The PCI Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) is a global forum that connects stakeholders from the payments and payment processing industries to craft and facilitate adoption of data security standards and relevant resources that enable safe payments worldwide.

According to the PCI SSC website, “PCI Security Standards are developed specifically to protect payment account data throughout the payment lifecycle and to enable technology solutions that devalue this data and remove the incentive for criminals to steal it. They include standards for merchants, service providers, and financial institutions on security practices, technologies and processes, and standards for developers and vendors for creating secure payment products and solutions.”

Perhaps the most recognizable standard from PCI, their Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), is a global standard that provides a baseline of technical and operational requirements designed to protect account data. In March 2022, PCI SSC published version v4.0 of the standard, which replaces version v3.2.1. The updated version addresses emerging threats and technologies and enables innovative methods to combat new threats. This post will cover the changes to the standard that came with version 4.0 along with a high-level overview of how Rapid7 helps teams ensure their cloud-based applications can effectively implement and enforce compliance.

What’s New With Version 4.0, and Why Is It Important Now?

So, why are we talking about the new standard nearly two years after it was published? That’s because when the standard was published there was a two year transition period for organizations to adopt the new version and implement required changes that came with v4.0. During this transition period, organizations were given the option to assess against either PCI DSS v4.0 or PCI DSS v3.2.1.

For those that haven’t yet made the jump, the time is now This is because the transition period concluded on March 31, 2024, at which time version 3.2.1 was retired and organizations seeking PCI DSS certification will need to adhere to the new requirements and best practices. Important to note, there are some requirements that have been “future-dated.” For those requirements, organizations have been granted another full year, with those updates being required by March 31, 2025.

The changes were driven by direct feedback from organizations across the global payments industry. According to PCI, more than 200 organizations provided feedback to ensure the standard continues to meet the complex, ever-changing landscape of payment security.

Key changes for this version update include:

Flexibility in How Teams Achieve Compliance / Customized Approach

A primary goal for PCI DSS v4.0 was to provide greater flexibility for organizations in how they can achieve their security objectives. PCI DSS v4.0 introduces a new method – known as the Customized Approach – by which organizations can implement and validate PCI DSS controls Previously, organizations had the option of implementing Compensating controls, however these are only applicable when a situation arises whereby there is a constraint – such as legacy systems or processes – impacting the ability to meet a requirement.

PCI DSS v4.0 now provides organizations the means to choose to meet a requirement leveraging other means than the stated requirement. Requirement 12.3.2 and Appendices D and E outline the customized approach and how to apply it. To support customers, Rapid7’s new PCI DSS v4.0 compliance pack provides a greater number of insights than in previous iterations. This should lead to increased visibility and refinement in the process of  choosing to mitigate and manage requirements.

A Targeted Approach to Risk Management

Alongside the customized approach concept, one of the most significant updates  is the introduction of targeted risk analysis (TRA). TRAallows organizations to assess and respond to risks in the context of an organization's specific operational environment. The PCI council has published guidance “PCI DSS v4 x: Targeted Risk Analysis Guidance” that outlines the two types of TRAs that an entity can employ regarding frequency of performing a given control and the second addressing any PCI DSS requirement for when an entity utilizes a customized approach.

To assist in understanding and having a consolidated view of security risks in their cloud environments, Rapid7 customers can leverage InsightCloudSec Layered Context and the recently introduced Risk Score feature. This feature combines a variety of risk signals, assigning a higher risk score to resources that suffer from toxic combinations or multiple risk vectors.Risk score holistically analyzes the risks that compound and increase the likelihood or impact of compromise.

Enhanced Validation Methods & Procedures

PCI DSS v4.0 has provided improvements to the self-assessment (SAQ) document and to the Report on Compliance (RoC) template, increasing alignment between them and the information summarized in an Attestation of Compliance to support organizations in their efforts when self-attesting or working with assessors to increase transparency and granularity.

