Jim Kootnekoff - SecuSolutions Ltd.

Cyber security continues to be a hot topic for businesses of all sizes. In this episode of the Canadian Equities podcast Jim Kootnekoff, Founder, President & CEO of SecuSolutions Ltd. joins Robert Cooper to discuss the changing landscape within cybersecurity, where the latest threats are coming from, and some of the trends within the industry. For the full length version of the Canadian Equities podcast connect with us at acumencapital.com/podcast.  

Transcript

0:01

Welcome to Canadian equities with Acumen Capital. I am your host Robert Cooper. Today we're joined by Jim founder, president and CEO of solutions. Limited Secchi solutions is in the business of providing essential security solutions. That safeguard mission, critical infrastructure and data. They specialize in security, product development, managed security service. Security training and specialized security consulting services. Jim is a successful entrepreneur and cybersecurity expert. Today. We will discuss the changing landscape within cybersecurity, where the latest threats are coming from. And some of the trends within the industry, Jim COVID has changed behavioral patterns with more work from home and less at the office. How has that changed the cybersecurity landscape in terms of how companies have had to adapt to new security?

Jim K 0:54

well, that's a great question, Robert. Thanks for having me on, the, the pandemic has really changed the way that, hackers think, the opportunities have increased, immensely over the period of the last two years specifically, is everybody has moved from the corporate office into the home office. as you make, imagine you have people as a result of the pandemic and being. Quarantine, so to speak and cooped up in their homes, they've have to adapt to online, practically everything. So now the person that never used to shop online, maybe it's an elderly person or somebody that's just, opposed to using a computer now has really no choice. So they're getting on. And they're buying computer systems, they're getting the internet, they're creating these emails, they're creating these online accounts and they're probably doing so with the security of least in mind. So that presents a bit of an opportunity for hackers. Now, speaking specifically of weak passwords or divulging information through the internet through email where, perhaps a more, let's say a. Astute or aware person might avoid doing something like that. So a lot more shopping, online, a lot more creation of these counts, a lot of the, financial information being shared. And as a consequence, a lot more opportunity for the hackers to develop these phishing emails that were, they would send out to these people. Probably in many cases, never had an email before they did. They didn't use it very often. These emails will reach the F the phishing emails would reach the inboxes. And of course, the new user is looking at this email going, I wonder what this is about. It looks legit because a lot of hackers use great skills when they're developing these and they fall victim, whether it be ID theft, whether it be ransomware or those types of things. So it really has changed. from a, from a retail slash public user, a home user base, it's really changed the, the lay of the line it's even done more. So for the corporate environment course, while a employee is working in the corporation under the relative security of the infrastructure likely had, they have an it person that's, minding the shop, so to speak from a security perspective, that's not the same case when they. To home when they move to home, that sets up a lot of other challenges. So now you're taking the whole, the laptop that you've been given from the company in many cases, you're going to use your home computer. So you've taken that laptop home, you plug it in, you open it up, you connect to the corporations, email system or through their, into their internal system, so now you're exchanging information of a corporate nature. Sometimes it's very sensitive information, leaving that information as essentially exposed, to the, the hostile environment that the hackers live in. Again, unprotected by that corporate environment where there's likely a policy where there's likely some technical provision, whether it be spam filters, whether it be, some type of exterior perimeter monitoring system you're really left, on your own in many cases. opening up that playing field for the hackers to, essentially dive in and try their, try their hand at fishing people. Previously, you might not have had that opportunity.

4:08

The threat landscape for corporations has changed over the past number of years. Where were the primary threats coming from then? And where are they most acute now

Jim K 4:17

the threats continue to be, through, email, the use of email, right? So ransomware, fishing, that type of thing, the people that are intent on hacking a corporation for the purpose of financial gain or some other, intent. It's never really changed. And these hackers are intent on getting that information. So they're going to use any way that they can to pick the corporations locks that could be a phishing email. It could be a hacker trying to, break in from, the exterior inward, but I think primarily the. Biggest concern or let's see the most talked about and probably use technique would be phishing. Phishing emails are more common today than they ever have been. in fact, they're increasing. So, you know, the reason for that is, is quite simple. When you think about it, most everybody has an email, And, Maybe one, two or dozens a day, the probability of slipping one by, on, on knowing leaf to a user, whether it be a phishing email or ransomware attack it, the probability is there. It's just a numbers game. There's more emails out there than are. There are, networks to hack, So the probability is, is more stronger on the fishing, attack. Then there would be an a on a backend attack on a system or web application, corporations are certainly under attack. There'll be continuing to be attacked, as, as you know, the numbers grow and the opportunities grow along with.

