We are Radical Security! Over the decades, we have experienced some of the more interesting ups and downs in cyber security. Our experience spans 30 years in technology and security working for startups and Fortune 500 companies.
Our philosophy on cyber security is simple. If you don’t test your cyber defenses regularly, then your adversary will do it for you. And they will not be nice about it.
Over the decades, we have worked on a diverse range of highly technical security solutions such as designing sensors for early network intrusion detection systems, developing low-level network packet inspection software, building security collection infrastructure to monitor the internet, developing custom exploits to system and software vulnerabilities, monitoring dark web marketplaces for evidence of fraud, and countless other security systems.
We have deep experience with cyber security management including building secure software development programs, designing information security policies and programs, and managing compliance with industry standards such as PCI, NIST, or OWASP.
My own introduction into the world of cyber security was as a young systems programmer on November 3, 1988. While coding a new university authentication system and pondering the details of Kerberos authentication, the university system administrator asked that I assist in checking the Unix sendmail configurations on various Sun Microsystems workstations across campus. The previous evening, an internet worm had been unleashed and was causing quiet havoc. This month is the 30thh anniversary of the Morris Worm. Three decades ago, news of the worm was limited to academics and researchers. But the worm brought down the nascent internet as regional networks disconnected themselves to limit damage and protect themselves.
Fast forward to January, 2003, it is late into the evening and I was sitting in my lab testing a new intrusion detection sensor which I had been developing. While working with live internet traffic and debugging the IP decoder, the IDS cache begins to overflow. I insert a breakpoint to understand what was happening and I noticed an unexpected large number of inbound UDP traffic on port 1434. The unexpected packets became a nuisance to my work so I shutdown for the evening. The next day, reports circulated of widespread systems slowdowns and Internet congestion due to the SQL Slammer.
Today, things haven’t changed much. Applications continue to have security vulnerabilities, systems continue to be misconfigured, and organizations continue to delay deployments of security patches.
One thing that our diverse cyber security experience had taught us is that companies and organizations that rely on implementing the latest trends in cybersecurity are often lulled into the false believe that they understand their cyber security readiness.
A more radical approach is needed! Real cyber defence starts with great offense to understand the weaknesses in your organization.
