In the ever-evolving landscape of cybersecurity, organizations face an ongoing battle against threats and attacks. One innovative solution that has gained prominence is the use of digital tripwires. These act as early warning systems, alerting security teams to potential breaches and unauthorized access.
What Are Managed Canaries?
Managed Canaries are strategically placed decoys within an organization’s network or systems. Designed to mimic real data, such as files, usernames, or passwords, these tokens serve as bait for attackers. When accessed, they trigger alerts, allowing security teams to respond swiftly.
Managed Canary comes in various forms, each tailored to specific use cases:
- Hardware Canaries: Mimic a real system or virtual machine.
- Web Bug / URL Token: Alerts when a URL is visited.
- DNS Token: Alerts when a hostname is requested.
- AWS Keys: Alerts when an AWS key is used.
- Azure Login Certificate: Alerts when used for login.
Managed Canary in Action
When an unauthorized user interacts with a Managed Canary Token, real-time alerts are generated. These alerts are processed by our Managed Extended Detection and Response (MXDR) enrichment engine, allowing correlations with other alert sources. Each type of token is designed for a specific use case, providing flexibility and robust coverage across different network environments. The result? A high-priority security case delivered to the analyst portal.
By deploying Managed Canary Tokens as part of your NCC Group MXDR strategy, you can benefit from:
- Early Detection: We can detect breaches at the inception of an attack chain, minimizing potential damage.
- 24/7 Monitoring: Our Security Operations Center (SOC) continuously monitors Managed Canary alerts.
- Correlation with Other Platforms: The integration with our MXDR components such as SIEM, EDR, and NDR enhances your overall security.
- Insight into attacker behaviour: Managed Canaries offer insight into how attackers work. This knowledge can be used to finetune your security posture.
Think Managed Canary Tokens…Think NCC Group.
With NCC Group MXDR we provide continuous development for leveraging Managed Canary in tandem with existing MXDR services. Plus, we have over 20 years of experience with Incident Response cases resulting from Managed Canary. Managed Canary offers a comprehensive solution for real-time threat detection and network security – they are not meant to replace security systems but rather complement them, creating defence in depth.
Managed Canary serves as a silent guard, watching over your network and sounding the alarm when danger approaches. Implementing them is a proactive step toward safeguarding your digital assets.
In the world of cybersecurity, a Managed Canary Token might just be the canary in the coal mine—alerting you to unseen threats before they wreak havoc.
Floris Dankaart serves as the Product Manager for Managed eXtended Detection and Response (MXDR) with Splunk and the Managed Canary service. With a strong background in IT control and software development, Floris leverages his expertise to bridge the gap between technical capabilities and strategic opportunities to strengthen clients’ cybersecurity posture.