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Prophylactic data security?
posted on 17/12/2002

The industry is being pulled in two directions – the need to proliferate access to corporate data – everything from global trials to Internet therapy portals - and the need to protect intellectual property rights. The FDA has added its two penn’orth in the form of Part 11, but has chosen not to be proscriptive, by simply issuing guideline objectives. So, where does that leave managers tasked with securing corporate and operational data? It should be simple. First task is to restrict access (using anything from passwords to fingerprint recognition to smart cards); secondly, to frustrate anyone who manages to breach the first hurdle (typically, with encryption techniques). The reality is far from simple. Biometric watchdogs – without a full set of teeth Biometric techniques, such as fingerprint recognition or retinal scans are very much flavour of the month and they certainly do have some compelling strengths. They are highly specific and incredibly easy to use – there is ... [more]

Positive Identification in a Wireless World
posted on 13/12/2002

The use of wireless systems for network and Web access is exploding—from wireless LANs to e-mail capable cell phones. It makes network access completely portable, and with systems starting at under $300, it’s very affordable. But widespread wireless use has raised serious new security challenges. How can you be certain the person connecting to your wireless network is a legitimate user and not a hacker sitting in your parking lot? In a recent study, over half of the companies surveyed didn’t even use the most basic encryption and security features of their wireless LAN systems. For those companies who choose to implement security features, solutions include access control appliances or VPNs to protect their wireless systems instead of (or in addition to) wireless encryption to establish a secure session. Once a secure session is initiated, however, security cannot stop there. The organization must be confident that users entering the secure sessions are who they say they are—th... [more]

Securing Corporate Networks With Military-Strength Digital Identity Solutions
posted on 13/12/2002

‘Identity theft’ has recently hit the headlines as a major security issue but the importance of digital identity and how to protect it has been a consideration for much longer. Even before the dramatic events of September 11, 2001, corporations worldwide were already well aware of the need to ensure a positive verification of the identity of people conducting business online. The concepts that there is no security without identity and that identity provides accountability are increasingly understood by an ever-wider audience. Fortunately the technology for strong user authentication, whether based on two or three factors, is already available to establish trusted digital ID credentials for secure access to multiple applications. And the issuance, usage and management of those credentials can now be achieved in a very rapid, convenient and cost-efficient way while at the same time meeting the network security needs of governments, corporations and financial institutions worldwide. ... [more]

New Blends of Email Threats
posted on 12/12/2002

Email-borne threats continue to evolve and have started to combine in new and dangerous ways. Traditional distinctions are becoming increasingly blurred between different kinds of malicious code or ‘malware’ (viruses, worms, spam, trojans, adware and spyware). Recent developments challenge antivirus companies both to counter new technical obstacles and to navigate potential legal minefields. Malware writers are turning to new ‘social engineering’ tricks to entice unwary users to assist unwittingly in the spread of their delinquent handiwork. Evolving Boundaries of Spam The spam nuisance continues to grow relentlessly. Virus writers have come to recognise the advantages spamming techniques can offer in the release or ‘seeding’ of new worms, and with increasing regularity use such techniques to get them off to a flying start. Not only have they adopted the technical ploys of the spammer to hide their tracks, they have started to disguise their wares as relatively harmless sp... [more]

The problems with secure e-mail
posted on 18/11/2002

For the time being you are better off keeping your security outside of For the last ten years or so we have become increasingly reliant on e-mail. It is ubiquitous, and unlike real mail it can chase us from continent to continent in seconds. For better or worse we now have the ability to conduct the next worst thing to conversation, but in writing. Of course, and despite all the advice, we treat this ability as if it were the same as personal conversation. Private. Off the record. We also assume that no-one else is going to be able to read it, and that it can’t ever get into the wrong hands. Slowly but surely we are finding out, the hard way, that, as in the words of the song, “It ain’t necessarily so.” What we are doing is like sending picture postcards through the mail. It appears that everyone from our e-mail administrator to half the hacking community can pick up what we are doing, even off the internal network. Enter the answer – secure e-mail (Se-mail?). Run it just like ordinary... [more]

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