5:44

the IOT or internet of things for us non-tech guys is both a huge opportunity for efficiency and productivity gains, but also a threat because it is another vector by which cybercriminals can penetrate the business. How has the business evolve to work on protecting against threats, arising from IOT,

Jim K 6:04

So the internet of things, is, something that is a joy to a Hocker and a nightmare to an it administrator. So Andy company. does not have a policy, that would dictate what, IOT devices are able to connect to the corporate network. They're asking for trouble, So this policy doesn't exist. I have an IOT advice. I want to bring it to work for convenience sake or whatever reason I connect to the corporate network, I've introduced a potentially another entrance point into that network because IOT, they don't follow. Let's just say they're in hurry to get their product to market. So the, the security, checks and balances that, accompany might do. producing an application or a piece of hardware might spend a lot of time and security making sure that that device is secure. But unfortunately it's not always the way with IOT devices. So they'll go out, there'll be connected to the corporate network or the, home network. And they're by virtue of the way that they'd been designed. there. And hackers know this. So they're often exploited, So can you imagine if you took a device to work, hooked it up without permission, or there was no policy that would dictate that you couldn't, you connected that device to the network, hacker comes by and access is your IOT devices use that to gain further access into your internal network, you can imagine. It's it's a very serious problem in corporate it. one of the only ways that you can really limit that is by virtue of entry points into the network in either internally or externally. So having a policy that limits the connection or the connectability of these random IOT devices is one of the best steps that you can take.

7:48

Can you walk us through the difference between vulnerability assessment and just a regular run of the mill penetration tests and, what's your companies really be looking for? Is it both or one or the

Jim K 7:59

Yeah. So I'll first start by describing, I think it's very important for your listeners to understand the difference between a vulnerability assessment and a penetration test, because the gap there is larger than the grand canyon. When customers say, we want to test, we want to a security check or we want to scan, they use those terms loosely. what mostly they're talking about is a vulnerability assessment. So vulnerability assessment first and foremostly is a, is a, a. Piece of the puzzle that most, ethical hackers or pen testers will use as a, as a stepping stone into further exploitation of, of the network via, manual exploitation of a, of a particular vulnerability. It is like in, I use this analogy a lot. So you have a building, you have a guard, man, that guard man has a whiteboard and a pencil behind his ear. He's walking around the outside of that building. He's looking at the doors, he's giving it, an appraisal from 10 feet away looking at the door, or it looks pretty shawty. The, hinges on, it looked pretty rusty. That window over there looks pretty, rickety. I bet you one shove could probably open it. Looking at the lights in the, in the entrance way. There are none. these type of things, right? So he's making notes, he's going to file a report. That report is given to the, to the management and then they act upon it. A pen test is taking that information and moving at one step four. So instead of just observing that door from a distance, you're actually going up to the door, you're giving. a pole and a push, and you're trying to shake the door off the hinges. Once you've done that, then you move into the building and you start to go from room to room and opening doors and looking for specific information or, or things that you would like to steal, so to speak. So there's a very, very big difference. The biggest difference is as taking a vulnerability that you suspect that door, that. Like it's going to come falling off. It's a tinge is, and then actually trying to make a fall off the hinges. That's exploitation, that's taking a vulnerability that, is there. And then trying to act on that vulnerability, trying to push it to the limits. There's the biggest difference between a vulnerability assessment or a scan and a pen test.

10:13

Finally Jim work interested clients or prospective clients find you to talk about their cyber needs.

Jim K 10:20

Well, they can call me directly email. They can arrange a, a, a 30 minute free consultation through our site. Robert, um, it's really easy to just book, appointment book, to pick a topic. My team are fantastic, fantastic people, very proud to work with them, and we have a lot of great customers and happy customers. So yeah. Um, through the website, email direct phone call, smoke signal. I don't care. anyway.

10:49

Jim solution. Sanford. Thanks for joining us today on Canadian equities.

Jim K 10:54

You're very welcome, Robert. Thanks for the opportunity.

10:58

Note that this podcast is not making an investment recommendation on any companies discussed. We welcome your comments on today's episode or any other episode. Connect with us at Acumen Capital dot com.