New Requirements

PCI DSS v4.0 has brought with it a range of new requirements to address emerging threats. With modernization of network security controls, explicit guidance on cardholder data protections, and process maturity, the standard focuses on establishing sustainable controls and governance. While there are quite a few updates - which you can find detailed here on the summary of changes - let’s highlight a few of particular importance:

• Multifactor authentication is now required for all access into the Cardholder Data Environment (CDE) - req. 8.5.1
• Encryption of sensitive authentication data (SAD) - req. 3.3.3
• New password requirements and updated specific password strength requirements: Passwords must now consist of 12 characters with special characters, uppercase and lowercase - reqs. 8.3.6 and 8.6.3
• Access roles and privileges are based on least privilege access (LPA), and system components operate using deny by default - req. 7.2.5
• Audit log reviews are performed using automated mechanisms - req. 10.4.1.1

These controls place role-based access control, configuration management, risk analysis and continuous monitoring as foundations, assisting organizations to mature and achieve their security objectives. Rapid7 can help  with implementing and enforcing these new controls, with a host of solutions that offer PCI-related support – all of which have been updated to align with these new requirements.

How Rapid7 Supports Customers to Attain PCI DSS v4.0 Compliance

InsightCloudSec allows security teams to establish, continuously measure, and illustrate compliance against organizational policies. This is accomplished via compliance packs, which are sets of checks that can be used to continuously assess your entire cloud environment - whether single or multi-cloud. The platform comes out of the box with dozens of compliance packs, including a dedicated pack for the PCI DSS v4.0.

InsightCloudSec assesses your cloud environments in real-time for compliance with the requirements and best practices outlined by PCI It also enables teams to identify, assess, and act on noncompliant resources when misconfigurations are detected. If you so choose, you can make use of the platform’s native, no-code automation to remediate the issue the moment it's detected, whether that means alerting relevant resource owners, adjusting the configuration or permissions directly or even deleting the non-compliant resource altogether without any human intervention. Check out the demo to learn more about how InsightCloudSec helps continuously and automatically enforce cloud security standards.

InsightAppSec also enables measurement against PCI v4.0 requirements to help you obtain PCI compliance. It allows users to create a PCI v4.0 report to help prepare for an audit, assessment or a questionnaire around PCI compliance. The PCI report gives you the ability to uncover potential issues that will affect the outcome or any of these exercises. Crucially, the report allows you to take action and secure critical vulnerabilities on any assets that deal with payment card data. PCI compliance auditing comes out of the box and is simple to generate once you have completed a scan against which to run the report.

InsightAppSec achieves this coverage by cross referencing and then mapping our suite of 100+ attack modules against PCI requirements, identifying which attacks are relevant to particular requirements and then attempting to exploit your application with those attacks to obtain areas where your application may be vulnerable. Those vulnerabilities are then packaged up in the PCI 4.0 report where you can see vulnerabilities listed by PCI requirements This provides you with crucial insights into any vulnerabilities you may have as well as enabling  management of those vulnerabilities in a simplistic format.

For InsightVM customers, an important change in the revision is the need to perform authenticated internal vulnerability scans for requirement 11.3.1.2. Previous versions of the standard allowed for internal scanning without the use of credentials, which is no longer sufficient. For more details see this blog post.

Rapid7 provides a wide array of solutions to assist you in your compliance and governance efforts. Contact a member of our team to learn more about any of these capabilities or sign up for a free trial.

We kicked off 2024 with a continued focus on bringing security professionals (which if you're reading this blog, is likely you!) the tools and functionality needed to anticipate risks, pinpoint threats, and respond faster with confidence. Below we’ve highlighted some key releases and updates from this past quarter across Rapid7 products and services—including InsightCloudSec, InsightVM, InsightIDR, Rapid7 Labs, and our managed services.

Anticipate Imminent Threats Across Your Environment

Monitor, remediate, and takedown threats with Managed Digital Risk Protection (DRP)

Rapid7’s new Managed Digital Risk Protection (DRP) service provides expert monitoring and remediation of external threats across the clear, deep, and dark web to prevent attacks earlier.

Now available in our highest tier of Managed Threat Complete and as an add on for all other Managed D&R customers, Managed DRP extends your team with Rapid7 security experts to:

• Identify the first signs of a cyber threat to prevent a breach
• Rapidly remediate and takedown threats to minimize exposure
• Protect against ransomware data leakage, phishing, credential leakage, data leakage, and provide dark web monitoring

Read more about the benefits of Managed DRP in our blog here.

