Symtrex Inc.

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Use Network Access Control to Secure your Wireless Network

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Our partner SnoopWall, strives to keep their attention on not just best practices, but on “actual practices” when it comes to information security. What they have found is in many cases, end users assume that the security features of their WLAN architecture – the entry point for many employee-owned mobile devices (BYOD) – is a sufficient level of security in a BYOD environment. This is a dangerous assumption in most cases, and most are unaware of the threats facing them this very moment: 1) Many wireless deployments have critical weaknesses that enable an untrusted user, or attacker to gain access to your network – even if the latest WPA2 encryption is used. 2) Trusted employees can utilize known WLAN credentials and apply them to their personal devices – devices which are unmanaged by the organization and pose a security risk as a result. Unmanaged devices are likely to be more susceptible to malware, which effectively tears down the walls of perimeter security devices like firewalls, since the attackers are effectively brought inside the organization. Untrusted devices pose such a serious
risk today that 51% of business networks were breached due to employees using their personal devices.

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Sophos hits Gartner Leaders Quadrant seven times

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Sophos has announced that it has once again been positioned in the “Leaders” quadrant of Gartner’s 8 October 2015 “Magic Quadrant for Mobile Data Protection Solutions”.


The report is based on an assessment of a company’s ability to execute and completeness of vision. Sophos has been placed in the Leaders quadrant since 2009, which the company believes demonstrates a proven consistency in product delivery and a mature vision for the technology.
“We feel this continued recognition is a testament to the value Sophos places on protecting data across all devices and environments,” says Brett Myroff, MD of Sophos distributor NetXactics.
“Sophos’ encryption everywhere philosophy, combined with its vision that security can be simple, drives the company to develop security solutions that are both powerful and easy to use. Sophos is enabling organisations of any size to implement next generation endpoint security technologies that work as a system to better protect their users and their business.”
Sophos is the only IT security company to be positioned as a Leader by Gartner in three security Magic Quadrant reports: 22 December 2014 Magic Quadrant for Endpoint Protection Platforms (EPP);l the 27 August 2015 Magic Quadrant for Unified Threat Management (UTM); and, once again, the 8 October 2015 Magic Quadrant for Mobile Data Protection (MDP). In June 2015, Sophos was placed in the Visionaries quadrant of the Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) Suites.
According to Gartner, the majority of buyers will select a vendor who can deliver both EPP and MDP. As noted in the 8 October 2015 report: “A more natural combination is for buyers to select Endpoint Protect (EPP) and MDP from the same vendor, resulting in better pricing and fewer points of management and support. Some vendors are good at making this connection with their buyers and others are not, resulting in missed revenue. Gartner experience indicates that at least two-thirds of buyers will select EPP and MDP together if they are aware that a vendor sells both product sets.”

Sophos hits Gartner Leaders Quadrant seven times

 

Employees are weak link in company cyber attacks

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Mark Burnette, For The Tennessean 11:11 p.m. CDT April 29, 2015

Today’s companies face a truly daunting task when trying to protect their computer systems and sensitive data from compromise. Attackers are better coordinated and more sophisticated than ever before, and their tools are easier to obtain and use.

While there are many security issues for businesses to be concerned about (some of which are covered in other installments of this series), an all-too-common problem at companies of all sizes is attacks directed at the computer users themselves. The vulnerable users are workers in the company who have user accounts and passwords and use desktops, laptops, tablets and other devices to interact with a company’s data and network. Hackers and other bad guys target these users because they have access to sensitive data and systems, their account passwords are typically easy to guess or crack, and they are often willing to open a malicious file, click on an emailed link or even willingly type their password into a bogus site.

Protecting your company against end-user attacks requires a two-pronged approach: 1) train your users to help them be more aware of how end-user security attacks occur and 2) configure your systems to make it harder for the bad guys to successfully get in if a user slips up. Here’s a list of steps you should take:
•Keep up to date with security patches provided by software vendors for end-user machines. In addition to operating system patches, be sure to patch application software such as Adobe, Java and web browsers, as older versions of those tools have well-known vulnerabilities that are frequent vectors of attack.

