The security industry is genuinely willing to help you do good work

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Aug 21, 2018

An article at Cyberscoop lists security companies that are offering assistance to protect election systems, for example by protecting against DDoS attacks, performing penetration testing or providing anti-virus software, for free or at a significant discount.

The list, which isn't complete (for example Google also offers free DDoS protection for election systems), is topical given fears of foreign intervention in the upcoming US midterm elections. A new warning from Microsoft about efforts by the group variously known as APT28, Fancy Bear or Strontium, reminds us that this threat is very real. 

But the list of security offerings also serves as a reminder that if you are doing good, whether it's educating children, providing humanitarian aid, or defending democracy around the world, security vendors are often very willing to help you by providing their services for free, or at least at a significant discount.

Part of the reason for this will, no doubt, be PR, and in some cases vendors will also be interested in getting telemetry: in particular those targeted by governments tend to see some very 'interesting' attacks. But a great many people working in security genuinely care about making this world a better place. Even when it comes to those companies that don't explicitly advertise such help, often all it takes is to ask.

we-can-help.jpg

None of the security offered by these vendors will be a replacement for having a good understanding of the often unique threat models these organizations deal with. But they can help raise the bar for an attacker significantly.

And if you work for such an organization and believe that attending the upcoming Virus Bulletin Conference would be helpful for your work (indeed, there are various relevant talks on the programme), please do not hesitate to contact me.

twitter.png
fb.png
linkedin.png
hackernews.png
reddit.png

 

Latest posts:

VBSpam tests to be executed under the AMTSO framework

VB is excited to announce that, starting from the Q3 test, all VBSpam tests of email security products will be executed under the AMTSO framework.

In memoriam: Prof. Ross Anderson

We were very sorry to learn of the passing of Professor Ross Anderson a few days ago.

In memoriam: Dr Alan Solomon

We were very sorry to learn of the passing of industry pioneer Dr Alan Solomon earlier this week.

New paper: Nexus Android banking botnet – compromising C&C panels and dissecting mobile AppInjects

In a new paper, researchers Aditya K Sood and Rohit Bansal provide details of a security vulnerability in the Nexus Android botnet C&C panel that was exploited in order to gather threat intelligence, and present a model of mobile AppInjects.

New paper: Collector-stealer: a Russian origin credential and information extractor

In a new paper, F5 researchers Aditya K Sood and Rohit Chaturvedi present a 360 analysis of Collector-stealer, a Russian-origin credential and information extractor.

We have placed cookies on your device in order to improve the functionality of this site, as outlined in our cookies policy. However, you may delete and block all cookies from this site and your use of the site will be unaffected. By continuing to browse this site, you are agreeing to Virus Bulletin's use of data as outlined in our privacy policy.