Protecting the Inside Edge of the Network: NitroSecurity's Active Network Response

fkqolar`qflkToday 's enterprise network faces increasingly diverse A more recent countermeasure for preventing internalthreats. The new reality is that these threats now come attacks to the network is to restrict vulnerablefrom desktops inside the network more often than computers from accessing the network. This "accessfrom the outside world. With the growth of VPN control" method is accomplished by proactivelyconnections, extranets, and partner/guest connectivity, verifying computer compliance before permittingthe enterprise network has many more entry points access. It also requires loading a security agent on than just the Internet. every computer and combining it with networ kauthentication to control network access. In the event To date, the enterprise security strategy has primarily of a non-compliant desktop, this measure involves somefocused on protecting the network from the "outside form of quarantine, such as isolating vulnerableworld". Organizations have installed firewalls between machines in a quarantine VLAN.themselves and the Internet, established VPN access,and are filtering web traffic and e-mail at the gateway. The "security agent" method is a good proactiveHowever, networks continue to be affected by ever measure, but has some significant weak points. First, increasing and more complex worms, viruses, and it puts all the security control on the client, which isspy ware/malware that are able to attack vulnerable not always reliable. Most viruses first action aftercomputers in multiple ways - including attacking gaining access to the computer is to disable all securitydevices connected to desktops themselves. The sheer and anti-virus software. More importantly, not allnumber of entry points (i.e. ports on the inside of the computers in the new expanded enterprise network arenetwork) to the network makes it difficult to apply under the management of the IT department. Thiscontemporary perimeter technologies to solve the leaves unmanaged workstations as a large threat. Finally,problem of internal attacks. not all desktops are "desktops". More and more deviceson the network are not personal computers, but PDAs,VOIP phones, and IP video hardware, medical devices,and even printers/copiers. These devices often run ongenerally available operating systems, such as MicrosoftWindows XP, but cannot easily have protection softwareloaded and are not able to authenticate themselves.
^qq^`hpcoljqebfkpfablrqToday 's network security architecture creates twopoints of protection: the perimeter defenses forprotecting the enterprise from the Internet and agentsoftware that keeps some non-compliant computers offthe network. While both are important, they do notaddress the increasing larger problem - what isprotecting the network from the attacks that comefrom within the enterprise?
Analysts agree that in a number of years switchesthemselves may eventually incorporate increasedsecurity intelligence. However, there are very largeinvestments already made today in traditional switchingtechnology that is non-security aware.
káíêçpÉÅìêáíóI=fåÅK=«=OMMRm~ÖÉ=NWith ANR, NitroSecurity complements its existingIPS products with the ability to locate and remediatethe root cause of attacks. The NitroSecurityEnterprise Security System (ESS) takes theinformation from any security event and identifiesthe exact physical port from where the eventoriginated. Then, based on the functionality of thelocal switch, it takes action to disable or reroute theend station to a quarantine state. As a result, thesecurity administrator is able to gain visibility intoand control of the incident and can rapidly respondwith an appropriate action. The power of theNitroSecurity architecture is that it does not requireany reconfiguration of the network or end stations.It also does not require software agents, so it canhelp minimize the affect of guest or unmanagedworkstations that may be the biggest security eventculprits. It overlays the existing infrastructure andinstantly starts providing a greater level ofenterprise-wide security - from the perimeter down to the port level.One of the greatest problems today is how to securemany switch ports, diverse user communities, and acomplex mix of endpoint hard ware. In contrast to afew WAN connections, an enterprise LAN may havethousands of ports. These could be distributed overmultiple buildings, campuses, states, or countries.Preventing the misuse of, or access to, every port is adifficu... [download for more]