IT security

Cisco, Microsoft unveil NAC/NAP interoperability

Nearly two years into their partnership, Cisco and Microsoft yesterday announced a joint architecture combining their network access security solutions. Continue Reading

By

• Andrew R. Hickey

Revamped Cisco WAFS worth the wait, users say

Months late, Cisco has finally released a combined Wan optimisation and WAFS product, while startups like Riverbed have been snapping up the customers. But some Cisco beta testers say it has been worth the wait. Continue Reading

By

• Beth Pariseau, Senior News Writer

Protecting wireless networks: Step 3

Security testing expert Kevin Beaver covers the tools and techniques needed to find and exploit insecure wireless networks. Continue Reading

Protecting wireless networks: Step 2

Security testing expert Kevin Beaver covers the tools and techniques you'll need to find and exploit insecure wireless networks. Continue Reading

Wireless network security testing

Attack your own wireless networks to find vulnerabilities before malicious hackers do. Continue Reading

Attacks against MS06-040 on the rise

Six pieces of malware are now going after the Windows Server Service flaw outlined in MS06-040, and a spike in attacks has led Symantec to raise its ThreatCon to Level 2. Continue Reading

By

• Bill Brenner

Emulex acquisition could cloud future of FC-SATA spec

New Emulex subsidiary Sierra Logic's strength is in FC-SATA bridging technology. Meanwhile, ONStor launches midrange clustered NAS, and Quantum shareholders withhold votes. Continue Reading

By

• Beth Pariseau, Senior News Writer

Identity and Access Management Security School

This Security School explores critical topics related to helping security practitioners establish and maintain an effective identity and access management plan. Continue Reading

Survey: Data breaches difficult to spot, prevent

IT pros worry that false positives and a lack of resources are preventing them from blocking data breaches Continue Reading

By

• Bill Brenner

Symantec CIO vies with virtualization, device policy

Symantec CIO David Thompson says virtualization is a big part of the security giant's future and it has developed a policy to mitigate virtualization security risks. Continue Reading

By

• Dennis Fisher

Malware database access sparks debate

Should an emerging database of more than 300,000 malware samples remain a walled community for trusted users, or is open access the best way to fight off digital desperados? Continue Reading

By

• Bill Brenner

AT&T breach affects 19,000 customers

Online outlaws hacked into an AT&T computer system and stole credit card data on thousands of customers. AT&T has offered to pay for credit monitoring services for those affected. Continue Reading

By

• Bill Brenner

An era ends as Tandberg buys Exabyte

The once-dominant player in the tape market has ended a long downward spiral by selling off its assets. At least customers can now count on continued support, analysts say. Continue Reading

By

• Beth Pariseau, Senior News Writer

Risk management: Data organization and impact analysis

This first article of the Insider Risk Management Guide explains how to data organization is the first step in implementing insider threat controls. Continue Reading

Risk management: Implementation of baseline controls

This fourth article in the Insider Risk Management Guide examines the implementation of baseline controls. Continue Reading

Risk management: Baseline management and control

Identifying baseline controls is the second step to implementing insider threat controls as described in this article from SearchSecurity's Insider Risk Management Guide. Continue Reading

Risk management references

References for our Insider Risk Management Guide. Continue Reading

Risk management audit

This article explores the audit function in the insider risk management process. Continue Reading

BackTrack: The gotta-have, free, network security tool you've never heard of

Get the power of Linux-based security tools on Windows with this free suite of open source security tools. Contributor and vulnerability assessment expert Kevin Beaver introduces BackTrack and explains its network security testing features. Continue Reading

By

• Kevin Beaver, Principle Logic, LLC

Microsoft probes alleged Internet Explorer flaw

A research group claims attackers could launch malicious code using a flaw in the way Internet Explorer instantiates certain COM objects' ActiveX controls. Continue Reading

By

• Bill Brenner

Third-party patching: Prudent or perilous?

Security patches issued by third parties have become more prevalent in recent months, and while some security pros endorse them, others say they're more trouble than they're worth. Continue Reading

By

• Bill Brenner

Look through the over-hyped storage terms; find the value

Storage expert Marc Staimer discusses the storage vendor trend of using over-hyped terms to sell their products, and how you can find the true value in what they're selling. Continue Reading

Are tape backups a thing of the past when it comes to disaster recovery?

