Firmware Integrity – Is your organization prepared?

Nefarious actors have been attacking firmware as a mechanism to threaten national security, infiltrate your network, and to steal your organization’s sensitive data. Accordingly, security best practices are consistently being updated through various federal cybersecurity frameworks, such as NIST 800-171, NIST SP 800-53, and the FBI CJIS Security Policy. Additionally, ensuring the security of PII, PHI, Medicare, and Medicaid data is paramount, especially with the stringent requirements outlined by CMS Acceptable Risk Safeguards (ARS).

Maintaining compliance requires robust measures to protect sensitive information throughout its lifecycle. Every organization now needs to ensure their hardware, network appliances, and infrastructure are utilizing firmware integrity tools to detect unauthorized changes ‘below the operating system’.

To effectively combat firmware threats, it's crucial to understand their primary targets. These threats tend to target one of three areas:

• High value laptops: Laptops serve as a great mobile tool as they bring great computing capacity and capability to any environment. This mobility also makes them a vulnerable target when used in untrusted environments and less than secure networks.
• Critical servers: Servers contain a number of complex components which can be targeted. A compromised server can facilitate data theft, enable attackers to lie in wait, or disrupt user access.
• Network and security: By attacking networking appliances, attackers can move laterally within your system and avoid easy detection. In fact, they can even target network controls dedicated to security, compromising the very tools meant to protect.

In this session you will learn why firmware integrity matters to the security of data. You will also be introduced to Panasonic Connect’s firmware integrity solution, Smart Compliance, and receive a high-level demonstration of the product.