Network Security Blog…
The Network Security Podcast, Episode 188
This week’s Network Security podcast discusses the latest security news and gives a recap of the RSA Conference, including Martin McKeay’s panel on disclosure.

eSecurity Planet…
Top Ten WiFi Security Threats
This contributed article from Lisa Phifer looks at the top ten threats when using WiFi. They include data interception, denial of service, rogue APs, wireless intruders, misconfigured APs, ad hocs and soft APs, misbehaving clients, endpoint attacks, evil twin APs and wireless phishing. To stay protected, make sure to route all hotspot traffic, even public, through a trusted, authenticated VPN gateway.

The Ashimmy Blog…
If the Security Industry Cannot Give You 100% Protection, Is It a FAIL?
This post discusses a recent Robert McMillan article that says, despite billions of dollars in security spending, it’s still surprisingly hard to keep corporate networks safe. Alan says security is about managing risk; although you can never eliminate the risk, you can make it less likely to occur. Good security is about having process and procedures in place, including incident response. It’s important to be able to handle an incident when it occurs, in addition to trying to prevent it.

Computerworld…
Does your Laptop’s Wi-Fi Really Make it More Vulnerable to Thieves?
Eric Lai says that many newer laptops have a set time—sometimes up to 30 minutes, before they go into sleep mode. This window of opportunity helps thieves at offices or shopping mall parking lots looking for corporate laptops to steal immediately after work. WiFi can add risk to using a laptop, but users can play it safe by keeping their laptop set to go to sleep on lid closure, making sure they uncheck the Internet Connection Sharing box in Windows and are careful about fiddling with the Power Manager features in their laptops.

SearchSecurity.com…
RSA Conference 2010: News, Interviews and Updates
The RSA Conference is a valuable resource in staying educated on the latest advances, threats and emerging trends in the information security industry. Couldn’t attend the conference this year? Check out Mike Mimoso’s wrap up coverage—great recaps!

Insecure about Security…
What Will be Hot at RSA 2010?
Jon Oltisk discusses his predictions for what the hot topics at this year’s RSA Conference will be. Network security will be a major topic, especially since ESG’s research indicates that this is the biggest security priority for most large organizations. Endpoint security, identity management, cloud security, data security, and cybersecurity will also be focused on.

Securosis…
RSAC 2010 Guide: Network Security
Mike Rothman put together a guide for what we can expect to see from network security at next week’s RSA Conference. The four main areas of interest for network security include application awareness, the ability of devices to decode and protect against application layer attacks. Speeds and feeds, which may come down to who has the biggest and fastest box. Many organizations’ perimeter networks are messes so they will be looking at consolidation and integration. With the understanding that some classes of attacks cannot be detected in advance, forensics and full packet capture gear will also be high profile at this year’s show.

Our panel session on is taking place on Wednesday, March 3 @ 10:40 a.m. in the green room 130.  It will be moderated by Dr. Bruno Quint, founder and managing director CORISECIO GmbH, and sitting on the panel will be NCPs Jörg Hirschmann, CTO, Rainer Enders, senior systems engineer and Rene Poot, senior solution specialist.  They will be discussing hot topics such as, IPsec vs. SSL VPN—which one is the right one?, mobile users and remote access and the do’s and don’ts of network architecture.

If you can’t make the panel session, swing by NCPs booth (#1541)—our technical guys will be around giving demonstrations of the NCP Secure Enterprise Management System and showing how companies are rethinking remote access.

If you’re at the show, be sure to stop and say hello.

Security Uncorked…
Hosting a NAC and Endpoint Security Session at RSA 2010
Also at RSA this year, Jennifer Jabbusch will be hosting a peer-to-peer session on Network Access Control (NAC) and endpoint security. The discussion will focus on world case studies, an exploration of technical roadblocks and a dive into vendor-specific solutions.

NY Times Personal Tech…
Safe Travels for You and Your Data
In this article, Riva Richmond offers some tips for keeping your data protected while you are on the road. Before using a computer in a cybercafé or hotel, ask what security measures are in use and if they reset their computers after each user so unauthorized programs are removed. She suggesting backing up your data, especially personal and business documents since laptop theft at airports is so common. There are also risks when using public Wi-Fi so Riva stresses the importance of using a firewall as well as a secure VPN.

eWeek.com…
How to Implement Secure, PCI-Compliant Access Controls
Dave Olander, President and CEO at Xceedium, discusses the six attributes that next-generation access control systems need in order to meet both the letter and the spirit of the PCI DSS. They are: right-size permissions based on a zero trust model, implement fine-grained enforcement, integrate audit capabilities to validate controls, automate all the requirements from access to audit, deploy an identity-aware infrastructure, and create backward and forward compatibility.

