CrowdStrike Falcon Delivers Resilient Protection Against Insider Threats

Roland Daccache, Senior Manager for Sales Engineering at CrowdStrike MEA, discusses the uniqueness and advantages of the CrowdStrike Falcon Platform. This platform seamlessly integrates with existing security infrastructure and vulnerability management tools to prevent insider threats to enterprises in the region.

How does CrowdStrike identify insider threats that leverage known vulnerabilities?
Insider threats are difficult to uncover because traditional security applications do not adequately detect insider threats, partly because they were not designed to do so. However, with the use of intelligence-driven analysis and behavioural analytics, CrowdStrike can identify insider threats that leverage known vulnerabilities. Timely patching and multiple defence layers through the CrowdStrike Falcon Platform can also detect anomalies in user behaviour. To minimize the risk of insider threats, CrowdStrike also makes it a point to train all employees on cybersecurity best practices so that they are aware of the evolving threat landscape and can take necessary steps to protect themselves and their company from insider threats.

How are the insider threat and vulnerability management programs integrated, and how does CrowdStrike Falcon contribute to preventing and detecting insider threats leveraging known vulnerabilities?
The CrowdStrike Falcon Platform provides real-time, continuous visibility and security for all users across the organization and their assets. The platform integrates threat intelligence, employing machine learning to detect anomalies indicative of insider activity. Furthermore, the CrowdStrike Falcon Platform prioritizes and remediates known vulnerabilities. The platform also supports incident investigation and forensics, offering a comprehensive solution to mitigate risks associated with insider exploitation of vulnerabilities.

To prevent insider threats, organizations should enforce the principle of least privilege (POLP)—where users are only granted the minimum permission required to perform their assigned tasks—containing threats in real time and facilitating rapid incident response. It is also critical to ensure timely vulnerability patching to protect enterprise devices. CrowdStrike Falcon Exposure Management provides real-time, instant visibility into new and emerging vulnerabilities by using scanless vulnerability assessment technology integrated with the CrowdStrike Falcon sensor.

How does CrowdStrike Falcon enable real-time monitoring of insider activities and their potential exploitation of vulnerabilities?
CrowdStrike Falcon Exposure Management provides real-time, instant visibility into new and emerging vulnerabilities by using scanless vulnerability assessment technology integrated with our Falcon sensor. This prioritizes risks based on an advanced AI model and integrates threat intelligence provided by our Intelligence team to provide insight into trending threats. However, insider threats can also leverage non-exploit-based attack vectors, suggesting that timely patching alone is not enough to address potential threats. Hence, it is critical for organizations to implement multiple layers of defence such as Falcon Complete Managed Detection and Response (MDR) and CrowdStrike Falcon OverWatch managed threat hunting.

What forensic capabilities does Falcon provide to trace actions back to specific insiders and vulnerabilities?
In the event that a suspected insider threat exploits a known vulnerability, the CrowdStrike Falcon Platform facilitates incident investigation and attribution through its robust set of forensic capabilities. This feature simplifies forensic data analysis by eliminating the need for multiple tools or data ingestion methods. It helps security teams construct the timeline of events, identify the root cause of incidents, and attribute actions to specific threats – faster and with greater precision. This tool is highly important in incident responses as it enables organizations to thoroughly investigate attack incidents and take appropriate measures to enhance cybersecurity defences.

How seamlessly does Falcon integrate with existing security infrastructure and vulnerability management tools?
The CrowdStrike Falcon Platform seamlessly integrates with existing security infrastructure and vulnerability management tools. Its open architecture enables smooth collaboration with various security solutions through application programming interfaces (APIs), as well as resources and tools needed by customers and partners to develop, integrate, and extend the use of the platform itself. This allows for interoperability with other security platforms and tools, thereby empowering organizations to bolster their overall security stance. This approach facilitates a comprehensive and cooperative security ecosystem, promoting operational efficiency and effective responses to emerging threats. The platform also supports orchestrating security workflows, automating repetitive tasks and ensuring consistent responses across the multi-tenancy environment.

Are there awareness campaigns or training modules within Falcon to enhance user understanding and vigilance?
CrowdStrike plays a crucial role in educating users about the potential risks linked to known vulnerabilities and insider threats. To enhance user understanding and vigilance, we have the CrowdStrike University – a learning management system (LMS) that organizes eLearning, instructor-led training and certification in one place, providing a personalized learning experience for individuals with an active training subscription. Through CrowdStrike University, learners can take up courses that focus on the tasks required to implement, manage, develop and use the CrowdStrike Falcon Platform. The Digital Training Library specifically provides console walkthroughs, sensor installation guidance and application fundamentals. The Product Update video series lets Learners stay updated on the latest features. For employees, especially those in cybersecurity roles, CrowdStrike conducts tailored training sessions covering relevant topics such as proper handling of exploits, secure practices, and the importance of following organizational policies.

How does the organization, with Falcon’s assistance, continuously improve its approach to addressing insider threats and exploiting vulnerabilities? Is there a feedback loop or regular assessment process to refine strategies based on evolving threats?
At CrowdStrike, we employ a dynamic feedback loop to refine our cybersecurity strategies against evolving threats. The process involves continuous threat intelligence gathering from various sources, insights from real-world incident responses, machine learning and AI adaptation for threat detection, regular updates to our CrowdStrike Falcon Platform, collaboration and information-sharing within the cybersecurity community, and active engagement with client feedback.

In fact, recently, we unveiled the latest update, Raptor, for our CrowdStrike Falcon Platform. This update introduced foundational upgrades that will make the platform even better and faster and unlock Extended Detection and Response (XDR) and AI capabilities. This iterative approach underscores CrowdStrike’s commitment to staying ahead in the ever-changing landscape of cybersecurity, offering clients resilient protection against insider threats that leverage vulnerability.