{"id":54333,"date":"2016-09-07T15:57:34","date_gmt":"2016-09-07T15:57:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pcmatic.com\/blog\/?p=54333"},"modified":"2016-09-07T15:57:34","modified_gmt":"2016-09-07T15:57:34","slug":"nsa-best-practices-whitelisting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pcmatic.com\/blog\/nsa-best-practices-whitelisting\/","title":{"rendered":"Application Whitelisting Included In NSA Best Practices"},"content":{"rendered":"

Application whitelisting is a must in today’s cyber security world…<\/h3>\n

When it comes to security software, far too often protection comes in a reactive approach.\u00a0 In dealing with today’s cyber security threats, reactive approaches are not sufficient, considering remediation is not adequate against many cyber threats, such as ransomware.<\/p>\n

This is where the industry needs to catch up.\u00a0 Today’s security needs a proactive approach.\u00a0 The answer to that is application whitelisting.\u00a0 In 2015, PC Pitstop founder and CEO, Rob Cheng, was quoted in eSecurityPlanet <\/a>regarding his thoughts on application whitelisting.\u00a0 Since, the FBI has encouraged application whitelisting<\/a>.\u00a0 We are happy to hear the NSA has joined the belief <\/a>that application whitelisting provides superior security for endpoint protection by striking a perfect balance between security, performance and manageability.<\/p>\n

Blacklist or Whitelist?<\/h3>\n

Security software works either by using a whitelist or a blacklist approach.\u00a0 Most security software products on the market use what is called a blacklist.\u00a0 This is a list of all of the known malware.\u00a0 The problem with this methodology is that malware is always morphing.\u00a0 Once it is detected, the malware authors change a few pieces of code, making the malware no longer detectable to the traditional blacklist.\u00a0 This is where the blacklist fails you.\u00a0 If you were to click on a malicious\u00a0attachment, your security software would scan it, and if the malware is not on the blacklist, then it is deemed safe.\u00a0 The file opens, and boom, you’re infected.<\/p>\n

Application whitelisting technology <\/a>is a list of all of the good programs.\u00a0 So, no matter how many times malware authors change their code, it will never be a safe program.\u00a0 Taking the same example, you click on a malicious attachment, the security program scans it and realizes it is not on the whitelist.\u00a0 The file will not open.\u00a0 Instead, it is sent to be tested to determine if it is safe or malicious.\u00a0 Assuming it is safe, it is added to the whitelist.\u00a0 If it is malicious, it gets added to the blacklist, so other security software platforms will not allow it to open.<\/p>\n

