Cyberjutsu presents a practical cybersecurity field guide based on the techniques, tactics, and procedures (TTPs) of the ancient ninja. Author Ben McCarty, a cyber warfare specialist and former NSA developer, analyzes once-secret Japanese scrolls, drawing parallels to modern infosec concepts to provide unique insights on defensive and offensive security. He translates the training methodologies of Japan’s most notorious covert agents—history’s first advanced persistent threat (APT)—into highly effective practices for countering information warfare, espionage, supply-chain attacks, zero-day exploits, and more.

Each chapter examines one TTP in detail—like assessing gaps in a target’s defense, striking where the enemy is negligent, and mastering the art of invisibility—and explains what the concept can teach us about the current cybersecurity landscape. McCarty recommends in-depth mitigations and security controls, mapped to the NIST 800-53 standard, and a “Castle Theory Thought Exercise” that helps you apply the ancient lesson to protect your castle (network) from enemy ninja (cyber threat actors). You’ll discover the effectiveness of ancient social engineering strategies and trap-based security controls; see why mapping your network like an adversary gives you the advantage; and apply lessons from old-world tools, like the “ninja ladder,” to prevent attacks.

Topics also include:

• Threat modeling, threat intelligence, and targeted controls
• Countermeasures like network sensors, time-based controls, airgaps, and improved authentication protocols
• Profiles of insider threats, and ways to recognize them in employees
• Covert communication TTPs and their implications for malware command and control (C2)
• Methods for detecting attackers, preventing supply-chain attacks, and defending against zero-day exploits

In this book, you’ll see the astonishing power of ninja information-gathering processes—and how adopting them just might be the key to innovating contemporary cybersecurity models.

Author Bio

Ben McCarty is a cyber security specialist and former NSA developer. He served in the US Army’s Network Warfare Battalion and became the first fully qualified cyber warfare specialist (35Q) in US Army history. He is currently a quantum security researcher in the Washington, DC, area.

Table of contents

Chapter 1: Mapping Networks
Chapter 2: Guarding with Special Care
Chapter 3: Xenophobic Security
Chapter 4: Identification Challenges
Chapter 5: Double-Sealed Password
Chapter 6: Hours of Infiltration
Chapter 7: Access to Time
Chapter 8:Tools
Chapter 9: Sensors
Chapter 10: Bridges and Ladders
Chapter 11: Locks
Chapter 12: Moon on the Water
Chapter 13: Worm Agent
Chapter 14: Ghost on the Moon
Chapter 15: The Art of the Fireflies
Chapter 16: Live Capture
Chapter 17: Fire Attack
Chapter 18: Covert Communication
Chapter 19: Call Signs
Chapter 20: Light, Noise, and Litter Discipline
Chapter 21: Circumstances of Infiltration
Chapter 22: Zero Days
Chapter 23: Hiring Shinobi
Chapter 24: Guardhouse Behavior
Chapter 25: Zero Suspicion Threat Management
Chapter 26: Shinobi Tradecraft