LightCyber, a leading provider of Behavioural Attack Detection solutions, today announced that Qualified Service Assessor (QSA) consulting firm, HALOCK Security Labs, has concluded that the LightCyber Magna™ platform meets the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) intrusion detection Requirement 11.4 based on their testing of the product.

Requirement 11.4 calls for “use of network intrusion detection systems and/or intrusion prevention systems to monitor all traffic in the cardholder data environment and alert personnel to suspected compromises.” LightCyber Magna goes well beyond these requirements by providing full visibility into the entire attack lifecycle, rather than just the initial intrusion vector. Magna works by finding the anomalous operational behaviours of malicious insiders and external attackers rather than just finding known threats using attack signatures.

“Traditional security architectures largely fail to uncover active network attackers targeting payment card data,” said Jason Matlof, executive vice president, LightCyber. “Our unique approach to attack detection combined with the recent PCI compliance certification provides PCI regulated entities with a new level of security to turn the tables on would-be attackers, while simultaneously complying with PCI regulations.”

The LightCyber Magna platform uses behavioural profiling to learn what is normal on the network and endpoints, allowing it to detect behavioural anomalies that are indicative of an attack, including both external attackers and internal attackers. These behaviours can be identified early to reduce attacker dwell time and curtail attack activity. Magna presents a small number of actionable alerts with supporting contextual and investigative details to greatly enhance the efficiency of a security operations team in its detection and remediation operations.

“Given that advanced attacks are becoming common, it is imperative to evolve preventative security by adding a way to quickly find attackers that will inevitably get through an organisation’s defences,” said Tod Ferran, Managing Consultant, HALOCK Security Labs. “We tested the LightCyber Magna platform and determined that it not only fulfils PCI DSS Requirement 11.4 but also addresses internal attackers and ones that have managed to bypass perimeter controls.”

A recent LightCyber customer, Arriva Trains, was challenged by their QSA to not only fulfil PCI DSS but to also detect successful network attackers. Their auditor asked, “If you had an attacker on your network, how would you be able to detect it?”

Now, with LightCyber Magna deployed, Arriva Trains has addressed the PCI DSS breach detection requirements, while also achieving high levels of network visibility and giving them the ability to find a potential attacker early before theft or damage occurs. “We picked LightCyber because it could clearly show us what was going on,” explained Paul Stern, IT Network and Security Manager, Arriva Trains.

Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) solutions such as LightCyber Magna are ideally suited for uncovering post-intrusion activity, including internal reconnaissance and lateral movement, that cannot easily be identified through traditional attack signatures. In the Gartner report published on 20 September 2106, Defining Intrusion Detection and Prevention Solutions (G00310148), analysts Craig Lawson, Adam Hils and Claudio Neiva note that "Gartner has seen clients consider other NTA and breach-detection technologies instead of or as something different from IPS. For example, you have already deployed a NGFW and are comfortable with its IPS effectiveness, then subsequently opt for a dedicated NTA prevention instead of a discrete IPS is an option Gartner sees clients pursuing.”