Operation Aurora: Ciphent Offers Solution to Protect US Organizations

Baltimore, MD, January 21, 2010 --(PR.com)-- Ciphent, Inc. has taken immediate action in response to the recent “Operation Aurora” attack that threatens the US government and her corporations. The attack, which was called by Google “not an assault on cloud computing… but an attack on the technology infrastructure of major corporations in sectors as diverse as finance, media, technology, and chemical,” has already struck a blow against many US corporations. In order to combat Operation Aurora, Ciphent has released the Ciphent Advanced Persistent Threat Assessment, a specially tailored response package designed to identify key vulnerabilities, infected systems, remediate risk, clean and quarantine malicious code and provide strategic consultation to protect against the newly spreading Advanced Persistent Threat (APT).

“These attacks are some of the most elaborate and sophisticated attacks the cyber security community has ever faced,” said James C. Foster, Ciphent CEO. “The main goals of this attack are to steal intellectual property, gain footholds, and provide intel that could paralyze United States corporations and organizations in the near future. In response, our experts have put together the Ciphent Advanced Persistent Threat Assessment offering to provide immediate critical vulnerability remediation and perimeter hardening to protect against these new breed of APT’s such as Operation Aurora.” Foster goes on to say “We are committed to providing continued protection from emerging cyber threats such as Operation Aurora. Our mission will always be to protect the United States, her corporations, allies and citizens from malicious cyber attack.”

At its core, Operation Aurora is a targeted malicious attack that exposes a zero-day vulnerability in Microsoft Internet Explorer, amongst others. The Internet Explorer vulnerability forces the user to one of many seemingly innocent websites, which then proceeds to download and activate malicious malware within the computer and connect to a remote server. This entire attack happens behind the scenes and is very difficult to identify and remediate. This, in turn, puts core intellectual property at risk. Ciphent solutions, such as the tailored response package and longer term strategic security offerings help organizations reduce risk from Operation Aurora and long term threats from on-going cyber attacks.

The extent of Operation Aurora, which appears to have originated out of China, is still being researched. It is recommended that Microsoft Internet Explorer users use Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome until Microsoft releases a fix or perimeter protections are assessed and secured.

About Ciphent, Inc.
Ciphent, Inc. is dedicated to providing world-class Cyber Security Solutions to commercial, Federal and Global organizations. Our clients include 43 of the Fortune 100, the Top 3 Banks, the Top 2 Retailers, the Top 3 Telecommunications companies, Over 20 Federal Agencies and hundreds of growing business in the Mid-Market. Ciphent’s breadth of services include enterprise security consulting and training, managed services, field R&D, and technology implementation. The Ciphent team is comprised of true experts in the industry and has published over a dozen books on security and has presented at every major conference. In 2009, Ciphent was featured on NBC as one of the Top 5 Cyber Security Firms. Ciphent is headquartered in Fort Meade, MD and has field teams in 13 states. The Ciphent mission is to ensure the cyber security of the United States, her allies, corporations, and citizens.

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