•Provide spam filtering for every machine, with sensitivity controls turned up. One of the most common tactics attackers use to make initial entry into a company’s network is enticing end users to click on a spam email link that installs malware. While this won’t stop every phishing attempt, if you can filter out even one, that is one fewer opportunity for an unsuspecting user to click a bad link.

•Remove local administrator rights from end-user machines. Local administrator rights give a user more power to make changes to a computer, and if an attacker gains control of a machine with those rights, damage to the network can be much more significant.

•Make sure there is up-to-date anti-virus/malware protection installed on every machine.

•Require IT personnel to use different passwords when they work on servers. Even IT administrators can fall victim to email phishing attacks when they are working on their own computer. If they click on a bad link while logged in as an administrator, attackers can gain big-time access to your network using their privileged credentials.

•Develop a security awareness program for all personnel to help them understand their responsibilities when using a company computer system and/or handling sensitive data. This training should also teach users how to create good passwords (ones that are easy to remember, but difficult to guess).

•And perhaps most importantly, require “two-factor authentication” for users logging on to the network from a remote location. That means that a password alone is not enough to gain access; another form of authentication is needed. That could take the form of such things as a fingerprint, a token (a physical device that generates a code that is entered on the machine) or a digital certificate. If two-factor authentication is in place, an attacker who successfully captures a user’s access credentials still won’t be able to remotely connect to the network without the second factor (the token).

Taking all these measures will not completely eliminate the possibility of a successful attack, but it will greatly reduce your exposure to this common attack path, which just might make a potential attacker move on to a more vulnerable target.
Mark Burnette is a partner in the Security and Risk Services practice at LBMC, the largest regional accounting and financial services family of companies based in Tennessee, with offices in Brentwood, Chattanooga and Knoxville.

NetBeat Nac select as Readers Trust Finalist in Best NAC Solution

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SC Awards 2015 -
Tuesday, January 20, 2015

HANOVER, Md., January 20, 2015– Hexis Cyber Solutions (Hexis), a wholly-owned subsidiary of The KEYW Holding Corporation (NASDAQ: KEYW), and a provider of advanced cybersecurity solutions for commercial companies and government agencies, has been selected as a Readers Trust Award finalist in the Best NAC Solution category for the SC Awards 2015. To become a finalist, NetBeat NAC was selected by a panel representing the readership of SC Magazine as one of the best-in-class security products and services. The winner will be announced at the SC Awards 2015 ceremony to be held on April 21, 2015 in San Francisco.

“From Home Depot to JP Morgan to Sony, cyber attackers showed new levels of sophistication and determination in their attacks in 2014,” said Illena Armstrong, VP, editorial, SC Magazine. “With mounting headlines, it’s more important than ever to recognize the tireless efforts of the men and women across the globe who work to combat these threats and provide cybersecurity to organizations large and small.”

The SC Awards, now in its 18th year, are the information security industry’s most prominent recognition for cybersecurity professionals, products and services. With the awards, SC Magazine recognizes the achievements of security professionals in the field, the innovations happening in the vendor and service provider communities, and the vigilant work of government, commercial and nonprofit entities.

“We are honored to be recognized by SC Magazine’s readers as providing one of the best network access control solutions on the market,” said Chris Fedde, president, Hexis Cyber Solutions. “Our goal in creating NetBeat NAC was to offer a next-generation solution that not only provides companies comprehensive visibility and access control across their networks, but is also simple to deploy and manage while remaining cost-effective. Being selected as a finalist for this award is further proof that our solution provides companies a critical step forward in a proactive approach to better IT security.”

Vendors and service providers who offer a product and/or service for the commercial, government, educational, nonprofit or other industries are eligible for the SC Awards’ Reader Trust Award category. A panel representing a cross-section of SC Magazine’s readership from large, medium and small enterprises from all major vertical markets, selected NetBeat NAC from the hundreds of entries submitted across multiple technology categories.

