RSS feedsEver wondered what your IT guys are actually saying? Most of the time they
speak in acronyms that don’t mean much to anyone except themselves. And with
threats to networks and mobile computing growing, the barriers to mutual
understanding clearly need to come down. So here’s a guide to help you speak
their language and put in place technology that is needed to protect you against
the most recent threats.
Common threats
First, what are the things we are trying to avoid? Here are some of the most
common threats out there at present.
War driving: Locating and exploiting security-exposed wireless LANs. LANs
are Local Area Networks, a small physically linked set of computers. Unless
adequately protected, a WiFi network can accessed by unauthorised users who use
it as a free internet connection.
Spyware: Any technology that aids in gathering information about a person
or organisation without their knowledge.
BotNet: A number of internet computers that have been set up to forward
transmissions (including spam or viruses) to other computers on the internet,
without their owners being aware of it.
Keylogging: process that records every key pressed on the computer
keyboard to get at sensitive data, such as passwords.
PodSlurping: The unauthorised downloading of data from a computer to a
storage device, such as a flash drive or an mp3 player.
Protect yourself
So, how do you protect against an increasingly ingenious array of attacks?
Firewall: A set of programs that protects the resources of a private
network from users from other networks. (The term also implies the security
policy that is used with the programs.) An enterprise with an intranet that
allows its workers access to the internet installs a firewall to prevent
outsiders from accessing its own private data and for controlling what outside
resources its own users can access.
Authentication: The process of determining whether someone or something is
who or what they are declared to be.
Encryption: The conversion of data into a form that cannot be easily
understood by unauthorised people. Decryption is the process of converting
encrypted data back into its original form. Encryption is important in wireless
communications.
Full disk encryption: A process that encrypts everything on the hard disk.
Full data encryption: Similar to FDE, but it only encrypts the data not the media it is saved to. Encryption can take place whether data is on a desktop, laptop, PDA or USB stick and it is ‘granular’, so administrators can determine what data is protected.
Intrusion detection systems: Quite simply, detecting potential
intrusions.
Intrusion prevention systems A pre-emptive approach to network security used to
identify potential threats and respond to them swiftly. Like an IDS, it monitors
network traffic. They can also take immediate action based on rules established
by the network administrator.
Virtual private network: A network that uses a public telecommunication infrastructure to provide remote offices or individuals with secure access to their organisation’s network.
Network access control: A method of bolstering the security of a
proprietary network by restricting the availability of network resources to
endpoint devices that comply with a defined security policy.
Data loss prevention: Security products that focus on keeping sensitive
enterprise data in.
Public key infrastructure: Enables users of an unsecure public network, such as the internet, to securely exchange data and money through using a public and a private cryptographic key pair obtained through a trusted authority.
The threat is real and you need to arm yourself against it. Don’t let a
language barrier come between you and the team.
Peter Mitteregger is European vice president at
CREDANT Technologies.