Ensure safe AI development in the cloud with Rapid7 AI/ML Security Best Practices

We’ve recently expanded InsightCloudSec’s support for GenAI development and training services (including AWS Bedrock, Azure OpenAI Service and GCP Vertex) to provide more coverage so teams can effectively identify, assess, and quickly act to resolve risks related to AI/ML development.

This expanded generative AI coverage enriches our proprietary compliance pack, Rapid7 AI/ML Security Best Practices, which continuously assesses your environment through event-driven harvesting to ensure your team is safely developing with AI in a manner that won’t leave you exposed to common risks like data leakage, model poisoning, and more.

As with all critical resources connected to your InsightCloudSec environment, these risks are enriched with Layered Context to automatically prioritize AI/ML risk based on exploitability and potential impact. They’re also continuously monitored for effective permissions and actual usage to rightsize permissions to ensure alignment with LPA. In addition to this extensive visibility, InsightCloudSec offers native automation to alert on and even remediate risk across your environment without the need for human intervention.

Stay ahead of emerging threats with insights and guidance from Rapid7 Labs

In the first quarter of this year, Rapid7 initiated the Emergent Threat Response (ETR) process for 12 different threats, including (but not limited to):

• Zero-day exploitation of Ivanti Connect Secure and Ivanti Pulse Secure gateways, the former of which has historically been targeted by both financially motivated and state-sponsored threat actors in addition to low-skilled attackers.
• Critical CVEs affecting outdated versions of Atlassian Confluence and VMware vCenter Server, both widely deployed products in corporate environments that have been high-value targets for adversaries, including in large-scale ransomware campaigns.
• High-risk authentication bypass and remote code execution vulnerabilities in ConnectWise ScreenConnect, widely used software with potential for large-scale ransomware attacks, providing coverage before CVE identifiers were assigned.
• Two authentication bypass vulnerabilities in JetBrains TeamCity CI/CD server that were discovered by Rapid7’s research team.

Rapid7’s ETR program is a cross-team effort to deliver fast, expert analysis alongside first-rate security content for the highest-priority security threats to help you understand any potential exposure and act quickly to defend your network. Keep up with future ETRs on our blog here.

Pinpoint Critical and Actionable Insights to Effectively and Confidently Respond

Introducing the newest tier of Managed Threat Complete

Since we released Managed Threat Complete last year, organizations all over the globe have unified their vulnerability management programs with their threat detection and response programs. Now, teams have a unified view into the full kill chain and a tailored service to turbocharge their program, mitigate the most pressing risks and eliminate threats.

Managed Threat Complete Ultimate goes beyond our previously available Managed Threat Complete bundles to include:

• Managed Digital Risk Protection for monitoring and remediation of threats across the clear, deep, and dark web
• Managed Vulnerability Management for clarity guidance to remediate the highest priority risk
• Velociraptor, Rapid7’s leading open-source DFIR framework, from monitoring and hunting to in-depth investigations into potential threats, access the tool that is leveraged by our Incident Response experts on behalf of our managed customers
• Ransomware Prevention for recognizing threats and stopping attacks before they happen with multi-layered prevention (coming soon - stay tuned)

Get to the data you need faster with new Log Search and Investigation features in InsightIDR

Our latest enhancements to Log Search and Investigations will help drive efficiency for your team and give you time back in your day-to-day—and when you really need it in the heat of an incident. Faster search times, easier-to-write queries, and intuitive recommendations will help you find event trends within your data and save you time without sacrificing results.

• Triage investigations faster with log data readily accessible from the investigations timeline - with a click of the new “view log entry” button you’ll instantly see the context and log data behind an associated alert.
• Create precise queries quickly with new automatic suggestions - as you type in Log Search, the query bar will automatically suggest the elements of LEQL that you can use in your query to get to the data you need—like users, IP addresses, and processes—faster.
• Save time sifting through search results with new LEQL ‘select’ clause - define exactly what keys to return in the search results so you can quickly answer questions from log data and avoid superfluous information.

Easily view vital cloud alert context with Simplified Cloud Threat Alerts

This quarter we launched Simplified Cloud Threat Alerts within InsightIDR to make it easier to quickly understand what a cloud alert - like those from AWS GuardDuty - means, which can be a daunting task for even the most experienced analysts due to the scale and complexity of cloud environments.