I guess we have to look at disaster recovery, when it comes to tapes, in order of priorities. So, if we're talking about your most critical applications nowadays -- your most critical data -- tape backup is actually losing favor to disk backup or data replication. Continue Reading

Security Blog Log: Opinions abound on IBM/ISS deal

Bloggers ponder what IBM's acquisition of ISS says about the industry as a whole. Is the end in sight for independent security vendors? Continue Reading

How do I identify what data to replicate and what data to simply backup?

It goes back again to the value of the data to your organization -- or the impact of losing access to this data. Typically, from a business continuity perspective, the best way to establish this is through what we call a "business impact analysis," which really measures the impact of an outage on your revenue stream or your organization from a public perception point of view. Continue Reading

What is the difference between RPO and RTO (from a backup perspective)?

The recovery point objective (RPO) and the recovery time objective (RTO) are two very specific parameters that are closely associated with recovery. The RTO is how long you can basically go without a specific application. This is often associated with your maximum allowable or maximum tolerable outage. Continue Reading

What is the most important aspect of data protection when it comes to DR?

You could answer that with one word really, and I would have to say "testing." Just "testing." Whatever you do when you're protecting data, whether it's a backup, whether it's replication, whatever it is, make sure that you test what you put in place. Just because the vendor's glossy ad said that theproduct allows you to restore "virtually in seconds," I wouldn't necessarily take their word for it. Continue Reading

Weekly compilation of storage news

Symantec peddles enterprise vault toolT and the new features developed because of a recent update to the US Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Continue Reading

By

• SearchStorage.com Staff

Aren't backups and archives essentially the same thing?

The answer to that can be a "yes" and "no." If we look at a very high level, a copy of data is a copy of data, and that's where a lot of people confuse both as being somewhat the same -- one copy is just kept longer. When we start digging into what a backup is for and what an archive is for, that's when we really start seeing the distinction between the two. Continue Reading

What do tiered storage and ILM have to do with disaster recovery?

That idea ties back into the topics of data growth, data control, data management and recoverability. Once you start categorizing your data based on criticality and recovery priority, it gives you an indication of your data segments. We have our high-priority data, we have our medium criticality data and we have our low restore priority data. Continue Reading

How far apart should my production and alternate recovery sites be?

As a good consultant, I would have to use the typical answer; it depends. We have a few things to consider here. First, what kind of disaster are you trying to protect yourself (or your organization) from? Second, what is your geography like? Continue Reading

Cisco patches flaws in multiple products

Attackers could corrupt files, cause a denial of service and bypass security restrictions via flaws in several of Cisco's firewall and VPN products. Continue Reading

By

• Bill Brenner

Remote access, WAN optimization, and network analysis news

Briefs: Remote access from Positive Networks helps with disaster recovery plans; Ipanema Technologies provides WAN optimization; Lancope rolls out network behavior analysis and response system tools. Continue Reading

By

• Andrew R. Hickey

Briefs: VoiceCon in the news

This week at VoiceCon we saw everything from managed VoIP services to IP phones made to make mobile workers right at home, wherever they are. Continue Reading

By

• Amanda Mitchell, News Editor

IBM spruces up storage line

IBM floated a raft of announcements across its storage line, but analysts say they are still waiting for the updates stuck in the research phase. Continue Reading

By

• Beth Pariseau, Senior News Writer

AOL data spill leads to dismissals, resignation

AOL has fired two employees and its CTO has left the company after search data from 658,000 customers was accidentally exposed earlier this month. Continue Reading

By

• SearchSecurity.com Staff

Apple fixes Xsan security flaw

Attackers could exploit a security flaw in Apple's Xsan file system to launch malicious code and crash vulnerable machines, but a fix is available. Continue Reading

By

• Bill Brenner

Security blog log: Fear and loathing in MS06-040's wake

This week, security bloggers wonder if some of the MS06-040 warnings have gone too far. Meanwhile, Symantec uses its blog to warn about the timed release of exploits. Continue Reading

Cisco says it can't reproduce PIX flaw

Ever since a researcher at Black Hat outlined a flaw in the PIX firewall, Cisco has been trying to reproduce the security hole. So far, the company has been unsuccessful. Continue Reading

