Cybersecurity First Principles: A Reboot of Strategy and Tactics

The first expert discussion of the foundations of cybersecurity In Cybersecurity First Principles, Rick Howard, the Chief Security Officer, Chief Analyst, and Senior fellow at The Cyberwire, challenges the conventional wisdom of current cybersecurity best practices, strategy, and tactics and makes the case that the profession needs to get back to first principles. The author convincingly lays out the arguments for the absolute cybersecurity first principle and then discusses the strategies and tactics required to achieve it. In the book, you'll explore: Infosec history from the 1960s until the early 2020s and why it has largely failed What the infosec community should be trying to achieve instead The arguments for the absolute and atomic cybersecurity first principle The strategies and tactics to adopt that will have the greatest impact in pursuing the ultimate first principle Case studies through a first principle lens of the 2015 OPM hack, the 2016 DNC Hack, the 2019 Colonial Pipeline hack, and the Netflix Chaos Monkey resilience program A top to bottom explanation of how to calculate cyber risk for two different kinds of companies This book is perfect for cybersecurity professionals at all levels: business executives and senior security professionals, mid-level practitioner veterans, newbies coming out of school as well as career-changers seeking better career opportunities, teachers, and students.

Who We Are xxi Introduction 1 Who Is This Book For? What the Book Covers Writing Conventions Road Map 1 First Principles 9 Overview What Are First Principles? What Is the Atomic Cybersecurity First Principle? Conclusion 2 Strategies 41 Overview Strategies vs. Tactics What Are the Essential Strategies Required for a First Principle Infosec Program? Zero Trust Strategy Overview- Intrusion Kill Chain Prevention Strategy Overview Resilience Strategy Overview Risk Forecasting Strategy Overview Automation Strategy Overview Conclusion 3 Zero Trust 57 Overview The Use Case for Zero Trust: Edward Snowden Zero Trust: Overhyped in the Market but. Cyber Hygiene, Defense in Depth, and Perimeter Defense: Zero Trust Before We Had Zero Trust Zero Trust Is Born Zero Trust Is a Philosophy, Not a Product Meat- and- Potatoes Zero Trust Logical and Micro Segmentation Vulnerability Management: A Zero Trust Tactic Software Bill of Materials: A Zero Trust Tactic Identity Management: A Tactic for Zero Trust Single Sign- On: A Zero Trust Tactic Two- Factor Authentication: A Tactic for Zero Trust Software- Defined Perimeter: A Tactic for Zero Trust Why Zero Trust Projects Fail Conclusion 4 Intrusion Kill Chain Prevention 121 Overview The Beginnings of a New Idea The Lockheed Martin Kill Chain Paper Kill Chain Models Cyber Threat Intelligence Operations as a Journey Red/Blue/Purple Team Operations: A Tactic for Intrusion Kill Chain Prevention Intelligence Sharing: A Tactic for Intrusion Kill Chain Prevention Conclusion 5 Resilience 203 Overview What Is Resilience? Crisis Handling: A Tactic for Resilience Backups: A Tactic for Resilience Encryption: A Tactic for Resilience Incident Response: A Tactic for Resilience Conclusion 6 Risk Forecasting 255 Overview Superforecasting, Fermi Estimates, and Black Swans Bayes Rule: A Different Way to Think About Cybersecurity Risk Risk Forecasting with the Bayes Rule: A Practical Example Conclusion 7 Automation 307 Overview Why Security Automation Is Essential Early History of Software Development Philosophies DevSecOps: An Essential Tactic for Automation Compliance: A First Principle Tactic That Cuts Across All Strategies Chaos Engineering for Automation and Resilience Conclusion 8 Summation 341 Overview Zero Trust Conclusion Index 351