If the title of this blog post grabbed your attention on May the 4^th, of all days, then you probably need no introduction to the Star Wars franchise and its’ iconic starship the Millennium Falcon.

But just in case you’ve been living under the remnants of the planet Alderaan since its destruction by the first Death Star, we’ll quote Han Solo in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, to explain the Millennium Falcon’s significance

“You’ve never heard of the Millennium Falcon? It’s the ship that made the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs. I’ve outrun Imperial starships. Not the local bulk cruisers mind you, I’m talking about the big Corellian ships now… She’ll make point five past lightspeed. She may not look like much, but she’s got it where it counts, kid.”

But before we can venture off with our imagination, we need to recap a few of the key milestones in the Millennium Falcon’s journey (see here for the full breakdown).

A ship’s journey through the stars

The Millennium Falcon was originally in the possession of the smuggler Lando Calrissian, who made numerous improvements in the name of convenience and luxury, including painted exterior paneling and a large escape pod.

During Han Solo’s first flight in the Falcon, in which he made the record-breaking Kessel Run, many of these additions were destroyed or lost, leaving the ship battered by the time Solo won ownership of the starship from Lando in a game of ‘Sabacc’ shortly afterward.

After Solo was captured on Bespin, Calrissian retook possession of the Falcon to search for him. Following Solo’s rescue, Calrissian flew the ship at the Battle of Endor, where it entered the DS-2 Death Star II Mobile Battle Station, aiding in the death star’s destruction from within.

During the next decades, the ship was stolen by a succession of criminals and thieves, ending up in the hands of the trader Unkar Plutt on Jakku, a remote world in the Western Reaches.

Eventually, the Falcon was stolen by the Force-sensitive scavenger Rey, former First Order stormtrooper Finn, and Resistance droid BB-8 in their heroic escape from the forces of the First Order as the latter descended on 34 ABY. Shortly thereafter, the Falcon was reunited with Solo and Chewbacca.

This was not the end of the Falcon’s story. However, those milestones present enough of the Falcon’s background story so we can raise this blog’s adventurous question: What if the Millennium Falcon had a smart SOC (Security Operations Center) watching over it 24/7?

May the SOC be with you

Like a true professional, Lando invested a good chunk of his money in the Falcon. He implemented the escape pod and additional enhancements. Basically, he did what every good organization does – he bought and implemented security systems to protect him and his ship.

Well implemented and fine-tuned security features should alert you according to your organization’s security policies. In the case of the Millennium Falcon, alerts should have been popping continually up on Lando’s or Han Solo’s monitors, but they, unfortunately, couldn’t see through all the chaos around them. For all the security systems implemented by Lando, neither he nor Han Solo could figure out who had stolen the Falcon, where it was being taken, and why.

So what was the Falcon missing?

The Falcon should have had automatic integration between all its systems and sources, instant contextual analysis, simple real-time monitoring and onboard security-dedicated engineers. These features would have made a substantial difference in informing Lando and Solo about the ship’s risk level, where it was being taken, and what they needed to do about it.

A smart SOC onboard the Falcon, supported by an army of well-trained security professionals monitoring its systems, would have been able to alert and track suspicious behavior by thieves as well as anticipate the thieves’ next moves. This would have made the search for the Falcon much easier.

We don’t think a smart SOC could have prevented the Falcon from being stolen, just like a smart SOC can’t prevent a user from willingly give out his username and password. However, we do think its journey through the unknown would have been completely different.

Not every story ends the same

“You tell him Han Solo just stole back the Millennium Falcon for good.” Han Solo

In the end, Han Solo got his ship back by sheer luck. In the words of Qui-Gon Jinn, a wise and well-respected member of the Jedi Order: “Your focus determines your reality.” So make sure it’s on what really matters – the security of your organization.

Security systems are crucial in securing your organization and keeping it safe, but they are not the only prerequisite. The focus of your security mindset needs to be: “What are the right tools to get the job done?” and “How do I choose the correct ones for me?”

There is no silver bullet when it comes to cybersecurity, but if you follow these real-world recommendations, you will go a long way to making your organization more secured.

• Implement a smart SOC into your organization’s production environment: A comprehensive, end-to-end, professional information security solution.
• Hire information security professionals to look after your assets.
• Educate your employees about basic social engineering methods (such as phishing emails, fake login webpages, etc.)
• Don’t be complacent – The threats outside your organization are real and looming.

May the Force be with you,

CYREBRO team