“Functionality, manageability, ease of-use and scalability are hallmarks of the Readers Trust Award finalists,” said Illena Armstrong, VP, editorial, SC Magazine. “We are proud to recognize Hexis Cyber Solutions for their contributions to the cybersecurity industry and look forward to revealing the winners at the SC Awards Ceremony.”

Winners of this year’s SC Awards U.S. will be announced at a gala dinner and award ceremony to be held in San Francisco on April 21, 2015. This is one of the most anticipated IT security events of the year and promises excitement and invaluable networking opportunities with some of the top corporate IT professionals in the country.

About SC Magazine

SC Magazine provides IT security professionals with in-depth and unbiased information through timely news, comprehensive analysis, cutting-edge features, contributions from thought leaders and the best, most extensive collection of product reviews in the business. By offering a consolidated view of IT security through independent product tests and well-researched editorial content that provides the contextual backdrop for how these IT security tools will address larger demands put on businesses today, SC Magazine enables IT security pros to make the right security decisions for their companies. Besides the monthly print magazine, special Spotlight editions and daily website, the brand’s portfolio includes the SC Congress and Expo series (New York, Chicago, Toronto, London), SC Awards, SC Marketscope and SC Magazine Newswire.

Why you need Network Access Control?

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In discussions with organizations about security initiatives that they are planning over the next 12 months, I am surprised that very few say they plan to purchase and implement Network Access Control. This is a solution that comes very low on the totem pole, and in fact, if discussing with some sys admins, it is more a cause of frustration than deemed a valuable asset, or essential tool for security. One of the key features of a NAC is providing a snapshot of all assets – both trusted and untrusted – within a network, providing a visual representation of what an organization must protect, because you cannot protect what you don’t know you have.

A Network Access Control product provides immense benefit, and the return on investment is almost immediate.

Looking at one of the most referenced documents when it comes to security – the Critical Security Controls, a NAC provides the easy wins for a number of controls, including asset inventory, continuous vulnerability assessment, and malware defenses. In addition NACs provide visibility into your network, the ability to enforce policies at a granular level and protection against Advance Persistent Threats and malware.

Looking at the Critical Security Controls and how the NetBeat NAC can facilitate:

Item One: Inventory of authorize and unauthorized devices:

Maintain an asset inventory of all systems connected to the network and the network devices themselves, recording at least the network addresses, machine name(s), purpose of each system, an asset owner responsible for each device, and the department associated with each device.

The diagram below provides a snapshot that is provided by the NetBeat NAC, from the diagram you can see the IP address, the time it was first detected, MAC Address, and operating system including service packs and the manufacturer.

Item 4 - Continuous Vulnerability Assessment and Remediation
Continuously acquire, assess, and take action on new information in order to identify vulnerabilities, remediate, and minimize the window of opportunity for attackers.

Run automated vulnerability scanning tools against all systems on the network on a weekly or more frequent basis and deliver prioritized lists of the most critical vulnerabilities to each responsible system administrator along with risk scores that compare the effectiveness of system administrators and departments in reducing risk.

The NetBeat NAC vulnerability scanner helps you identify the most urgent patches needed to harden your network against attack. After you run scans, detailed reports alert you if an attached device has a problem, or you can simply block an asset if it fails a vulnerability scan. These are very helpful in complying with requirements mandated by HIPAA/HITECH, PCI, GLBA, and other security standards.

Item 5 – Control Malware

Control the installation, spread, and execution of malicious code at multiple points in the enterprise, while optimizing the use of automation to enable rapid updating of defense, data gathering, and corrective action.

As you can see from the image above, the risk profiler will provide immediate notification of a threat, in addition to blocking traffic to C&C (command and control), and in essence stopping exfiltration of data.

The NetBeat NAC scans for real-time malware traffic back to known malware sites. The database is synchronized multiple times a day to protect networks against zero-day threats. Because it can be integrated with the blocking engine, threats can be blocked within 10 milliseconds of detection versus just receiving an alert

Another benefit includes better BYOD control, without having to install additional software on mobile devices as well as segregating guests to their own VLAN.

For more information on how a NAC can supplement your existing security solutions, contact us.