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Trust_Betrayal – Lessons_Learned

Simulation: The Trust Betrayal
Author: Marjean Mayo-Baker
Date: {{date}}

Executive Summary

  • Zero Trust, Deny by Default must be enforced on all trust relationships.
  • Daily education and human auditing of AI systems is required to prevent blind reliance on automation.
  • Cultural risk vectors — especially fear of escalation — must be actively mitigated through governance and training.
  • Voice biometrics must be prohibited as an authentication method.

Root Cause Analysis

Trigger:

  • SOC flagged 527 brute-force login attempts after a mismanaged SSO reset.

Underlying Failures:

  • Contractors mishandled credential resets without verifying anomalies.

  • AI-assisted login flow lacked validation, allowing spoofed portal activity.

  • Analysts resisted escalation due to a punitive culture.

  • Vendors promoted unfit authentication factors (voice).

Impact:

  • Identity compromise risk
  • Cultural suppression of escalation → delayed response
  • Resource waste and bandwidth strain from ignoring scale of event

Technical Lessons

  • Brute-force activity on this scale requires chain-of-custody escalation, not checklist response.
  • MFA enforcement must prioritize phishing-resistant hardware or device-based biometrics.
  • Voice authentication is insecure by design and must be blocked in all IAM/SSO systems.

Cultural + Process Lessons

  • Contractors lacked escalation authority and proper sign-off guidance.
  • Analysts defaulted to defensiveness instead of collaborative learning.
  • End users trained to “just get it working” skipped security hygiene.
  • Escalation must be governed by signed chain-of-custody, not individual discretion.

Chain of Custody (Escalation Protocol)

  1. Detection – SOC flags >100 login attempts in <15 minutes.
  2. Validation – Incident owner confirms anomaly with logs (sign-off required).
  3. Escalation – Case escalated to SOC Manager with ticket ID and validation evidence.
  4. Containment – SOC Manager signs chain-of-custody record; account locked; IP range blocked.
  5. Review – Governance log updated; incident tied to awareness training & policy improvement.

Recommendations / Next Steps

  1. Establish formal chain-of-custody sign-off for brute-force events (>100 attempts).
  2. Implement Trust Decay Policy for SSO/vendor connections.
  3. Launch No-Ego Escalation Training at 30/90/180 onboarding intervals.
  4. Develop AI Rollout Risk Playbook with sandbox + red-team review.
  5. Ban voice biometrics as authentication in all IAM/SSO workflows.