SAP authorization management put to the test at Berliner Wasserbetriebe

SAP Authorization Management put to the test (©Berliner Wasserbetriebe)Berliner Wasserbetriebe, Berlin’s water supply and wastewater disposal company, is a public institution and is therefore subject to special legal requirements. High security standards apply to both business processes and its IT operations. As a consequence, setting up transparent SAP authorization management company-wide to meet all of these requirements was one of the water company’s most critical tasks.

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SAP Security: five ways to make sure you’ll be hacked

Hacker attacks threaten SAP security: All alarmist nonsense?(A guide of the less serious sort.)
Let’s be honest right off the bat: There’s a lot of hype in the media about IT security in general and SAP security in special these days. But is there really anything behind it? Those headlines about millions of data records going missing always affect someone else – whether it’s Equifax across the pond or the big tech companies that have been infiltrated by organized groups of Chinese hackers. It’s all alarmist nonsense!

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SAP Security and Hosting: Hacking 40 SAP Systems in One Fell Swoop

SAP Security and HostingIn spite of the hype surrounding the cloud, the on-premise model in which customers run their own SAP software is still the norm. However, that doesn’t rule out a service provider handling part of the operations; indeed, hosting is a widely used model, particularly among SMEs. While the roles at hand are usually clearly assigned in a hosting model like this, the same unfortunately doesn’t always apply to SAP system security.

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10KBlaze and SAP Security II: Hype & Scaremongering

10KBlaze & SAP Security: Serpenteq(Partner blog post of SERPENTEQ GmbH)
On April 19, 2019, at the OPCDE Cyber Security conference in Dubai, security researchers Dmitry Chastuhin and Mathieu Geli gave a presentation called “SAP gateway to Heaven”. They re-visited two configuration issues (related to SAP Gateway and SAP Message Server) that have been known for many years and for which detailed security guidelines have been available for years. Now the researchers applied some admirably creative thinking to combine them.

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Cut down on critical SAP authorizations without interrupting operations

SAP Authorizations, SAP Security & ComplianceCompanies that operate SAP systems are subject to an annual audit by an auditor. Often, SAP authorizations are also examined. The audits check for separation of duties (SoD) and critical authorizations, in particular where SAP Basis Administration is concerned. Read this blog to learn how you can quickly reduce critical SAP authorizations (auditor findings).

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Study shows SAP systems especially prone to insider attacks

SAST BLOG: Study shows SAP systems especially prone to insider attacksAfter many years working in the field of SAP security, I am still regularly surprised to discover how much Hollywood has contributed to the discussion on cybersecurity. The common perception is that of a hacker sitting at home in front of several screens and using cryptic commands to hack into corporate networks. The recently published “Insider Threat 2018 Report” however, shows that insider attacks represent a much more serious threat. As far as the security of SAP systems is concerned, insider attacks are by far the greater problem. Why that is the case and what the main risks are is the subject of this post. Continue reading

Are you really that attached to your ABAP security flaws, or is it time to say goodbye?

SAST Code Security AdvisorAlmost all companies fine-tune their SAP systems with custom developments, but in doing so, they often expose themselves to severe security flaws. In particular, forgotten code that was only needed for a short time or has since been rendered obsolete by SAP’s own enhancements presents a further avenue for attacks.

AKQUINET’s analyses show that up to 90% of ABAP code is no longer used. Frequently written for one-time situations and neglected ever since, such programming offers an ideal back door for hacking and other forms of manipulation.

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Is WannaCry possible for SAP systems?

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Last year, WannaCry brought some companies to the edge of absolute ruin. While the most common entry vectors are known, companies are still making it much too easy for hackers.

Officially, emails were to blame for the largest-scale cyberattack in recent years. If users clicked on the mail attachment, WannaCry implanted malware into the computers, propagated itself, and encrypted accessible data in the blink of an eye. In an alternative scenario, hackers had infiltrated the manufacturer of a subsystem and built the malware code into a software patch.
While unfamiliar emails can simply be deleted, the deployment of such a patch can undermine the in-house security system with breathtaking speed.

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