General network and systems management resources

Security specialists Ubizen (part of the global Cybertrust group) offer a full range of professional security management services including the OnlineGuardian managed security service and an innovative enterprise security scorecard.

Windows system administrators and other information security professionals will enjoy news, articles, tutorials, software listings and reviews covering topics such as firewalls, viruses, intrusion detection and other security topics from Windows Security dotcom.

SysInternals and SIW (System Information for Windows) offer freeware programs that provide technical information about Windows systems. Tools like these are useful for system security auditing and for diagnosing a variety of technical issues ... but it pays to be paranoid, or a least extremely careful with your choice of tools. You may conceivably be installing a keyboard logger, Remote Access Trojan or other malware.

Windows VISTA changes the way users gain and use security privileges.

The ultimate firewall/IPS/general network security solution has been made available by Marcus Ranum. [Warning: may have a performance impact.] Marcus has also written about the futility of default permit, patching security holes and related issues in the six dumbest ideas in computer security, a witty and entertaining, yet strangely depressing piece.

Security Technical Implementation Guides (STIGs) from NIST/NSA/DISA cover many platforms and situations including: access control; application & database security; DNS; Enclave; .NET framework; network infrastructure; SAN/sharing peripherals across the network; UNIX; VoIP; and Windows 2000, XP and 2003 Server. The combination of comprehensive security checklists recommending specific parameter settings and automated tools to check system configurations against the recommendations makes the Information Security Manager’s job that bit easier, and for that matter the IT Ops Manager’s and the IT Auditor’s.

The National Security Agency and Center for Internet Security’s SNAC security configuration guides comprise a set of security standards for various operating systems (such as Windows, MacOS, Solaris), applications (such as Oracle, SQL Server, Exchange, Office, SMS, BEA Weblogic, IIS, IE and Netscape), network equipment (routers and switches) and more. If your management has endorsed your high-level and information security policies but the supporting technical standards are still ‘work in progress’, then why not take a quick SNAC.

Microsoft released a pair of detailed security configuration guides for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003, along with other security guidance for these platforms. They can be used as-is or converted into information security standards to suit your organization’s specific requirements.

One of the ten domains in the CISSP Common Body of Knowledge is operations management (site requires free registration).

Take a peek at [Marketing’s no doubt sanitized version of] what goes on inside IT Operations at Intel.

Backups and archives

A computer technician reformatting a disk drive at the Alaska Department of Revenue accidentally deleted applicant information for a $38bn oil-funded account by reformatting the backup drive as well. The department then discovered its backup tapes were unreadable. <Panic now>

Backup tapes with personal information on 57,000 Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona customers were stolen from an Arizonan managed care company. Another incident involved Iron Mountain Inc., a backup specialist that hit the news over another similar incident just a few months earlier. Why is it that the possibility has escaped otherwise quite comprehensive risk analyses? Presumably it is not explicitly covered by SAS70, SOX and the auditing standards and has simply slipped under management’s radar, until now.

The Bank of Scotland admitted that a computer disk containing personal information (names, addresses, dates of birth and mortgage account numbers) for 62,000 mortgage customers has gone missing en route by post to a credit reference agency. Whoops, sorry.

IBM computer tapes containing personal information on former employees and customer accounts went missing after a traffic accident during transportation by another company. “Some” of the tapes were encrypted i.e. IBM evidently appreciated what it ought to be be doing, but doesn’t do it consistently.

According to the Washington Post, Marriott International Inc.’s time-share division is “missing” backup computer tapes containing credit card account information and the Social Security numbers of about 206,000 time-share owners, customers and employees. Doh!

Cobian Backup is a free (well, donation-ware) Windows backup utility with some useful features for users of individual PCs and small networks, including network backups using FTP and automatic segmentation of backups into 650Mb ZIP files, suitable for copying to CD-ROMs, or multi-gig files for DVDs.

The little-known Institute for Backup Trauma employs a certain Mr. John Cleese, much loved for having survived Monty Python’s Flying Circus and Fawlty Towers.

Miscellaneous

Being run over by your own bus is a rather extreme example of operator error.

Implementing IT process standards/methods such as ITIL is one way to ensure that your organization’s IT Operations people follow accepted best practices, but a complete process redesign is relatively disruptive and costly. A simpler and cheaper option may be to work on the processes you already have and instill quality assurance/continuous improvement practices. Either way, a good starting point is a review or audit of the IT Ops processes to find out their strengths and weaknesses. Microsoft Operations Framework (MOF) Self -Assessment Tool is a quick and easy way to start the ball rolling from the comfort of your office chair.

General network and systems management resources

Backups and archives

Miscellaneous

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