HOW CAN
ORGANISATIONS
INVESTING IN
BLOCKCHAIN
SOLUTIONS PREPARE
THEIR SECURITY
TEAM FOR THE
IMPACT OF THE
TECHNOLOGY?
G
lobally,
businesses are
expected to invest
US$3.1 billion
in Blockchain
solutions in
2018 – more than
double the figure from the previous year.
If these predictions are correct, RSA
Security warns that security teams could
be left blind to cyberattack. According
to RSA, many traditional security
information and event management
(SIEM) tools are unable to baseline the
‘new normal’ behaviours associated with
Blockchain and could allow hackers to
gain entry to corporate networks.
“Opinions are mixed on whether
Blockchain is a flash in the pan, or the
next major disruptor. However, there
is evidence – particularly in financial
services – that Blockchain adoption is
gaining momentum. If this is the case,
then organisations need to be prepared
for the impact this could have on their
security operations teams,” said Azeem
Aleem, Global Director – Worldwide
Advanced Cyber Defence Practice.
“As with any new technology, hackers
will look for vulnerabilities in how
businesses implement Blockchain, if
not natively within technology itself.
Any disruption or security breach due
to a Blockchain vulnerability could
have a serious impact on operations.
Organisations must take a business-
driven approach to this new risk, so that
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Issue 05
of Blockchain nodes to be attacked,”
Aleem continued. “Security teams must
quickly understand the new ‘normal’ in
their IT environment to detect suspicious
behaviour faster. But this can be an
extremely arduous process using
traditional, log-based SIEM tools. Without
proper configuration when feeding this
new data into the SIEM, the result is
often a flood of false positives that leave
security analysts fire-fighting, while
hackers slip by in the confusion.”
advancement in one respect does not
create risks elsewhere that could hinder
long-term progress.”
Blockchain technology creates a
challenge for Security Operation
Centres (SOC), as it represents
uncharted territory.
“Emerging technologies broaden the
IT landscape and can create security
blind spots. For example, researchers
recently found a security vulnerability
in the Blockchain and smart contracts
platform EOS that could allow thousands
In order to overcome this challenge,
RSA recommends that businesses
take security into account from the
very early stages of any Blockchain
implementation, while also taking
advantage of developments in
behavioural analytics and Artificial
Intelligence to support the secure
adoption of new technologies.
“Security cannot be an afterthought or
a roadblock to innovation. Organisations
do not have time to wait for older
systems to catch up. This is why
businesses need a new, evolved SIEM;
one that can help security analysts
understand the new normal, faster, if
they want to implement Blockchain
safely,” Aleem said.
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