The threat of malicious applications on a network never ceases. However, we have numerous techniques to mitigate these risks and prevent the impact of infection. Organizations should consistently update software patches or updates to correct possibly vulnerable code in an application susceptible to malicious attacks such as buffer overload and vulnerabilities like SQL injection and Cross-Site Scripting (XSS). According to Randi Schaeffer, software updates are often remedies to these vulnerable codes: “When a vendor sends a patch for your operating system or software, they are addressing a specific, known security vulnerability or weakness. You can think of a software patch like a fix for a leaky roof.” Another instrument operated to mitigate malicious software applications is enforcing input validation. Input validation refers to surveying and straining data entered into a system, guaranteeing its adherence to predefined rules and constraints restrictions (McCarvill,2024). A fortified, robust antivirus software solution is the final superior mitigation technique. When contracted with the U.S. Navy, we offered a well-known software as a service called ACAS (Assured Compliance Assessment Solution). This solution was a cyber species of means that aided an institution in levying its security stance. Often, we were tasked with downloading definitions, which practically were a virus’s signature that identified itself. ACAS mitigated but did not comprehensively defend against zero-day attacks, which exploit a previously unknown hardware, firmware, or software vulnerability(NIST).

Unfortunately, threat actors have been successful. In December 2020, it was named after its victim, Austin-based IT management company SolarWinds. During the incursion, menace actors infiltrated malware into Orion’s updates, known as the Sunburst or Solorigate malware. The updates were then disseminated to SolarWinds clients (Imperva,2024). In summary, this compromise was due to the assailant targeting a trusted software provider to fulfill an expansive range of prey through a compromised update. When employed by the U.S. The United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM) chief security officer banned Solarwinds application because the culprits had Russian linkages. The casualty of SolarWinds, this visionary network device application, essentially blinded my team, and I was no longer aware of the network configurations and connection points of Core Cisco Routers. Personally speaking, this breach was humiliating to the Department of Defense and particularly menacing that a foreign nation-state could penetrate this application. The duration of the breach before being acknowledged was alarming, to say the least.

Respectfully,

Daniel