diff --git a/content/security-researchers.rst b/content/security-researchers.rst new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..52311d21b84da05e0157782042ee7c77331e33fc --- /dev/null +++ b/content/security-researchers.rst @@ -0,0 +1,111 @@ +My experience with security researchers +======================================= + +:date: 2024-11-29 +:summary: My experience with security researchers. + +I've been sitting on this blog post for a long while. I have a history of +working with (so called) security researchers that I would describe as poor. I +don't want to besmirch the profession of security research. I enjoy reading +security research write ups, I follow a lot of the security best practices, I +subscribe to the security mailing lists of the OSes I use and overall have high +regard for the professionals in the field. + +On the other hand, over my career I have many different interactions with +security companies and researchers working in those companies that have all +been bad. I worked at a cyber security company along side security researchers +from the IDF's 8200 unit. I received notices on security vulnerabilities on +sites I or the companies I work at run (especially after publishing a +``security.txt`` policy). But best of all is my experience with the Israeli +National Cyber Directorate. Let me get started. + +Security audits and certifications +---------------------------------- + +A few of the companies I worked at went through security audits to get a +certification (SOC2 or HIPAA). As the person responsible for the +infrastructure and our CI/CD pipelines I was a part of the audit from beginning +to end and when the audit report was delivered, I addressed some of the +findings. From the few audits I took part in, I can say that the worst was a +company that ran a few automated scanners in the vein of `SSL Test +<https://www.ssllabs.com/ssltest/>`_ and the better ones ran something akin to +`Semgrep <https://github.com/semgrep/semgrep>`_ and maybe checking the OWASP +top 10. + +All of the audits I've been part of had not produced any worthwhile results. +No actual vulnerabilities were ever found and most the time a few publicly +available security scanners were used (the screenshot from the SSL Test is +still vivid in my mind). + +Working with security researchers +--------------------------------- + +I worked at a cyber security company with an actual cyber security product. +There we had a security research team with people from the IDF 8200 unit. From +my dealings with them, they have poor knowledge of things you would expect (on +the level of not knowing the difference between symmetrics and asymmetric +encryption) and their research can boiled down to running Nmap and Metasploit. + +When one of them learned that I run my own mail server, he claimed to be able +to break in to my server. I said go for it, hoping to learn something new and +fix whatever vulnerability my server may have. Looking over his shoulder, I saw +that he was running Metasploit with a preset for mail servers. Having found +nothing (not because I'm that good, I just install security updates and have +sane settings) he turned quiet. + +The Israeli National Cyber Directorate +-------------------------------------- + +I saved the best for last, the reason I felt the urge to write this post. Over +the last 3 or 4 years I was contacted 3 times by the INCD to let me know of +vulnerabilities they found in my personal sites and services. + +The first time I was contacted by phone. I was a little surprised and took the +matter seriously. I was told that my mail server had an RCE. Asking for +details, I was told the CVE and the person on the other end explained to me +that I need to update my mail server. I quickly checked the CVE and I found +that Debian had backported the patch but the server version stayed the same (or +maybe some suffix was added, I don't remember). I tried to explain that I had a +patched server but it fell on deaf ears and they were adamant that the version +I was using vulnerable and I had to update ASAP. I thanked them for letting me +know and promised to look in to it. + +The second time I was again contacted by phone. This time I was less surprised. +I was told that my GitLab instance was misconfigured, although it required +logging in, repositories were exposed through the `/explore +<https://git.shore.co.il/explore>`_ URL. I explained that it was deliberate, +that I develop opensource software and that is were I store it and make it +available for others (if you take a look, all of the repositories have an +opensource license and my blog even links to them). Again, it didn't convince +the person on the other side. I thanked them for letting me know and promised +to look in to it. + +The third time I was again contacted by phone. This time I was not a bit +surprised. I was told that my SSH server is vulnerable and I have to update it. +I explained that I am running OpenSSH on an OpenBSD machine and that the +vulnerability in question only happens on Linux machines. The person on the +other end didn't know what OpenBSD is (I tried explaining that the developers +of OpenBSD also develop OpenSSH, they didn't seem to get it). Showing my age, I +complained that this is a waste of the taxes I pay. The person on the other end +didn't appreciate it and ended the call. + +Closing thoughts +---------------- + +When I was growing up and the internet was becoming accessible to everyone a +new phenomenon named script kiddies started. People scanning ports, open +Windows shares and guessing SSH usernames and passwords. Then somebody got the +bright idea of making a career out of it by selling people some scary stories +and exaggerating their own capabilities and calling it security research. While +true that there are unpatched and vulnerable machines on the internet, this is +not security research and because I have sensible security practices I only +encountered false positives due to rudimentary scanners flagging my servers as +vulnerable without checking if they are indeed vulnerable. + +I don't remember which company it was, but I remember one such company had an +realtime map of the internet showing realtime attacks. Looking closely, each +ping and each new connection to port 22 was an attack. The field is now filled +with charlatans that instead of trying to break in to your servers now try to +bill you for running Nmap or verifying your DMARC record. They've turned this +in a very successful industry and the Israeli government seems to have fallen +to this trap as well (as I'm pretty sure other goverments have as well).