The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), along with international cybersecurity partners, have issued new guidance detailing digital forensics and protective monitoring specifications for network devices and appliances. This collaborative effort aims to strengthen the cybersecurity posture of network operators, IT administrators, and device manufacturers, ensuring that network infrastructure is better equipped to withstand increasing cyber threats from nation-state actors and cybercriminals.
The joint advisory, available on the IC3 website, underscores the critical role that physical and virtual network devices—including routers, firewalls, VPN gateways, and load balancers—play in managing, processing, and securing network traffic. These devices are frequent targets of cyber exploitation due to a combination of insufficient logging capabilities, weak authentication, outdated firmware, and lack of secure-by-design principles. Malicious actors exploit these vulnerabilities to gain persistent access, launch data exfiltration campaigns, or disrupt essential services.
Key Recommendations for Network Defenders
The advisory outlines essential digital forensic and monitoring capabilities that network defenders should consider when selecting new network devices to enhance cybersecurity visibility and incident response. These include:
- Comprehensive Logging and Monitoring: Devices should provide detailed audit logs for authentication, configuration changes, and traffic anomalies. Limited or missing logging capabilities hinder the ability to detect suspicious activity.
- Firmware and Patch Management: Devices should support regular security updates and allow for automated patching to mitigate vulnerabilities before they are exploited.
- Secure Authentication Mechanisms: Multifactor authentication (MFA) and strong access controls should be mandatory to prevent unauthorized access.
- Forensic Data Preservation: Devices should retain historical logs and forensic artifacts to support incident investigations and remediation efforts.
- Threat Intelligence Integration: Devices should be capable of leveraging real-time threat intelligence feeds to proactively block known attack vectors.
Guidance for Manufacturers
Beyond recommendations for network defenders, the advisory encourages device manufacturers to incorporate security-by-design principles. The report urges vendors to establish a baseline of standard security features, ensuring that network appliances are resilient against exploitation from the outset.
Manufacturers are advised to:
- Design products with secure-by-default configurations, minimizing the need for extensive post-deployment hardening.
- Enhance forensic and logging capabilities to facilitate real-time threat detection and forensic investigations.
- Provide long-term firmware support with predictable patching cycles.
Increasing Threats to Network Infrastructure
The need for improved network security comes amid a surge in cyberattacks targeting network infrastructure. Nation-state actors, ransomware groups, and other advanced persistent threats (APTs) are increasingly focusing on compromising network devices to establish footholds in critical infrastructure, government systems, and private sector networks.
Without robust logging, authentication, and forensic capabilities, organizations face delayed detection of breaches, leading to prolonged exposure and significant operational risks. The FBI, CISA, and NCSC’s guidance aims to reduce the attack surface and enhance incident response capabilities, ultimately making network devices more resilient to cyber threats.
Read the full guide here.
