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.
Real-time monitoring
Rethinking real-time monitoring for IT security with the Internet of Things
The Internet of Things (IoT) is both a blessing and a curse: While it offers tremendous potential benefits, it also fosters uncertainty when it comes to protecting these complex connections against unauthorized access. After all, as more things get connected to the Internet, the risk of hacker attacks also increases.
SAP Security: five ways to make sure you’ll be hacked
(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
In 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.
10KBlaze and SAP Security II: Hype & Scaremongering
(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.
10KBLAZE and SAP Security I: All Quiet on the Western Front
Since May 2, 2019, the market for SAP security has known only one topic: the 10KBLAZE exploit toolkit, which has even prompted a warning from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Upon closer examination, however, it quickly becomes apparent that there’s not much news to report.
Cut down on critical SAP authorizations without interrupting operations
Companies 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).
Study shows SAP systems especially prone to insider attacks
After 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?
Almost 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.
Is WannaCry possible for SAP systems?
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.