In the case of Google, simple passwords could have been used to access the network, however, if two factor authentication and network access control (NAC)—or as we like to call a ‘pat-down’—were in place this simulation would have been much harder to pull off—even if phishing grabbed some passwords.  Forrester analyst, Chenxi Wang made some interesting observations on her blog—her initial analysis was that the attackers gained access to Google’s server via its corporate VPN, from a Microsoft browser vulnerability that was exploited.  Some employees’ desktops were compromised, and the attacker used these compromised desktops via Google’s VPN to get to some of the servers.  Google ‘clarified’ this later, stating that the method of access, at some point, may have involved VPN, but does not agree with the characterization that “the compromised client used their corporate VPN to gain access to the servers”.

Touching on the fact that the victim’s machine was running IE 6, an outdated browser, Chenxi suggests that the machine may not have been a corporate managed machine.  If this is indeed the case, Google’s should be rethinking their remote access policies, and enable employees to use personal devices that are secured and managed.  This idea is similar to former Forrester analyst, Natalie Lambert’s concept of BYOPC (Bring your own PC)— employees are going to use whatever device they can to access the network, and probably break many security policies while doing it.  Instead of restricting machines that are able to access the network and taking a chance and running to in a situation that Google had on their hands, companies can support a variety of devices, whether it be Windows 7, Windows Vista (32/64 Bit), Linux, Mac, Symbian, Windows Mobile etc. AND secure them.  It seems that Google’s technology was restricting employees’ practices because the system could not handle it, which by and large caused an emergency update to the entire corporate VPN infrastructure.

This emergency update caused a connectivity disturbance for more than 24 hours, which affected work flow and productivity.  A better VPN management system might have played a significant role for Google.

Follow this discussion on Twitter: @VPNHaus

Washington Business Journal Blog…
Technology Delivers New Challenges for Snow Days
In this post, Jennifer Nycz-Conner discusses that in the past if there was a snow day it meant having a day off, but that has changed now that telecommuting is an option. People are expected to work, and be just as productive as they would be in the office. The ability to work remotely is great during emergencies such as snowstorms, especially when you can plan in advance. For anyone who does take advantage of telecommuting, we recommend connecting to your company’s network through a secure VPN.

Insecure about Security…
People May Be the Weakest Link in the Server Virtualization Chain
Jon Oltsik discusses a recent webinar on virtualization he participated in along with Extreme Networks and Microsoft. The 113 audience members were asked two polling questions. The first question was which of the following factors is holding your organization back from using server virtualization more prominently throughout the enterprise? 42% said lack of virtualization skills/knowledge within IT. The second question was, as you move forward with virtualization, which of the following IT groups need to become more educated and involved in the project? 72% said networking group, 52& said server group, and 45% said security/compliance group.

NCPs client was developed with both the user and administrator in mind.  When an employee is away on business, they need to connect and remain connected to the network hassle-free.  They need to be reassured that their desired device, whether it be a laptop, mobile phone, etc., will work with their VPN client and have access to the appropriate files, email, folders, etc. they need.

Overlapping subnets, roaming across networks and connections dropping shouldn’t be an issue.  Users should be able to use important features, such as two-factor authentication, end-point security software and personal firewalls without any IT knowledge or help desk support.  It should be a matter of a one-click and get connected.  Will a 64-bit IPsec VPN client be enough to meet customers’ remote access needs?  No, and we think you’ll agree.

Follow this discussion on Twitter @VPNHaus

CIO.com…
Windows 7 Tips: Best Security Features
In this article, Shane O’Neill describes the new security features in Windows 7. From encryption to malware fighters, there are key Windows 7 tools that keep enterprise and home PCs safe and secure. The top six Windows 7 security features that both consumers and enterprise users should know how to use are: Bit Locker to Go, Internet Explorer 8 for safe browsing, Microsoft Security Essentials, AppLocker, more control of UAC and backing up data.

Network Security Blog…
PCI Compliance and “Public Cloud” Don’t Mix
In this post, Martin McKeay makes the argument that PCI compliance and public clouds do not mix. Martin says the primary problem with attaining PCI compliance in the cloud is an issue of visibility, meaning there’s no way to truly review and validate system configuration when your systems are temporary.  Cloud service providers will need to look at ways to offer services that take advantage of all of the positive aspects of cloud computing, while allowing for all of the 200+ PCI requirements to be met.  Providers will need to look at how they manage the creation and deletion of virtual servers, segregation of resources and collection, and monitoring and retention of log information. Martin concludes that you cannot be ‘PCI Compliant in the Cloud’, but you can use cloud services and be compliant.