Paramount Defenses Delays Declassification of Critical Cyber Security Risk in Light of Potential Threats to Major Media Outlets from the Syrian Electronic Army

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., Sept. 4, 2013 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- Paramount Defenses Inc, one amongst a few innovative cyber security companies announced today that, out of an abundance of caution, it has decided to delay the declassification of a critical cyber security risk that numerous organizations worldwide may potentially be exposed to, in light of potential threats to major media outlets from the Syrian Electronic Army.

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Paramount Defenses, founded and led by a former Microsoft security expert, develops and delivers mission-critical cyber security reconnaissance and privileged access assessment solutions that are powered by innovative, patented technology. Its unique solutions are deployed in 5 continents worldwide, and its customers include several of the world most prominent business and government organizations, including Microsoft, IBM, Google, the United States Government, the British Government and others.

The company was scheduled to declassify a critical cyber security risk that it believes potentially impacts most organizations worldwide, on September 02, 2013, but decided to postpone its declassification by a few days out of an abundance of caution, in light of recent cyber security attacks by the Syrian Electronic Army, which last week claimed to have successfully attacked major U.S. and British media outlets, and earlier this week claimed to have successfully hacked another prominent website related to the U.S. Marines.

This cyber security risk that it was scheduled to declassify is one that could potentially enable an insider, or a malicious outsider who is able to gain control of a host on the inside, to gain unrestricted administrative access in organizational IT environments and subsequently access, divulge, tamper or destroy almost any organizational IT asset of choice, such as confidential information or classified data, residing on desktops, laptops, file servers, databases, Web servers and application servers.

Insider threats, such as the security incident wherein NSA Contractor Edward Snowden leaked secrets, are often one of the most damaging threats because they allow insiders to quickly obtain and divulge vast amounts of confidential data, the disclosure of which could seriously impact organizational security, continuity and reputation, as well as impact related stakeholders, such as customers, employees, partners and shareholders.

This cyber security risk is one that the several major media outlets worldwide may also be exposed to, and in order to minimize even the slightest possibility of the Syrian Electronic Army or other malicious entities, such as advanced persistent threats, misusing any such information to carry out more damaging cyber attacks on media outlets, particularly while Washington mulls military action in Syria this week, out of an abundance of caution, the company decided to postpone the declassification date until next week. 

This risk will now be declassified on September 12, 2013, at the Active Directory Security blog.

This risk stems from vulnerabilities that arise as a result of the challenges that organizations face in maintaining least privileged access (LPA) to IT resources in their IT environments, particularly elevated and privileged administrative access in IT environments. This risk is similar to the risk posed by the malicious use of advanced security techniques such as Pass-the-Hash, but it is considerably easier for a malicious entity to enact, compared to similar risks, thus making it a critical cyber security risk that many organizations may be vulnerable to, including major media outlets.

Media outlets that wish to obtain details about this critical cyber security risk prior to its declassification can request additional details from Paramount Defenses.

ABOUT PARAMOUNT DEFENSES INC

Paramount Defenses Inc is an innovative, privately-held, U.S. Cyber Security Software Company that develops mission-critical security solutions to address paramount global Cyber Security needs.

Media Contact:Jacqueline Williams, Paramount Defenses Inc, 949-468-5770, jwilliams@paramountdefenses.com

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SOURCE Paramount Defenses Inc.