysis of specific vulnerabilities contained in specific control planes of individual systems. In contrast, red teaming is a real-world test of the organisation’s defences against threat actor activities and capabilities which sees the tester adopt a more opportunistic approach that more closely mirrors the attacks the business could expect to be subjected to. PULSE has been devised to bridge the gap between the two different approaches using threat actor simulation. MITRE ATT&CK framework PULSE evaluates the security of an organisation’s perimeter, endpoint security, and environment PULSE evaluates the security of an organisation’s perimeter, endpoint security, and environment, from the point of view of a time-limited opportunistic threat actor. Conducted over five days using techniques aligned with the MITRE ATT&CK framework, tests are carried out that are flexible, repeatable, and measurable. Suitable for organisations that have invested in security tooling but lack a full-time dedicated Security Operations Centre (SOC) and staff, the timeframe and methods used ensure PULSE tests are not disruptive while still subjecting systems to rigorous assault. Red Teaming “Red Teaming is a fantastic tool for exercising security tooling, staff, policies, and procedures in a realistic, secure, and safe manner,” explains David Viola, Head of Red Team at Prism Infosec.  "It does this by taking the Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs) of genuine cyber threat actors and applying them in intelligence-led scenarios that can span multiple weeks. However, not every organisation is ready for the cost, time, and effort that a full red team engagement requires to deliver value for the business." Real-world test “It’s here where PULSE comes in, allowing the organisation to real-world test its systems but without the commitment or disruption associated with red teaming." "The PULSE tests emulate the approach an opportunistic cyber threat actor would take when seeking to breach the perimeter, establish a foothold, and compromise the environment all within the space of a working week.” PULSE methodology The PULSE methodology is designed to rapidly test multiple different payloads and delivery mechanisms similar in approach to purple teaming which combines offensive and defensive tactics and involves the following steps: Scoping – Red Team consultants capture the information needed for a successful engagement. PULSE Test Plan – A tailored test plan is devised based on the PULSE methodology and the findings from the scoping questionnaire. PULSE Preparation – The client provides the prerequisites while the consultant prepares payloads, infrastructure, and tooling. PULSE Perimeter Assessment – Testing begins with an assessment of the perimeter using different payload delivery techniques. PULSE Attack Surface Assessment – Successful payloads are tested against installed security solutions to establish which triggers an alert, which ones are blocked, and which penetrate the business. PULSE Environment Assessment – Using a successful payload, an assessment is made of how far a threat actor would be able to penetrate the environment. PULSE Report – The outcomes of all three phases are then documented, along with recommendations to harden the environment and suggestions and advice for follow-up testing to improve security posture. Customised approach and testing PULSE can also be customised to enable testing specific to the customer environment PULSE can also be customised to enable testing specific to the customer environment, such as through the addition of physical testing using social engineering and physical breach techniques. Phil Robinson, CEO at Prism Infosec, adds, “Our commitment to advancing our technical capabilities has led us to create a service that effectively bridges the gap between Penetration Testing and Red Teaming. With PULSE, we’re making this high level of technical expertise accessible to organisations of all sizes." First agile Red Team service "I’m thrilled to introduce PULSE to our clients and look forward to seeing the impact it will have on their security posture.” PULSE is the first agile red team service Prism Infosec is announcing as part of a strategic reinvigoration of its red team service offerings. Plans include a redefined Purple Teaming service and an integrated IR and Red Team service.

Prism Infosec, the independent cybersecurity consultancy, announced the launch of its Cyber Maturity Assessment service to help organisations identify areas of strong cyber security defence and where improvements can be made to help improve their security posture. The assessment provides the C-suite with a standardised initial benchmark against which to measure cybersecurity maturity and organisational performance. NIST Cybersecurity Framework The Cyber Maturity Assessment has mapped to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework and covers all five core areas (identify, protect, detect, respond and recover) with maturity graded using five maturity rankings (initial, developing, defined, managed or optimised). The end report delivers insights into a variety of areas including asset management A team of GRC specialist consultants carry out interviews, review documents, and observe current practices in order to thoroughly assess, capture and report on the risks. The end report delivers insights into a variety of areas including asset management, supply chain risks, identity management and access control, staff security awareness, information protection processes and procedures, security monitoring and detection, as well as the effectiveness of response and recovery planning. State of Cybersecurity 2023 report Cyber maturity is defined as an organisation's strategic readiness to mitigate threats and vulnerabilities, according to industry body ISACA, but the practice is not as widespread as it should be. One in five organisations does not assess their cyber maturity while the figure for those that do (65%) has not changed over the past two years, according to The State of Cybersecurity 2023 report. “We need to move the needle for businesses to become more risk-aware. Organisations need to capture, quantify cyber risk and manage it but many have no idea what their level of maturity is. Risk remains an unknown and it is not uncommon to find asset lists that don’t include tangibles such as financial data or intellectual property (IP),” states David Adams, GRC Security Consultant at Prism Infosec. Cyber Maturity Assessment service GRC Consulting unit with Cyber Maturity Assessment the extra to Prism Infosec’s Compliance Framework The top three reasons given for not conducting regular risk assessments, according to the ISACA report, were the time commitment involved (41%), not having enough personnel to perform the assessment (38%) and lack of internal expertise (22%) – all obstacles which indicate the need for external expertise. The Cyber Maturity Assessment service is delivered by practitioners who individually hold more than 25 years of experience in security assurance testing, are ISO27001 Lead Auditors, CISSP certified and are sector specialists. They form part of the Governance Risk and Compliance (GRC) Consulting team with the Cyber Maturity Assessment the latest addition to Prism Infosec’s Compliance Framework Assessments. Roadmap of recommendations Suitable for organisations of all sizes from SMEs to large enterprises, the Cyber Maturity Assessment provides a comprehensive view of the risks facing the business together with a roadmap of recommendations and estimated timescales to enable the business to achieve its cyber maturity goals. “Risk varies from business to business. Small organisations may have no data protection or risk management process in place and, while the large enterprises do have governance in place in the form of a CIO or an internal audit team, these are generally stretched for time and do not have the necessary skill sets to perform security audits. To accurately appraise risk requires perspective and an understanding of the nuances of the business which a third party can bring to the process,” says Adams.