Guest editorial by Petko Soyanov, Global CTO of Forcepoint

Late last year, Chinese researchers claimed to use quantum computing to break an RSA public-key encryption algorithm.

While many quantum experts expressed skepticism, the announcement points up a chilling fact: Within the next decade, there’s a strong possibility quantum computers will break common encryption codes.

Does your organization need to worry about a cyberattack ten years in the future?

The short answer is yes.

Any data you’ve adequately encrypted today is currently safe from being read by unauthorized users.

But a motivated cybercriminal could steal your data now and simply hold onto it till quantum computing catches up with existing cryptography.

At that point, your sensitive data could be exposed.

Fortunately, there are strategies and technologies you can deploy right now to reduce your attack surface and minimize today’s risk of tomorrow’s hacks.

Race to Post-Quantum Cryptography

For certain use cases, quantum computers promise to be exponentially faster than classical computers. Classical computers encode data as bits, which can have a value of 0 or 1.

Quantum computers encode data as quantum bits, or qubits, which can have a value of 0, 1, or a combination of the two.

Quantum computers could revolutionize logistics planning, drug discovery, weather forecasting, and more. But they’ll also be good at breaking encryption codes.

Just how good? Where a classical supercomputer would need hundreds of years to crack an RSA 256 code, a quantum computer will complete the task in a day.

That means existing encryption algorithms will need to be updated. But the news isn’t all grim.

First, only public-key cryptography – used to protect financial transactions and digital signatures, for instance – will need to be replaced. If your data is protected with AES 256 symmetric cryptography, you’ll just need to upgrade to longer keys.

That is, unless your AES cypher was established using a public key, in which case you’ll need to replace it.

Second, IT vendors have been developing stronger “post-quantum” algorithms. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) plans to publish post-quantum encryption standards next year.

Still, the target date for organizations to complete the implementation of quantum-resistant cryptography isn’t till 2035.

In the meantime, here are five actions you can take to protect your data now:

1. Deploy strong cryptography.

Your organization will need to upgrade or replace its encryption before quantum computers can crack codes. But in the meantime, make sure you’re using the strongest encryption currently available, such as AES 256.

Some organizations still rely on older encryption algorithms already known to be hackable. And many enterprises have no idea what encryption technology they’re using.

Assign someone in your IT organization to assess your encryption solutions and those of your vendors.

2. Identify sensitive information and assess the risks associated with storing it.

Data can be your organization’s greatest asset. It can also be a major liability.

Last fall, the hack of an Australian telecom company exposed one in three of the nation’s citizens to identity fraud.

The breach was so severe in part because the company retained extensive customer personal identifiable information (PII), including passport and driver’s license numbers – in some cases, even for past customers.

(Up to 9 million past and present Optus customers have been hit by one of the biggest cyber attacks in Australian history. That’s nearly 1 in 3 people across the country with the company now racing to contain the fallout. The big banks have been alerted, and Australia’s international spy network is working to hunt down the culprits. Optus says the hackers may have a customer’s name, date of birth, phone number, and email address. For some, their home address, driver’s licence, and passport number too. Courtesy of 7NEWS Australia and YouTube. Posted on Sep 22, 2022.)

To reduce this kind of risk, take a thorough inventory of your customer, employee, and intellectual property (IP) data.

Document where it’s stored – in your data center, in cloud storage services, on user devices, in email messages – and who has access to it.

Then work with your governance, risk, and compliance function to determine the risk of retaining all that data.

3. Implement data-retention policies to reduce your data attack surface.

Many organizations lack clear policies for how long they retain information.

In part, that’s because finance, legal, compliance, engineering, and other functions all have different data-retention needs. The result is an ever-growing data attack surface.

You need a structure for the classes of data you own and how long you should store each type.

Classify data by its sensitivity, its risk of exposure, and the impact of exposure. Then set guidelines for how long to keep each type of data based on regulatory requirements.

Also, consider how you store information. For instance, if you don’t require regular access, consider storing data on backup media that’s isolated from external networks.

Finally, spell out processes for deleting information at the end of the retention period. And for all these efforts, involve stakeholders across functions to be sure retention policies meet internal needs.

4. Implement data controls beyond encryption.

No organization should rely solely on encryption to protect data. You need a more holistic, layered approach.

Start with access controls such as multifactor authentication (MFA). MFA combines something a user knows (a password), something the user has (a device), and something the user is (biometrics).

Even stronger MFA adds an external element, such as a code sent to a smartphone.

Strategies like data tokenization and anonymization can further protect data. Tokenization substitutes sensitive data elements with tokens that have no meaning out of context.

The token maps back to the original data element, but without the tokenization systems, bad actors would have a very hard time re-creating the data.

