using blackboard security risks

by Beatrice O'Kon 4 min read

How does blackboard protect my application from hackers?

Ensuring security. Blackboard uses several methods to protect our applications including "top-down" security assessments through Threat Modeling and analysis. We also use "bottom-up" code-level threat detection through static analysis, …

What kind of security testing does blackboard perform?

Blackboard utilizes several methods to protect our applications including “top-down” security assessments through Threat Modeling and analysis as well as “bottom-up” code-level threat detection through static analysis, dynamic analysis, and manual penetration testing.

What are the disadvantages of Blackboard?

Static and Dynamic Application Security Tools cannot detect all security issues. To further mitigate security risk, Blackboard performs manual penetration testing to identify more complex security vulnerabilities and business logic issues such as improper authorization. Security updates and advisories

What is blackboard's vulnerability management policy?

Oct 06, 2011 · Posted on October 6, 2011. There’s been an interesting set of public relations based on the recent news of Blackboard security vulnerabilities. SC Magazine’s Australian edition broke a story on September 16 about an investigation by two or more anonymous Australian universities working with a security firm, Securus Global.

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Is Blackboard secure?

Blackboard follows a secure-by-default policy with Release Notes and Documentation leveraged when special System Administrator consideration is required. Blackboard encourages customers to follow its Secure Configuration best practices guide when one is available and relevant to your specific Blackboard product.

What is assessment security on blackboard?

Dynamic application security testing Blackboard leverages open source and commercial dynamic analysis scanners to assess the Blackboard Learn application continuously. The automated security scanners test for common web application vulnerabilities from the viewpoint of an end user.

What does OWASP stand for?

The Open Web Application Security ProjectDefinition. The Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) is a non-profit foundation dedicated to improving the security of software.

What is the top 10 OWASP web application security risk?

The OWASP Top 10 is a list of the 10 most common web application security risks....OWASP Top 10 VulnerabilitiesInjection. ... Broken Authentication. ... Sensitive Data Exposure. ... XML External Entities. ... Broken Access Control. ... Security Misconfiguration. ... Cross-Site Scripting.More items...

Are there any security risks associated with using the application software?

Web applications that do not properly protect sensitive data could allow threat actors to steal or modify weakly protected data. They could also conduct malicious activities such as credit card fraud and identity theft, among others. Improperly configured or badly coded APIs could also lead to a data breach.Jul 27, 2020

What is OWASP cheat sheet?

The OWASP Cheat Sheet Series was created to provide a concise collection of high value information on specific application security topics. These cheat sheets were created by various application security professionals who have expertise in specific topics.

What is Blackboard's internal security testing?

Blackboard performs continuous internal security testing at the code-level (static analysis) and application-level (dynamic analysis) to ensure it meets both Blackboard and our customer's expectations. Furthermore, to regularly get fresh eyes on the application, Blackboard obtains security penetration testing from third party security vendors. Any identified issues are quickly slated for repair.

What is Blackboard Learn?

Blackboard leverages open source and commercial static analysis scanners to assess Blackboard Learn source code continuously. These tools allow Blackboard to identify potential vulnerabilities in the source code as the system evolves through integration with build environments. Blackboard couples automated source code analysis for security vulnerabilities with manual code reviews.

What is a BBPatch?

Customers may install the latest patches using "BbPatch," a package management utility to manage updates to Blackboard products, such as cumulative patches. BbPatch complements the Blackboard Installer by allowing small, reversible updates with minimal downtime.

What is input validation filter?

The Input Validation Filter acts as a first line of defense with configurable rules to protect Blackboard Learn. It is, in a sense, like a firewall for Blackboard Learn. It verifies that user requests coming in are safe by sanitizing the data through a default ruleset. An advantage of the Input Validation Filter is speed. This feature provides you with cross-site scripting fixes much faster than the traditional patching process. Traditional patches can have various dependency issues or may need to be rolled back. Providing fixes through the Input Validation Filter is a much cleaner and faster way of delivering patches, as they are provided directly through the Software Updates Center.

What is CVSSv2?

Blackboard follows the industry standard of CVSSv2 (Common Vulnerability Scoring System Version 2.0) as a guideline . Customers may use our severity ratings as a guideline to help classify the impact of security issues found in Blackboard Learn. It is based on average usage, since not all vulnerabilities have equal impact on all users - for example, customers might not have the affected module enabled, or its use of the module may not contain as critical information as another customer.

What is Threat Modeling in security?

Threat Modeling is a structured process where security threats pertinent to the feature under review are identified so that appropriate security countermeasures may be identified and applied.

Can privileged users upload executables?

Files uploaded by non-privileged end users are never used as executables. Privileged users (i.e., System Administrators), may, however, upload executable packages called Building Blocks that extend the functionality of the system. It is assumed, that System Administrators understand the risks and follow sound vendor review and change management practices around the installation of any third party Building Blocks.

What is Blackboard's internal security testing?

Blackboard performs continuous internal security testing at the code-level (static analysis) and application-level (dynamic analysis) to ensure it meets both Blackboard and our customer's expectations. Furthermore, to regularly get fresh eyes on the application, Blackboard obtains security penetration testing from third party security vendors. Any identified issues are quickly slated for repair.

What is Blackboard Learn?

Blackboard leverages open source and commercial static analysis scanners to assess Blackboard Learn source code continuously. These tools allow Blackboard to identify potential vulnerabilities in the source code as the system evolves through integration with build environments. Blackboard couples automated source code analysis for security vulnerabilities with manual code reviews.

What is input validation filter?

The Input Validation Filter acts as a first line of defense with configurable rules to protect Blackboard Learn. It is, in a sense, like a firewall for Blackboard Learn. It verifies that user requests coming in are safe by sanitizing the data through a default ruleset.

What is rendering user uploaded files?

Rendering user-uploaded files from an alternate domain is a defense-in-depth security control. By uploading a piece of content containing potentially malicious scripts, a user could potentially perform session hijacking on the main Blackboard Learn session once a target user accesses the affected content.

What is a separate domain?

A separate domain or subdomain provides a more secure way of accessing user-uploaded files from a Blackboard Learn server. This separate domain helps prevent user-uploaded content containing malicious script from being used to compromise a user's Blackboard Learn session and thus user data. With a separate domain or subdomain configured, all content is delivered from the original domain to the separate domain, essentially forwarding content to the separate domain. To the user, this is completely seamless.

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