To ensure appropriate protection, a whitelisting agent should be used.<\/p>\n

If you have any questions about the difference between the blacklist and whitelist approaches,\u00a0please post below!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Application whitelisting is a must in today’s cyber security world…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":54,"featured_media":52778,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[4987,12,4959],"tags":[4354],"class_list":["post-54333","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-spiceworks","category-the-pit-blog","category-whitelisting","tag-whitelisting"],"yoast_head":"\nApplication Whitelisting Included In NSA Best Practices<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The NSA joins the FBI and encourages application whitelisting be used to ensure adequate protection against today's cyber threats...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pcmatic.com\/blog\/nsa-best-practices-whitelisting\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Application Whitelisting Included In NSA Best Practices\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The NSA joins the FBI and encourages application whitelisting be used to ensure adequate protection against today's cyber threats...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.pcmatic.com\/blog\/nsa-best-practices-whitelisting\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"PC Matic Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pcmatic\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-09-07T15:57:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.pcmatic.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Cybersecurity.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"225\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"225\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kayla Elliott\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@pcmatic\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@pcmatic\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kayla Elliott\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pcmatic.com\\\/blog\\\/nsa-best-practices-whitelisting\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pcmatic.com\\\/blog\\\/nsa-best-practices-whitelisting\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Kayla Elliott\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pcmatic.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d4a11f480158af9f8090d8d90e0de8db\"},\"headline\":\"Application Whitelisting Included In NSA Best Practices\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-09-07T15:57:34+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pcmatic.com\\\/blog\\\/nsa-best-practices-whitelisting\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":383,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pcmatic.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pcmatic.com\\\/blog\\\/nsa-best-practices-whitelisting\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pcmatic.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/Cybersecurity.png\",\"keywords\":[\"whitelisting\"],\"articleSection\":[\"SpiceWorks\",\"The Pit Blog\",\"Whitelisting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pcmatic.com\\\/blog\\\/nsa-best-practices-whitelisting\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pcmatic.com\\\/blog\\\/nsa-best-practices-whitelisting\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pcmatic.com\\\/blog\\\/nsa-best-practices-whitelisting\\\/\",\"name\":\"Application Whitelisting Included In NSA Best Practices\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pcmatic.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pcmatic.com\\\/blog\\\/nsa-best-practices-whitelisting\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pcmatic.com\\\/blog\\\/nsa-best-practices-whitelisting\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pcmatic.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/Cybersecurity.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-09-07T15:57:34+00:00\",\"description\":\"The NSA joins the FBI and encourages application whitelisting be used to ensure adequate protection against today's cyber threats...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pcmatic.com\\\/blog\\\/nsa-best-practices-whitelisting\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pcmatic.com\\\/blog\\\/nsa-best-practices-whitelisting\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pcmatic.com\\\/blog\\\/nsa-best-practices-whitelisting\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pcmatic.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/Cybersecurity.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pcmatic.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/Cybersecurity.png\",\"width\":225,\"height\":225},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pcmatic.com\\\/blog\\\/nsa-best-practices-whitelisting\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pcmatic.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Application Whitelisting Included In NSA Best Practices\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pcmatic.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pcmatic.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"PC Matic Blog\",\"description\":\"Tech Tips and Tricks\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pcmatic.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pcmatic.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pcmatic.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"PC Matic - Top Antivirus Company in the USA.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pcmatic.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pcmatic.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/techtalk.pcmatic.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/PC-MaticLogo-e1472689639222.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/techtalk.pcmatic.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/PC-MaticLogo-e1472689639222.png\",\"width\":1535,\"height\":483,\"caption\":\"PC Matic - Top Antivirus Company in the USA.\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pcmatic.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/pcmatic\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/pcmatic\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/pcmaticusa\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/pcmatic\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/c\\\/PCMaticVideo\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pcmatic.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d4a11f480158af9f8090d8d90e0de8db\",\"name\":\"Kayla Elliott\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pcmatic.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/kayla\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Application Whitelisting Included In NSA Best Practices","description":"The NSA joins the FBI and encourages application whitelisting be used to ensure adequate protection against today's cyber threats...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.pcmatic.com\/blog\/nsa-best-practices-whitelisting\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Application Whitelisting Included In NSA Best Practices","og_description":"The NSA joins the FBI and encourages application whitelisting be used to ensure adequate protection against today's cyber threats...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.pcmatic.com\/blog\/nsa-best-practices-whitelisting\/","og_site_name":"PC Matic Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pcmatic","article_published_time":"2016-09-07T15:57:34+00:00","og_image":[{"width":225,"height":225,"url":"https:\/\/www.pcmatic.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Cybersecurity.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Kayla Elliott","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@pcmatic","twitter_site":"@pcmatic","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Kayla Elliott","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.pcmatic.com\/blog\/nsa-best-practices-whitelisting\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pcmatic.com\/blog\/nsa-best-practices-whitelisting\/"},"author":{"name":"Kayla Elliott","@id":"https:\/\/www.pcmatic.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d4a11f480158af9f8090d8d90e0de8db"},"headline":"Application Whitelisting Included In NSA Best Practices","datePublished":"2016-09-07T15:57:34+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pcmatic.com\/blog\/nsa-best-practices-whitelisting\/"},"wordCount":383,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pcmatic.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pcmatic.com\/blog\/nsa-best-practices-whitelisting\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.pcmatic.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Cybersecurity.png","keywords":["whitelisting"],"articleSection":["SpiceWorks","The Pit Blog","Whitelisting"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.pcmatic.com\/blog\/nsa-best-practices-whitelisting\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.pcmatic.com\/blog\/nsa-best-practices-whitelisting\/","url":"https:\/\/www.pcmatic.com\/blog\/nsa-best-practices-whitelisting\/","name":"Application Whitelisting Included In NSA Best Practices","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pcmatic.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pcmatic.com\/blog\/nsa-best-practices-whitelisting\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pcmatic.com\/blog\/nsa-best-practices-whitelisting\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.pcmatic.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Cybersecurity.png","datePublished":"2016-09-07T15:57:34+00:00","description":"The NSA joins the FBI and encourages application whitelisting be used to ensure adequate protection against today's cyber threats...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pcmatic.com\/blog\/nsa-best-practices-whitelisting\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.pcmatic.com\/blog\/nsa-best-practices-whitelisting\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.pcmatic.com\/blog\/nsa-best-practices-whitelisting\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.pcmatic.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Cybersecurity.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.pcmatic.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Cybersecurity.png","width":225,"height":225},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.pcmatic.com\/blog\/nsa-best-practices-whitelisting\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.pcmatic.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Application Whitelisting Included In NSA Best Practices"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.pcmatic.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.pcmatic.com\/blog\/","name":"PC Matic Blog","description":"Tech Tips and Tricks","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pcmatic.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.pcmatic.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.pcmatic.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"PC Matic - Top Antivirus Company in the USA.","url":"https:\/\/www.pcmatic.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.pcmatic.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/techtalk.pcmatic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/PC-MaticLogo-e1472689639222.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/techtalk.pcmatic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/PC-MaticLogo-e1472689639222.png","width":1535,"height":483,"caption":"PC Matic - Top Antivirus Company in the USA."},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pcmatic.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pcmatic","https:\/\/x.com\/pcmatic","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/pcmaticusa\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/pcmatic","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/c\/PCMaticVideo"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.pcmatic.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d4a11f480158af9f8090d8d90e0de8db","name":"Kayla Elliott","url":"https:\/\/www.pcmatic.com\/blog\/author\/kayla\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pcmatic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54333","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pcmatic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pcmatic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pcmatic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/54"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pcmatic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54333"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.pcmatic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54333\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pcmatic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52778"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pcmatic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54333"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pcmatic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54333"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pcmatic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54333"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}