Finally, implement zero trust network access (ZTNA). With ZTNA, all entities – including users, devices, and applications – that want access to your data must authenticate their identity, every time they ask for access. That helps prevents cyberattacks from spreading laterally throughout your networks.

(It’s no secret that much of the world’s malware and ransomware makes its way to organizations through infected files. This overview video explains how Zero Trust Content Disarm and Reconstruction (CDR) strips malware from office documents, images and PDFs. Put an end to Zero Day malware with Forcepoint Zero Trust CDR. Courtesy of Forcepoint and YouTube.)

5. Continuously scan systems for new data that needs protection.

Your data is a continually expanding resource, so you need to constantly update your view of it.

Several vital cybersecurity solutions can help.

Data loss prevention (DLP) is a set of technologies designed to identify, classify, monitor, and protect data.

These tools scan your networks, email, endpoints, and other IT resources to track which devices and software people use to access your data, how they share that information, and whether they’re following data usage policies.

(Learn more about Forcepoint Data Loss Prevention. Courtesy of Forcepoint and YouTube.)

A cloud access security broker (CASB) enables similar visibility in the cloud.

Sitting between your users and your cloud service provider, a CASB lets you identify and monitor the use of cloud apps. It can uncover high-risk behavior and enforce policies and controls to protect sensitive data.

An arms race is emerging as nations vie to be the first to develop viable quantum computers.

There will likewise be a race between hackers who use quantum technology break encryption codes and enterprises rushing to replace their encryption protections.

Don’t allow your organization to be caught short. Take action now to assess your encryption solutions and establish a plan for upgrading to post-quantum technology as it becomes available.

Simultaneously, deploy proven cyber strategies and technologies that will protect your data now and in the future.

About the Author

Petko Soyanov is Global CTO of Forcepoint, a provider of comprehensive, cloud-native cybersecurity solutions.

He focuses on strategy, technology, innovation, and go-to-market activities across Forcepoint’s solution portfolio, with specialties in enterprise security engineering, threat intelligence, incident response, enterprise encryption, and cross-domain solutions.

Mr. Soyanov is also co-host of the To the Point Cybersecurity Podcast, a member of the ATO on AWS Advisory Board, and a STAR mentor for MACH37 Cyber Accelerator.

Previously Mr. Soyanov held leadership roles at a variety of high-tech and public-sector organizations.

Forcepoint is a global leader in data-first cybersecurity.

The company’s behavior-based solutions adapt to risk in real-time and are delivered through a cloud-native SASE security platform that protects users, devices, and networks as people access the web and cloud, prevents the theft or loss of sensitive data and intellectual property no matter where people are working, and eliminates breaches caused by insiders.

Forcepoint, based in Austin, Texas, creates safe, trusted environments for thousands of enterprise and government customers and their employees in more than 150 countries.

To learn more, please visit www.forcepoint.com.

Forcepoint Nominated in 2023 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards Program

American Security Today’s Annual ‘ASTORS’ Awards is the preeminent U.S. Homeland Security Awards Program, and now entering its Eighth Year, continues to recognize industry leaders of Physical and Border Security, Cybersecurity, Emergency Preparedness – Management and Response, Law Enforcement, First Responders, as well as federal, state and municipal government agencies in the acknowledgment of their outstanding efforts to Keep our Nation Secure.

 

Forcepoint

Best Phishing Defense Solutions

• Zero Trust Content Disarm and Reconstruction

• Forcepoint is leading the shift from outdated and ineffective malware and ransomware detection strategies to a proven prevention strategy rooted in Zero Trust principles.

• With its Zero Trust Content, Disarm, and Reconstruction (ZT CDR) solution, Forcepoint gives IT and security teams a fresh new way to proactively protect their organization from ever-increasing malware and ransomware threats.

• Forcepoint ZT CDR differentiates itself from traditional security inspection solutions by, instead of trying to detect the presence of malware; it assumes nothing can be trusted. It extracts only valid business information from files – either discarding or storing the originals and any malware they might contain – and then builds brand new, fully functional files to carry the information to its destination.

• Pivoting from detection to prevention in this way is especially important with the recent evolution in hybrid workforces and digital transformation, and their resultant usage of content and electronic information everywhere.

• By leveraging a data-first approach to malware threat removal, ZT CDR is revolutionary for mitigating the threat of compromised data that could lead to breaches.

(It’s no secret that much of the world’s malware and ransomware makes its way to organizations through infected files. See briefly how Zero Trust Content Disarm and Reconstruction (CDR) strips malware from office documents, images, and PDFs to put an end to Zero Day malware. Courtesy of Forcepoint and YouTube.)

• *Forcepoint was also a recognized in the 2021, 2019, and 2018 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards Programs respectively.

 

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Highlighting CISA & NIST’s Efforts Under EO 14028: Standards & Security