With this new feature, you can view details and known issues with the resources (e.g. assets, users, etc.) implicated in the alert and have clarity on the steps that should be taken to appropriately respond to the alert. This will help you:

• Quickly understand what a given cloud resource is, its intended purpose, what applications it supports and who “owns” it.
• Get a clear picture around what an alert means, what next steps to take to verify the alert, or how to respond if the alert is in fact malicious.
• Prioritize response efforts based on potential impact with insight into whether or not the compromised resource is misconfigured, has active vulnerabilities, or has been recently updated in a manner that signals potential pre-attack reconnaissance.

A growing library of actionable detections in InsightIDR

In Q1 2024 we added 1,349 new detection rules. See them in-product or visit the Detection Library for descriptions and recommendations.

Stay tuned!

As always, we’re continuing to work on exciting product enhancements and releases throughout the year. Keep an eye on our blog and release notes as we continue to highlight the latest in product and service investments at Rapid7.

Imagine the following scenario: You're about to enjoy a strategic duel on chess.com or dive into an intense battle in Fortnite, but as you log in, you find your hard-earned achievements, ranks, and reputation have vanished into thin air. This is not just a hypothetical scenario but a real possibility in today's cloud gaming landscape, where a single security breach can undo years of dedication and achievement.

Cloud gaming, powered by giants like AWS, is transforming the gaming industry, offering unparalleled accessibility and dynamic gaming experiences. Yet, with this technological leap forward comes an increase in cyber threats. The gaming world has already witnessed significant security breaches, such as the GTA5 code theft and Activision's consistent data challenges, highlighting the lurking dangers in this digital arena.

In such a scenario, securing cloud-based games isn't just an additional feature; it's an absolute necessity. As we examine the intricate world of cloud gaming, the role of comprehensive security solutions becomes increasingly vital. In the subsequent sections, we will explore how Rapid7's InsightCloudSec can be instrumental in securing cloud infrastructure and CI/CD processes in game development, thereby safeguarding the integrity and continuity of our virtual gaming experiences.

Challenges in Cloud-Based Game Development

Picture this: You're a game developer, immersed in creating the next big title in cloud gaming. Your team is buzzing with creativity, coding, and testing. But then, out of the blue, you're hit by a cyberattack, much like the one that rocked CD Projekt Red in 2021. Imagine the chaos – months of hard work (e.g. Cyberpunk 2077 or The Witcher 3) locked up by ransomware, with all sorts of confidential data floating in the wrong hands. This scenario is far from fiction in today's digital gaming landscape.

What Does This Kind of Attack Really Mean for a Game Development Team?

The Network Weak Spot: It's like leaving the back door open while you focus on the front; hackers can sneak in through network gaps we never knew existed. That's what might have happened with CD Projekt Red. A more fortified network could have been their digital moat.

When Data Gets Held Hostage: It's one thing to secure your castle, but what about safeguarding the treasures inside? The CD Projekt Red incident showed us how vital it is to keep our game codes and internal documents under lock and key, digitally speaking.

A Safety Net Missing: Imagine if CD Projekt Red had a robust backup system. Even after the attack, they could have bounced back quicker, minimizing the damage. It's like having a safety net when you're walking a tightrope. You hope you won't need it, but you'll be glad it's there if you do.

This is where a solution like Rapid7's InsightCloudSec comes into play. It's not just about building higher walls; it's about smarter, more responsive defense systems. Think of it as having a digital watchdog that's always on guard, sniffing out threats, and barking alarms at the first sign of trouble.

With tools that watch over your cloud infrastructure, monitor every digital move in real time, and keep your compliance game strong, you're not just creating games; you're also playing the ultimate game of digital security – and winning.

Navigating Cloud Security in Game Development: An Artful Approach

In the realm of cloud-based game development, mastering AWS services' security nuances transcends mere technical skill – it's akin to painting a masterpiece. Let's embark on a journey through the essential AWS services like EC2, S3, Lambda, CloudFront, and RDS, with a keen focus on their security features – our guardians in the digital expanse.

Consider Amazon EC2 as the infrastructure's backbone, hosting the very servers that breathe life into games. Here, Security Groups act as discerning gatekeepers, meticulously managing who gets in and out. They're not just gatekeepers but wise ones, remembering allowed visitors and ensuring a seamless yet secure flow of traffic.

Amazon S3 stands as our digital vault, safeguarding data with precision-crafted bucket policies. These policies aren't just rules; they're declarations of trust, dictating who can glimpse or alter the stored treasures. History is littered with tales of those who faltered, so precision here is paramount.

Lambda functions emerge as the silent virtuosos of serverless architecture, empowering game backends with their scalable might. Yet, their power is wielded judiciously, guided by the principle of least privilege through meticulously assigned roles and permissions, minimizing the shadow of vulnerability.

Amazon CloudFront, our swift courier, ensures game content flies across the globe securely and at breakneck speed. Coupled with AWS Shield (Advanced), it stands as a bulwark against DDoS onslaughts, guaranteeing that game delivery remains both rapid and impregnable.

Amazon RDS, the fortress for player data, automates the mundane yet crucial tasks – backups, patches, scaling – freeing developers to craft experiences. It whispers secrets only to those meant to hear, guarding data with robust encryption, both at rest and in transit.

Visibility and vigilance form the bedrock of our security ethos. With tools like AWS CloudTrail and CloudWatch, our gaze extends across every corner of our domain, ever watchful for anomalies, ready to act with precision and alacrity.

Encryption serves as our silent sentinel, a protective veil over data, whether nestled in S3's embrace or traversing the vastness to and from EC2 and RDS. It's our unwavering shield against the curious and the malevolent alike.

In weaving the security measures of these AWS services into the fabric of game development, we engage not in mere procedure but in the creation of a secure tapestry that envelops every facet of the development journey. In the vibrant, ever-evolving landscape of game creation, fortifying our cloud infrastructure with a security-first mindset is not just a technical endeavor – it's a strategic masterpiece, ensuring our games are not only a source of joy but bastions of privacy and security in the cloud.

Automated Cloud Security with InsightCloudSec

When it comes to deploying a game in the cloud, understanding and implementing automated security is paramount. This is where Rapid7's InsightCloudSec takes center stage, revolutionizing how game developers secure their cloud environments with a focus on automation and real-time monitoring.

Data Harvesting Strategies

InsightCloudSec differentiates itself through its innovative approach to data collection and analysis, employing two primary methods: API harvesting and Event Driven Harvesting (EDH). Initially, InsightCloudSec utilizes the API method, where it directly calls cloud provider APIs to gather essential platform information. This process enables InsightCloudSec to populate its platform with critical data, which is then unified into a cohesive dataset. For example, disparate storage solutions from AWS, Azure, and GCP are consolidated under a generic "Storage" category, while compute instances are unified as "Instances." This normalization allows for the creation of universal compliance packs that can be applied across multiple cloud environments, enhancing the platform's efficiency and coverage.

However, the real game-changer is Rapid7's implementation of EDH. Unlike the traditional API pull method, EDH leverages serverless functions within the customer's cloud environment to ingest security event data and configuration changes in real-time. This data is then pushed to the InsightCloudSec platform, significantly reducing costs and increasing the speed of data acquisition. For AWS environments, this means event information can be updated in near real-time, within 60 seconds, and within 2-3 minutes for Azure and GCP. This rapid update capability is a stark contrast to the hourly or daily updates provided by other cloud security platforms, setting InsightCloudSec apart as a leader in real-time cloud security monitoring.

Automated Remediation with InsightCloudSec Bots

The integration of near-to-real-time event information through Event Driven Harvesting (EDH) with InsightCloudSec's advanced bot automation features equips developers with a formidable toolset for safeguarding cloud environments. This unique combination not only flags vulnerable configurations but also facilitates automatic remediation within minutes, a critical capability for maintaining a pristine cloud ecosystem. InsightCloudSec's bots go beyond mere detection; they proactively manage misconfigurations and vulnerabilities across virtual machines and containers, ensuring the cloud space is both secure and compliant.

The versatility of these bots is remarkable. Developers have the flexibility to define the scope of the bot's actions, allowing changes to be applied across one or multiple accounts. This granular control ensures that automated security measures are aligned with the specific needs and architecture of the cloud environment.

Moreover, the timing of these interventions can be finely tuned. Whether responding to a set schedule or reacting to specific events – such as the creation, modification, or deletion of resources – the bots are adept at addressing security concerns at the most opportune moments. This responsiveness is especially beneficial in dynamic cloud environments where changes are frequent and the security landscape is constantly evolving.

The actions undertaken by InsightCloudSec's bots are diverse and impactful. According to the extensive list of sample bots provided by Rapid7, these automated guardians can, for example:

• Automatically tag resources lacking proper identification, ensuring that all elements within the cloud are categorized and easily manageable
• Enforce compliance by identifying and rectifying resources that do not adhere to established security policies, such as unencrypted databases or improperly configured networks
• Remediate exposed resources by adjusting security group settings to prevent unauthorized access, a crucial step in safeguarding sensitive data
• Monitor and manage excessive permissions, scaling back unnecessary access rights to adhere to the principle of least privilege, thereby reducing the risk of internal and external threats
• And much more…

This automation, powered by InsightCloudSec, transforms cloud security from a reactive task to a proactive, streamlined process.

By harnessing the power of EDH for real-time data harvesting and leveraging the sophisticated capabilities of bots for immediate action, developers can ensure that their cloud environments are not just reactively protected but are also preemptively fortified against potential vulnerabilities and misconfigurations. This shift towards automated, intelligent cloud security management empowers developers to focus on innovation and development, confident in the knowledge that their infrastructure is secure, compliant, and optimized for the challenges of modern cloud computing.

Infrastructure as Code (IaC) Enhanced: Introducing InsightCloudSec's mimICS tool

In the dynamic arena of cloud security, particularly in the bustling sphere of game development, the wisdom of "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" holds unprecedented significance. This is where the role of Infrastructure as Code (IaC) becomes pivotal, and Rapid7's innovative tool, mimInsightCloudSec, elevates this approach to new heights.

mimInsightCloudSec, a cutting-edge component of the InsightCloudSec platform, is specifically designed to integrate seamlessly into any development pipeline, whether you prefer working with executable binaries or thrive in a containerized ecosystem. Its versatility allows it to be a perfect fit for various deployment strategies, making it an indispensable tool for developers aiming to embed security directly into their infrastructure deployment process.

The primary goal of mimInsightCloudSec is to identify vulnerabilities before the infrastructure is even created, thus embodying the proactive stance on security. This foresight is crucial in the realm of game development, where the stakes are high, and the digital landscape is constantly shifting. By catching vulnerabilities at this nascent stage, developers can ensure that their games are built on a foundation of security, devoid of the common pitfalls that could jeopardize their work in the future.

Upon completion of its analysis, mimInsightCloudSec presents its findings in a variety of formats suitable for any team's needs, including HTML, SARIF, and XML. This flexibility ensures that the results are not just comprehensive but also accessible, allowing teams to swiftly understand and address any identified issues. Moreover, these results are pushed to the InsightCloudSec platform, where they contribute to a broader overview of the security posture, offering actionable insights into potential misconfigurations.

But the capabilities of the InsightCloudSec platform extend even further. Within this sophisticated environment, developers can craft custom configurations, tailoring the security checks to fit the unique requirements of their projects. This feature is particularly valuable for teams looking to go beyond standard security measures, aiming instead for a level of infrastructure hardening that is both rigorous and bespoke. These custom configurations empower developers to establish a static level of security that is robust, nuanced, and perfectly aligned with the specific needs of their game-development projects.

By leveraging mimInsightCloudSec within the InsightCloudSec ecosystem, game developers not only can anticipate and mitigate vulnerabilities before they manifest but also refine their cloud infrastructure with precision-tailored security measures. This proactive and customized approach ensures that the gaming experiences they craft are not only immersive and engaging but also built on a secure, resilient digital foundation.

In summary, Rapid7's InsightCloudSec offers a comprehensive and automated approach to cloud security, crucial for the dynamic environment of game development. By leveraging both API harvesting and innovative Event Driven Harvesting – along with robust support for Infrastructure as Code – InsightCloudSec ensures that game developers can focus on what they do best: creating engaging and immersive gaming experiences with the knowledge that their cloud infrastructure is secure, compliant, and optimized for performance.

In a forthcoming blog post, we'll explore the unique security challenges that arise when operating a game in the cloud. We’ll also demonstrate how InsightCloudSec can offer automated solutions to effortlessly maintain a robust security posture.