Source: Reuters
Summary
The U.S. government and its allies have warned that hackers have been exploiting a newly identified bug in Cisco networking gear worldwide for years. The bug is considered severe and organizations are urged to patch their systems. The warning was issued by the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). The bug affects Cisco’s Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) and Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) software.
Our Reading
The announcement sounds ambitious.
Cisco’s networking gear has a severe bug, because of course it does. The NSA and CISA are warning that hackers have been exploiting it for years, because who needs security anyway? The bug affects ASA and FTD software, which is just another day in the life of a networking vendor. The U.S. government is urging organizations to patch, because that’s what they always say. It’s not like we’ve heard this story before.
Original observation: Cisco’s “severe bug” is just a fancy way of saying “we’ve been hacked for years and didn’t notice”.
Author: Evan Null
Another Day, Another Bug
It’s not like we’re surprised by this news. Networking gear is notoriously vulnerable to hacking, and Cisco is no exception. The fact that hackers have been exploiting this bug for years is just another example of how ineffective our current security measures are.
The Usual Response
The U.S. government is urging organizations to patch their systems, but we all know how that usually goes. Patching is a time-consuming and often difficult process, especially for large organizations with complex networks. And even if they do patch, there’s no guarantee that the bug will be fully fixed.
Business as Usual
Cisco will likely issue a statement apologizing for the bug and promising to do better in the future. But we’ve heard it all before. The company will probably also offer some sort of patch or fix, but it will likely be incomplete or ineffective.
The Real Problem
The real problem here is not the bug itself, but the fact that our entire cybersecurity system is based on reacting to threats rather than preventing them. We need to stop playing catch-up and start focusing on proactive security measures.
Déjà Vu
This whole situation feels like déjà vu. Haven’t we been here before? Haven’t we heard this same story countless times before? It’s time for a change.