By

• Bill Brenner

Cisco boosts VoIP certification

The upgraded CCNP midlevel Cisco certification now incorporates VoIP, security and wireless to boost converged network skills among enterprise professionals. Continue Reading

By

• Amanda Mitchell, News Editor

EMC sheds light on RSA integration plans

As the dust begins to settle on EMC's $2.1 billion acquisition of RSA Security, the hard work of integration begins. What's EMC strategy here? Continue Reading

By

• Jo Maitland, TechTarget

Mocbot update targets MS06-040 flaw

Security experts raised the red flag Sunday as new malware targets the Windows flaw addressed in the MS06-040 patch. Attackers are using the flaw to expand IRC-controlled botnets. Continue Reading

By

• Bill Brenner

Security Blog Log: Israeli-Hezbollah war spills into cyberspace

This week blogosphere warily watches online attacks inspired by the Mideast conflict and rants over the latest security incidents at AOL and the VA. Continue Reading

By

• Bill Brenner

Vista kernel limits have security vendors on edge

Microsoft's PatchGuard feature will prevent extension of Windows Vista kernel, and antivirus vendors say it'll make it harder for them to produce good security products. Continue Reading

By

• Dennis Fisher

Symantec fixes Backup Exec flaw

Attackers could exploit flaws in Symantec Backup Exec 9.1 and 9.2 for NetWare Servers to cause a denial of service, launch malicious code and gain access to vulnerable machines. Continue Reading

By

• Bill Brenner

Xiotech resurfaces with data compliance focus

Xiotech has been busy acquiring a legal discovery software vendor and building a data compliance practice, but what about storage? Continue Reading

By

• Jo Maitland, TechTarget

Cheat sheet: Access management solutions and their pros and cons

Popular authentication methods such as passwords, biometrics and two-factor are assessed in this chart. Continue Reading

By

• Joel Dubin

Inside MSRC: Time to rethink security workarounds

Christopher Budd of the Microsoft Security Response Center recommends implementing one of several security workarounds to ensure a secure infrastructure until this month's most important Windows update can be installed. Continue Reading

Security Bytes: CA fixes eTrust Antivirus flaws

Online thieves steal $700,000 from personal accounts, researchers expose e-passport vulnerability; and arrests are made in the VA security breach case. Continue Reading

By

• SearchSecurity.com Staff

Ajax threats worry researchers

Black Hat: While it makes smooth Web applications like Google Maps possible, the rush to adopt Ajax may fuel haphazard development and a feeding frenzy among hackers. Continue Reading

By

• Bill Brenner

Vendors reject preferential knowledge sharing

While Cisco continues to investigate a potential PIX firewall flaw, it and other vendors say sharing security information quickly and indiscriminately is always the best policy. Continue Reading

By

• Michael Mimoso, TechTarget

EMC updates SAN Advisor design tool

EMC's SAN design tool now recognises zones and allows users to customise rules; HP and EMC sign five-year cross-licensing deal. Continue Reading

By

• SearchStorage.com Staff

Countering attackers with NAC, IPS

Product review: Information Security magazine's Wayne Rash says ForeScout Technologies' flexible CounterACT appliance combines NAC with IPS and is worth the investment. Continue Reading

By

• Wayne Rash

Akonix A-Series offers complex, best-of-breed IM security

Product review: Information Security magazine's Sandra Kay Miller says The Akonix A-Series instant messaging security appliances works well but needs better documentation. Continue Reading

By

• Sandra Kay Miller

Thwarting IM management challenges

Product review: Information Security magazine's Sandra Kay Miller says Symantec's IM Manager 8.0 has limited public network features, but offers excellent reporting Continue Reading

By

• Sandra Kay Miller

Security event management, no strings attached

Product review: Information Security magazine's Joel Snyder says Check Point's vendor-agnostic Eventia Analyzer 2.0/Eventia Reporter is worth consideration despite limited BI options. Continue Reading

By

• Joel Snyder, Opus One

Twelve Microsoft fixes coming on Patch Tuesday

Microsoft Tuesday will release a dozen new security bulletins for its Windows and Office products, likely including fixes for several outstanding PowerPoint flaws. Continue Reading

