CSSLP

No Image

(ISC)2 certification counts – how many CSSLP are out there?

(ISC)2 maintains this page https://www.isc2.org/member-counts.aspx# with the counts of all certifications per country. I wrote before about this here https://www.sorinmustaca.com/how-many-certified-secure-software-lifecycle-professionals-are-out-there/, but this was back in 2013 (1.5 years after I became certified) !   Some statistics: As of September 25 2013: 1168 CSSLP  Romania  1 Germany 19   As of May 23 2022: 3008 CSSLP   Romania  6 Germany 48 Mexico 8       If these numbers appear big… look at the count of CISSP (without specializations): 152.623 as of today. So, yes, you can see how hard is to get this certification.   This year I celebrate 10 years of being a CSSLP!  

Read More

At Infosec London this week

I am going to be visiting Infosecurity London from Tuesday to Thursday this week. If you are one of my friends or customers and you are around, ping me and we could meet. I am planning to attend the (ISC)2 Member Reception on Wednesday afternoon.   Meet me at #Infoseclondon https://www.infosecurityeurope.com/   Click here to register : https://www.infosecurityeurope.com/en/visit/ Click here to see the programe: https://www.infosecurityeurope.com/en/conference/ Look here for my company’s consulting and OEM offers: http://www.mustaca.com


Nice present from (ISC)2 – CSSLP renewal for 3 years

Six years ago I was writing here about getting my “Certified Secure Software Lifecycle Professional” certification: http://www.sorinmustaca.com/finally-officially-csslp-certified/ Two certification cycles in the future, meaning 6 years, I received an update for my diplom and some goodies: And inside the new diplom, the card and a pin.


Microsoft Updates Guideline on Windows Driver Security

Microsoft has released an updated guide on driver security. This new guide offers advice that developers could use to ensure Windows drivers are secured against basic attacks and preventable flaws.   Driver Security Guidance This section contains information on enhancing driver security. In this section Topic Description Driver security checklist This topic provides a driver security checklist for driver developers. Threat modeling for drivers Driver writers and architects should make threat modeling an integral part of the design process for any driver. This topic provides guidelines for creating threat models for drivers. Windows security model for driver developers This topic describes how the Windows security model applies to drivers and explains what driver writers must do to improve the security of their devices. Use the Device Guard Readiness Tool to evaluate HVCI driver compatibility This topic describes how to use the tool to evaluate the ability of a driver to run in a Hypervisor-protected Code Integrity (HVCI) environment.   The nice part is that all this is also available as PDF. I am starting to like these new initiatives from Microsoft. I wrote that they are taking a clear stance on PUA and now I see that they are actually…


Encryption is not solving all cybersecurity problems

I visited last week the IAA in Frankfurt, Germany. IAA stands for International Automobile Exhibition and takes place every year in Frankfurt, Germany. This is the place where every year the latest cars are being presented but also the newest technologies around cars. This year it was a lot about mobility, interaction, autonomous parking and driving, interconnectivity between cars and IoT. I went there to address more the car parts suppliers (Tier 1 and 2) than the car manufacturers. For us it was more interesting to get involved in the devices that are easily and directly attackable. Things like entertainment systems, connected devices of the car, GPS devices,etc.. Not a single car parts manufacturers we talked to wants to openly speak about security. Not because they don’t have it or because they don’t address it. My impression was that speaking about security is like speaking about something that nobody wants to happen?  The most used argument was: “Why would anyone hack us/our device? They don’t have anything to gain.” I wrote a dedicated post about this visit and what I think about the state of cyber security in cars.   The other argument I’ve heard was: But the connection to all…


No Image

(ISC)2 EMEA: Quote for the Day

In the News Quote for the Day “It is no secret that the cyber criminals are where the money is. If the targets are easy to breach, it is even better since this improves the ratio effort/outcome for them.” Sorin Mustaca, CSSLP, covers the basics for small to medium business inComputerWorldUK’s Infosecurity Voice and on the (ISC)2 blog.


No Image

IT Security essentials for small and medium enterprises

Since I first published the free eBook "Improve your security" dedicated to end users, I've been asked many times to give advises for small and medium enterprises. At first, I thought that this is a very different topic than what I wrote before. However, after some thinking, I realized, that difference between the behavior of end-users at home and in the office of a small to medium companies, doesn't differ that much. After all, it is no secret that the cyber criminals are where the money are. If the targets are easy to breach, it is even better since this improves the ratio effort/outcome for them. Usually, small to medium size companies are preferred targets because they fit in this category: they do have money, more than the private users, and are very easy to infiltrate. The tips below help these companies not only to survive in the cyber world, but also keep the attackers away.   1. Make the employees understand and care about security. Teach them how to act and react. There are multiple aspects to the people problem: attitude and usability of security. First, is that the common attitude in companies: „security is IT department's business“. IT tries to…


No Image

What is a security expert?

I've been called a "security expert" many times and I've heard many times other people around me called the same. The reason I am writing this article is that I am frustrated by how some security experts are seing and implementing security in their every day jobs. But, let's start with the beginning: What does actually make someone a security expert? Or, when does someone become a security expert? The first thing that comes into my mind is, of course, his or her level of knowledge in this area. The more he knows, the better. I guess that things like certifications in IT Security, articles written, books published are counting. An important factor should also be some "on the field" experience (practical). But is it enough to just be able to get a job properly done? Getting the job done properly, is translating usually to "make the system as secure as it can be". We all know that this doesn't mean anything these days because anything you do it is only valid for a very short period of time. What about communication? It is not a secret that the biggest problem with IT security in companies is the fact that…


No Image

Quoted in the (ISC)2 newsletter

    EMEA members are also sharing their expertise on the (ISC)² blog. Why we continue to fail on Cyber Security is the question explored in the latest post to the (ISC)² Blog by Germany-based CSSLP Sorin Mustaca, in his fourth post now archived to the Blog; It is actually 5th post, but it was my fault that I haven’t marked it in my category. Now I did 🙂 Click on the picture to see the article:  


No Image

Why we continue to fail on cyber security

I've been asked a lot of times, especially when I was working for an antivirus producer, why can't we simply write a software that always protects the users. Well, there is a short answer and a long answer. Short answer: Because 100% security does not exist and because most people are hackable due to being ignorant on what security is (of course, until he/she is hacked first time, and sometimes not even after such an event). Long answer, which I massively shortened by not touching all areas and not going into details: The reason is the ignorance about everything that might happen but it is not certain that it will happen. I mean, would anyone close an insurance if it would have not been required by law or be afraid of the consequences?   By the way, you can use this article to convince your C-level people to pay for that expensive cyber security training for the entire company.   According to Webster.com, the definition of IGNORANCE is:   – a lack of knowledge, understanding, or education : the state of being ignorant [noncount] ignorance is bliss — used to say that a person who does not know about a problem does not worry…


%d bloggers like this: