EDITOR’S QUESTION
HOW CAN
ORGANISATIONS
INVESTING IN
BLOCKCHAIN
SOLUTIONS PREPARE
THEIR SECURITY TEAM
FOR THE IMPACT OF
THE TECHNOLOGY?
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G
lobally, businesses are expected to
invest US$3.1 billion in Blockchain
solutions in 2018 – more than
double the figure from the previous year. If
these predictions are correct, RSA Security
warns that security teams could be left blind
to cyberattack.
According to RSA, many traditional security
information and event management
(SIEM) tools are unable to baseline the
‘new normal’ behaviours associated with
Blockchain and could allow hackers to gain
entry to corporate networks.
“Opinions are mixed on whether Blockchain is
a flash in the pan, or the next major disruptor,”
said Azeem Aleem, Global Director –
Worldwide Advanced Cyber Defence Practice.
“However, there is evidence – particularly in
financial services – that Blockchain adoption
is gaining momentum.
“If this is the case, then organisations need
to be prepared for the impact this could have
on their security operations teams.
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INTELLIGENTCIO
“As with any new technology, hackers will
look for vulnerabilities in how businesses
implement Blockchain, if not natively
within technology itself. Any disruption
or security breach due to a Blockchain
vulnerability could have a serious impact
on operations. Organisations must take a
business-driven approach to this new risk,
so that advancement in one respect does
not create risks elsewhere that could hinder
long-term progress.”
Blockchain technology creates a challenge
for security operation centres (SOC), as it
represents uncharted territory.
“Emerging technologies broaden the IT
landscape and can create security blind
spots,” added Aleem.
“For example, researchers recently found a
security vulnerability in the Blockchain and
smart contracts platform EOS that could allow
thousands of Blockchain nodes to be attacked.
“Security teams must quickly understand
the new ‘normal’ in their IT environment to
detect suspicious behaviour faster. But this
can be an extremely arduous process using
traditional, log-based SIEM tools. Without
proper configuration when feeding this
new data into the SIEM, the result is often
a flood of false positives that leave security
analysts fire-fighting, while hackers slip by
in the confusion.”
To overcome this challenge, RSA
recommends that businesses take security
into account from the very early stages
of any Blockchain implementation, while
also taking advantage of developments
in behavioural analytics and Artificial
Intelligence to support the secure adoption
of new technologies.
“Security cannot be an afterthought or a
roadblock to innovation,” said Aleem.
“Organisations do not have time to wait
for older systems to catch up. This is why
businesses need a new, evolved SIEM; one
that can help security analysts understand
the new normal, faster, if they want to
implement Blo ckchain safely.”
www.intelligentcio.com