Turning to FireEye, SPH readies for emerging cyber threats

As the largest media company in the country, cyber threats pose a clear and present danger to Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) that potentially can derail its mission to inform, educate and entertain.

These threats can come in many forms, one in particular being social engineering where malicious software is planted to steal information, whether this is on a potential article being worked on or to leak data of SPH's customers and readers to damage its credibility.

Tackling a growing menace

Taking these threats into account, the company recently turned to FireEye to deploy a suite of FireEye products and Mandiant cyber defence solutions to tackle the growing online menace.

For starters, FireEye Email Security helps in reducing the threat vector posed by email that can bypass the outer perimeter defences that companies usually set up.

SPH also deploys FireEye Endpoint Security, which uses a combination of signature-based, machine learning coupled with frontline knowledge of cyber attacks and behaviour-based analytics to protect users from common threats as well as detect advanced attacks and empower a swift response.

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The media company has also signed up for FireEye Helix Security Platform, which applies threat intelligence, automation, and case management to both FireEye and third-party solutions in a unified security operations platform.

In the event a cyber attack has been successful, SPH is ready for a response with Mandiant Managed Defense, an MDR solution which helps bring frontline expertise to SPH. This gives it the ability to reverse engineer malware to understand and stop an attack if present.

This helps to reduce detection gaps, boosting real-time visibility and delivering answers rather than being drowned in a mountain of alerts for the right response to a potential attack.

This is a safeguard that SPH hopes never to have to use, says Mr Glen Francis, the company's chief technology officer, because it would mean that a threat actor has successfully attacked it.

Nonetheless, being ready with a full suite of layered defences shows that SPH acknowledges the growing threat of today's ever more sophisticated threats, he notes.

Getting the fundamentals right

At the same time, a company can throw millions of dollars into cyber defence and never know whether it can be safe, he adds. "You need to get the fundamentals right. It is imperative that the necessary measures are put in place to protect the company and its assets. At a minimum, companies need to ensure that their basic cyber hygiene is in place to address the main threat vectors coming from email, internet access and removable media".

What SPH sought out when it decided to strengthen its cyber defences were class-leading solutions that have been tested to be effective in countering various types of threats.

In FireEye, it found a cyber security provider that has a track record of providing critical defence solutions to both governments and private companies, which SPH could place its trust on.

Key to its decision was to identify the most effective solutions to address the cyber threat vectors of SPH.

In June this year, the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) reported that cyber threats had grown in scale and complexity in the past year. Three malicious activities it commonly detected in the country were website defacements, phishing and malware infections. It called on both the public and private sectors to strengthen cyber resilience.

Being up to date

Over the past few years, there have been important lessons that can be learnt from high-profile attacks in Singapore and around the world as well, says Mr Francis.

One area of concern is the many digital assets that companies build up over time, which they have to inventorise properly and defend well to close off any vulnerabilities, he notes.

Staying relevant is key, he says, adding that a cyber security vendor will be of great help if it is forthcoming with sharing its knowledge of the global markets that it monitors, where trends of new attacks may be emerging.

Indeed, FireEye's ability to detect advanced threats was a key consideration in SPH's decision to go with the global security vendor. Another was the ability to integrate its best-of-breed technologies with other solutions that SPH uses.

Threats will get more sophisticated over time, say, with quantum computing, which will result in a big jump in computing power that threatens to unravel the encryption technologies that underpin most of today's security solutions, says Mr Francis.

Though that is still not a threat to today's systems, it reflects the constant awareness that is needed today to guard against cyber threats, he notes.