By

• Eileen Kennedy, News Writer

Mobile security begins with policy

Mobile security can no longer be an afterthought. Mobile experts say security starts, but doesn't end, with policy. Continue Reading

By

• Andrew R. Hickey, News Writer

Possible Cisco zero-day exploit revealed at Black Hat

Details of an alleged flaw related to SIP and PIX appliances, briefly mentioned in a Wednesday Black Hat presentation, are being kept under wraps as Cisco and US-CERT investigate. Continue Reading

By

• Michael Mimoso, TechTarget

SRM tools improve storage planning and deployment, page 2

Storage administrators are struggling to identify their storage resources and utilise those resources to their best potential Continue Reading

Arun Taneja: Blogs and more

Monthly blogs by Arun Taneja, as well as other material by this storage expert. Continue Reading

Endpoint security quiz answers

The answers to the Endpoint quiz Continue Reading

Security Bytes: Exploits targeting freshly patched Apple flaw

Apple patches nearly two dozen holes in OS X, but not before exploits are unleashed. Plus McAfee fixes a critical flaw and EMC gets the OK to buy RSA. Continue Reading

By

• SearchSecurity.com Staff

Litchfield: Database security is 'IT's biggest problem'

At Black Hat USA 2006, database security guru David Litchfield unveils 20-plus IBM Informix flaws that attackers could exploit to create malicious files, gain DBA-level privileges and access sensitive data. Continue Reading

By

• Bill Brenner

PING with Heidi Kujawa

Heidi Kujawa, director of enterprise architecture services for Sony Pictures Entertainment, explains how combatting piracy takes more than just keeping bootleggers out of the theatres Continue Reading

Security Bytes: ISS warns of new Microsoft Windows flaw

Attackers could exploit the latest Microsoft Windows flaw to crash vulnerable machines and Symantec fixes a Brightmail AntiSpam flaw. Continue Reading

By

• SearchSecurity.com Staff

Beyond HIPAA and GLBA

Most firms are familiar with HIPAA, Gramm-Leach-Bliley and Sarbanes-Oxley, but newer regulations are pushing certain industry sectors to adopt strong authentication Continue Reading

EqualLogic updates storage provisioning software

Users have more options when it comes to pooling storage with version 3.0 of EqualLogic's array software, but some are wondering whatever happened to the SAS disks. Continue Reading

By

• Beth Pariseau, Senior News Writer

ITIL framework finds new stakeholders with v3

Too many companies today don't have an accurate count of their assets, and therefore are underutilizing systems and being unproductive. A CMDB framework, used in support with an ITIL project, can provide databases and analysis tools to help IT organizations avoid redundancies and effectively manage their resources. Continue Reading

By

• Beth Pariseau, Senior News Writer

Mozilla issues critical security updates

New patches to fix 13 software security flaws, eight of which have been deemed critical. Continue Reading

By

• Eric Parizo, Senior Analyst

DHS puts Zitz in charge of cybersecurity division

American career intelligence officer Robert S. Zitz has taken over day-to-day operations of the US National Cyber Security Division, but his department still has numerous digital defence problems to remedy. Continue Reading

By

• Dennis Fisher

Blue Cross bears burden of 'no wireless' policy

Blue Cross of Idaho had a "no wireless" policy on paper but never really enforced it. That is, until a team of auditors said the company had better do something. Continue Reading

By

• Andrew R. Hickey, News Writer

Employee monitoring should be done with care

Employee monitoring is on the rise as firms try to safeguard their sensitive information and increase productivity. Continue Reading

By

• Gary S. Miliefsky

Security Bytes: New Microsoft exploits in the wild

The exploits target issues Microsoft patched earlier this month. Meanwhile, flaws are reported in Oracle for OpenView and a Mozilla Firefox keystroke logger is on the loose. Continue Reading

By

• SearchSecurity.com Staff

Answers: VPN and remote access know-how quiz

the crucial questions answered Continue Reading

Midsized firms reach out to backup service providers

Data growth and ever-tightening compliance rules are among the factors driving some organizations to turn to service providers for help with backups. Continue Reading

By

• Beth Pariseau, Senior News Writer

VPNs and remote access quiz

Take this five-question quiz to see how much you've learned about VPNs and remote access. Continue Reading

