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"Scaling Cyber Resilience Peaks: A 12-Month Roadmap to Mandiant Security Validation Success"
Creating a comprehensive and detailed guide for the Mandiant Security Validation Success journey over the first 12 months demands a nuanced understanding of both the technical and strategic dimensions involved. This journey is pivotal in bridging the gap between theoretical security measures and their practical, real-world efficacy. Below, we delve into an expanded, technical, and phased breakdown of this journey, emphasizing the importance of senior leadership engagement and detailing the security stack components and steps to achieve success.
Introduction
In today’s rapidly evolving cyber threat landscape, organizations must ensure their security posture is not only robust but also intelligently reactive to new threats. Mandiant Security Validation provides a structured approach to test and improve an organization’s defenses against sophisticated attacks. This document outlines a 12-month success plan and roadmap for integrating Mandiant Security Validation into your security operations, emphasizing the critical role of senior leadership and detailed technical steps for operational success.
Security Stack Overview
Before embarking on this journey, it's vital to establish the foundational security technologies that will be leveraged throughout the validation process. Our example customer security stack includes:
- Firewalls (Palo Alto Networks): Core perimeter defense mechanisms to block unauthorized access.
- Web Proxies (Bluecoat): Filters web traffic to prevent access to malicious sites and to enforce company policies.
- Intrusion Prevention Systems (FireEye IPS): Monitors network traffic for malicious activities and known threats.
- Data Loss Prevention (Symantec DLP): Protects sensitive data from leaving the network.
- Endpoint Detection and Response (Crowdstrike EDR): Provides advanced threat detection, investigation, and response capabilities.
- Antivirus (Microsoft Defender): Offers protection against malware and integrates with other Microsoft security products for a cohesive defense.
- SIEM (Splunk ES): Aggregates and analyzes security data from various sources to identify and respond to threats.
Phase 1: Setup & Fundamentals (Months 1-3) - Initial Adoption
Technical Deep Dive
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Define Validation Program Ownership |
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Who owns the product? |
(Example) Cyber Threat Intelligence Team |
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Who is the main product operator? |
(Example) Security Operations or Detection Team |
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Who will own mitigation? |
(Example) Security Engineering |
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Who is the executive or senior program sponsor? |
(Example) CISO |
- Deploy Devices (Actors) : Windows Endpoints ( Servers / Desktop), Internal Network Devices and Internet Based Cloud Hosted Actors
- Integration and Instrumentation: Focus on integrating Splunk with firewall, IPS, DLP, and EDR solutions. Understand the data flow and ensure that Splunk effectively orchestrates the validation efforts.
- Ensure Mandiant Security Validation can see data flowing from Splunk through the various Security Infrastructure.
- Conduct a deep dive into API, native connectors, or syslog for data transmission from Security Tools to MSV.
- Implement a Proof of Concept (PoC) that involves triggering specific alerts in the respective Security Technology, which, in turn, end up in the console for that tool and ultimately end up in Splunk.
- Visibility and Testing: Use basic actions within the MSV content library that emulate attack patterns and ensure that security systems are correctly logging and alerting in Splunk. Address any visibility gaps identified.
- Training and Onboarding: With insights from the pilot test, organizations develop a training program to prepare more users for the transition. Effective training and onboarding are vital to ensure that users are comfortable and proficient with Mandiant Security Validation, which supports smoother adoption and minimizes resistance.
Leadership Summary
- Engage senior leadership by setting clear expectations and goals for the validation process.
- Highlight the importance of a deep understanding of the threat landscape and align security priorities with business objectives.
Phase 2: Scenario Building & Test Automation (Months 4-6) - Adopting
Technical Deep Dive
- Threat-Informed Scenarios: Use attack based scenarios based on Mandiant Threat Intelligence and content, using evaluations and sequences, focusing on the most significant risks to the industry.
- Automation: Leverage Mandiant Security Validation and Splunk to automate the testing process, including:
- Leveraging predefined attack scenarios.
- Scheduling tests based on configuration changes or at regular intervals, potentially using Advanced Environmental Drift Analysis Module(AEDA).
- Creating customizable dashboards in Splunk for real-time validation results, if possible.
- Using in-product reporting tools to constantly provide detailed value and metrics.
Leadership Summary
- Continuously involve executive leadership by demonstrating the alignment of security testing with the overall business risk management strategy.
- Use automated testing results to provide actionable insights and drive decision-making processes.
Phase 3: Refinement & Collaboration (Months 7-9) - Full Adoption
Technical Deep Dive
- Remediation Workflows: Establish clear processes for addressing gaps in controls, signature updates, and targeted training.
- Purple Teaming: Foster collaboration between the validation team and SOC analysts, enhancing the feedback loop and refining future test scenarios based on real-world insights.
- Test Refinement: Leverage insights gained from previous phases to refine test scenarios, focusing on reducing false positives and enhancing detection capabilities.
Leadership Summary
- Emphasize the value of cross-functional collaboration and the direct impact of remediation efforts on improving security posture.
- Provide detailed reports on remediation effectiveness and areas for further improvement.
Phase 4: Maturation (Months 10-12) - Full Adoption and Growth
Technical Deep Dive
- Metrics and Reporting: Develop key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the effectiveness of the security validation program, including detection accuracy, response times, and overall risk reduction.
- Threat Hunting: Integrate advanced threat hunting practices based on behaviors observed during validation tests, shifting from a reactive to a proactive security stance.
- Continuous Improvement: Use the data collected throughout the year to identify trends, refine processes, and continuously improve the security validation program.
- Scaling: Once the technology or process is optimized and running smoothly in the initial departments or teams, the organization can begin to scale up to full adoption. Scaling involves expanding the use of the technology or process across the entire organization, ensuring that all parts of the business are leveraging the new system to its full potential.
- Even after full adoption, the journey doesn’t end. Organizations should commit to ongoing evaluation and continuous improvement, leveraging new features, updates, and best practices to ensure that the technology or process continues to meet the evolving needs of the business.
Leadership Summary
- Highlight the program’s success in tangible terms, linking security improvements to business outcomes and risk reduction.
- Advocate for the ongoing support and expansion of the security validation program as a critical component of the organization’s security strategy.
Conclusion and Call to Action
This detailed, phase-wise approach outlines a comprehensive pathway to integrating Mandiant Security Validation into your security operations over 12 months. It underscores the importance of a strong foundational security stack, the critical role of senior leadership, and the need for a dynamic, iterative process that adapts to emerging threats. By following this roadmap, organizations cannot only validate their security posture but also enhance their resilience against sophisticated cyber threats.
Additional Considerations
- Safety First: Always conduct testing in a controlled environment, especially when using live malware samples.
- Tool Configuration: Tailor Splunk integration queries and test scenarios to your specific tools and technologies for maximum relevance and impact.
- Stakeholder Engagement: Ensure broad buy-in across IT and security teams to support the validation program.
Embarking on this journey requires commitment, strategic vision, and a willingness to invest in continuous improvement. With the right approach, tools, and leadership support, organizations can achieve a state of true security resilience, ready to face the challenges of tomorrow’s cyber landscape.