May The 4th Be With You (or What We Can Learn About Cyber Security From Star Wars)

Greetings, fellow Star Wars fans! Cyber security is an important issue that affects everyone, even those living in a galaxy far, far away. So, given that it’s May 4th, or “Star Wars Day”, let's explore three key cyber security lessons we can learn from the Star Wars universe!

Lesson 1: Check Your Access Controls

There are many common themes throughout the Star Wars universe of movies and shows, but one that comes up frequently is the situation where a helpful droid connects to a network to help out our heroes. Often after plugging into a wall, the droids are almost magically able to open and close doors as well as turn shields off, allowing Jedi and other good guys to save the day.

If the Galactic Empire used better access control methods, the droids would ideally have never been able to plug in in the first place, and the computer systems should not have responded to an unknown entity, much less one without proper authentication measures. Think about how much shorter the Star Wars movies would be if R2-D2 and his robot brethren weren’t able to lower enemy shields or open doors for our heroes!

Having proper access controls means that your organization provides as little access as necessary to users and systems to perform their job or function - this is called the least privilege principle. This means not everyone at your organization needs an admin account to your SaaS services or computers. Take some time to review the access lists and access levels for your staff within each of your critical applications and make adjustments based on the least privilege principle. Also be sure to check for employees and contractors that no longer are working with the organization - removing their access will save you on license costs and reduce the chance of a security incident!

Lesson 2: A Small Vulnerability Can Be A Big Problem

The Empire designed the Death Star to be an unstoppable weapon, but the Rebel Alliance found a small-but-critical vulnerability that proved to be its downfall. The Death Star's exhaust port was unprotected and led directly to its main reactor. By exploiting this easily-overlooked weakness, the Rebel Alliance was able to destroy the entire battle station.

Similarly, in the world of cybersecurity, one small vulnerability can lead to catastrophic consequences. Hackers are constantly on the lookout for weaknesses that they can exploit to gain access to sensitive information. Even with all the strongest access control measures in place, it only takes one small oversight to compromise an entire organization.

Therefore, it's crucial for organizations to conduct regular vulnerability assessments that detect these small vulnerabilities. With this vulnerability information in hand, you can work to remediate the vulnerabilities and lower your organization’s risk. You can start by sending out reminders to staff to update their computers and web browsers. Users often delay updates because they don’t want their work to be interrupted or to lose the 30 tabs they’ve opened. The good news is that most modern web browsers let you save tabs in these situations so no precious tabs are lost. 

For evaluating the security of your network infrastructure, web, and other services, it’s best to work with a third-party firm experienced in conducting these types of assessments to get a fresh set of eyes on the problem. Had the Empire hired an outside firm to conduct a vulnerability assessment of their Death Star, it’s quite possible that they might have found and alerted the Empire to the vulnerability before the Rebels found it. Luckily for the people of the galaxy far far away, they did not.

Lesson 3: Preparation Is Key

Another valuable lesson that Star Wars teaches us about cybersecurity is the importance of incident response planning. In Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, we saw how the Rebel Alliance had to respond to the Empire's attack on their base on the planet Hoth.

The Rebel Alliance had a well-thought-out incident response plan in place, which allowed them to evacuate their personnel and equipment to safety while defenders worked to resist the assault. This scene highlights the importance of having an incident response plan to deal with unexpected cybersecurity incidents.

In the world of cybersecurity, incidents such as data breaches, malware infections, and denial-of-service attacks are inevitable. Without a solid incident response plan, organizations may be ill-equipped to handle these incidents, which can lead to severe financial, operational, and reputational consequences.

An incident response plan outlines the steps that an organization must take in the event of a cybersecurity incident. It includes procedures for identifying and containing the incident, assessing the damage, and restoring operations. By having an incident response plan in place, organizations can minimize the impact of a cybersecurity incident, reduce downtime, and restore normal operations as quickly as possible.

Wrapping Up

The Star Wars universe offers valuable lessons that can be applied to the world of cybersecurity. By learning from the mistakes made by the Galactic Empire and the successes of the Rebel Alliance, organizations can better protect themselves against cyber threats. Implementing proper access controls, conducting regular vulnerability assessments, and having an incident response plan in place are just a few of the key steps that organizations can take to improve their cybersecurity posture. May the Force be with you as you work to secure your organization's digital assets! If you’d like to learn more about how to protect your organization against the Galactic Empire cyber threats, book a free consultation.