Endpoint security quiz

Take this five-question quiz to see how much you've learned about endpoint security. Continue Reading

CSI survey: Data breaches still being swept under the rug

The annual CSI/FBI Computer Crime and Security Survey shows companies are reporting fewer financial losses from data breaches. That doesn't mean the good guys are winning. Continue Reading

By

• Bill Brenner

Answers: Compliance All-in-One Guide quiz

The key compliance questions unveiled Continue Reading

Security Bytes: Investigators slam VA over data breach

Meanwhile: Cisco patches a router application flaw, a Washington law firm sues IBM over a server attack; and spammers sucker Web surfers with fake Vladimir Putin death reports. Continue Reading

By

• SearchSecurity.com Staff

Trojan targets Microsoft PowerPoint flaw

Update: The exploit might be tied to an older flaw in Excel. Attackers who exploit the serious flaw could launch arbitrary code. Microsoft says it is investigating. Continue Reading

By

• Bill Brenner

Critical flaws found in Excel, Flash Player

FrSIRT says holes in Microsoft's spreadsheet program and Adobe's media player could allow attackers to take control of affected machines and initiate malicious commands. Continue Reading

By

• Bill Brenner

Microsoft patches seven July security holes, five critical

The software giant's monthly batch of fixes includes critical repairs for Internet Explorer and Windows' networking features, plus "important" bulletins for Internet Information Server. Continue Reading

By

• Bill Brenner

Inside MSRC: Debunking Excel exploits

Microsoft's Christopher Budd puts the magnifying glass to Microsoft's July bulletinsand says one alleged Excel exploit isn't what it seems. Continue Reading

By

• Eric Parizo, Senior Analyst

Looking ahead to life without passwords

Security pros know that passwords are nothing but trouble. For them, single-sign on, two-factor authentication and federated ID represent the path to stronger authentication. Continue Reading

By

• Bill Brenner

Downtime: Now here's an idea for all of you flag flyers...

 Continue Reading

Security Bytes: Data breach affects 100,000 military personnel

Meanwhile: Phishers use a phone trick to dupe PayPal users; the PCI security standard will get more teeth and a survey illustrates an increase in security breaches Continue Reading

By

• SearchSecurity.com Staff

Application layer logging quiz answers

The key questions revealed Continue Reading

Strong authentication for businesses large and small

Product review: Customer service could return calls more quickly when there's a problem. But overall, RSA SecurID Appliance 2.0 delivers robust, scalable protection. Continue Reading

By

• Phoram Mehta, Contributing Writer

More from SearchSecurity -- July 2006

Highlights from the July 2006 issue of Information Security magazine. Continue Reading

Dundee to teach ethical hacking BSc

A degree in ethical hacking will be on offer at a Scottish university from the new academic year. Continue Reading

By

• Tash Shifrin

Fifa ready for cyber attack on World Cup

 Continue Reading

FullArmor lives up to its name

PolicyPortal provides an Internet interface to easily configure, monitor and enforce near real-time Active Directory-based policy compliance through client agents. Continue Reading

By

• James Foster, CSC

BlueCat appliance offers rock-solid security

Hot Pick: The Adonis 1000 appliance bundles DNS and DHCP into an enterprise-class appliance for the centralized secure operation of network addressing. Continue Reading

By

• Sandra Kay Miller, Contributing Writer

How to create and enforce employee termination procedures

In this Ask the Expert Q&A, Shon Harris, our security management expert, reviews how the the security group, HR and management should work together to define and enforce employee termination policies, and reviews what should be done during each stage of employment. Continue Reading

By

• Shon Harris , Logical Security

Questions that need to be answered on NHS IT plan

Four years ago the government announced to a grateful NHS a national IT programme that would become the world's largest civil computer scheme. Continue Reading

By

• Tony Collins

Adding 'fudge' to your passwords

Safe passwords are integral to web application security. Unfortunately, recalling many complicated passwords is difficult. If you must write down your passwords to remember them, use this tip to create a safer password record. Continue Reading

By

• T. Martin Brown

Outsourced way to hire contract staff

IT services company FDM has launched a "straight through" recruitment service to help IT departments in the finance sector recruit contract staff. Continue Reading

By

• Tash Shifrin

Networks news in brief

Short takes from this week's network news Continue Reading