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Written by Dave Nelson

Category: Blog

Created: 06 October 2009

October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. While we've traditionally used October as the month to promote security awareness, this is the first time it has been declared by the federal government. I applaud the administration for attempting to raise awareness by this official proclamation.

The question now is what do we do about it? Take this opportunity to get in front of your executive leadership and piggyback on this while the hype is hot. Typically executives keep tabs on things coming out of the White House and they may have questions. Seize the moment.

Next is to volunteer to provide some education at a library, school, church or other civic organization to help parents and kids learn the dangers lurking on the internet. If we as professionals don’t step up and offer some real solutions to the problems our kids face, we will wind up with the same type of battles we faced in the ‘80’s with trying to put the expanding drug problem to rest.

While this may seem like a small step, awareness really has to be the first step. Until people know they need to protect their data and privacy they will continue to misuse it. Identifying the problem and getting people to recognize and accept it must be our first battle. We’re doing OK today but we need to do better.

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Written by Dave Nelson

Category: Blog

Created: 29 September 2009

For this last point on securing Oracle E-Business Suite (11i) I want to talk about the infrastructure. My last couple of posts have been database specific from a software perspective. I now want to look at securing our databases from a hardware perspective.

Lots of companies deploy internet facing firewalls. They create a DMZ or demilitarized zone which houses their web, email, DNS and other internet facing servers. This DMZ area is virtual wasteland. It’s more secure than the internet but less secure than our internal networks. In essence it really shouldn’t be trusted.

Our internal networks however are usually fully trusted and considered safe and secure. You couldn’t be more wrong. It’s akin to putting up a privacy fence all the way around your property and locking the gate. In this scenario, you assume that your yard on the inside is more secure than the street on the outside but you still lock your front door. Even inside your house you may have important areas secured such as a small safe, file cabinet, jewelry or firearm storage, you get the picture.

What we often do in securing our networks is to put up a fence, lock the gate, lock the front door and then leave the cash, bank info, jewelry, firearms and other valuables out on the living room floor with a huge sign reading “All the good stuff is right here, take what you need.”

Databases are treasure troves of information yet we rarely wrap additional protection around them on internal networks. I recommend every database server should be placed behind a firewall. The access control list (ACL) should explicitly allow only connections from the application servers, backup servers or other critical components. In today’s environments, end users should rarely need direct access to the actual database. They will typically get their access via a web application of some sort.

By limiting direct access to the database you are reducing the chance that someone who can bypass your application and database level logical controls, such as usernames/password, granted privileges, roles, etc. the ability to interface with it on a hardware or system level. Just like putting your jewelry in a safe inside your locked house. Not everyone who needs access to your network needs access to your databases.

As we start to realize that our internal networks aren’t a whole lot safer than the DMZ or even the internet, we need to provide additional security zones. This will help provide another layer of protection for our most critical assets. Does this create a little more administrative work? Does it cost a little more money? Sure. Is it worth it? Only your risk assessment can tell you that. You have done a risk assessment haven’t you?

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Written by Dave Nelson

Category: Blog

Created: 28 September 2009

The ISSA Des Moines Chapter will be hosting a free-for-all hacking event at Iowa State University's Internet Scale Event and Attack Generation Engine (ISEAGE) Lab in October.

The ISEAGE lab will be configured as a model real world environment and opened up for attendees to attack as they see fit.  Attendees to the event can work on their or in teams to attack the hosts in the ISEAGE lab.  Tools such as Metasploit, Backtrack and others will be available.  This is a great way to get some real world experience, learn from peers and network with others in the security field.

Date: Monday 10/26/2009
Location: ISEAGE Lab at ISU
Time: 9am to 2pm
Cost: Free for chapter members, $25 for non-members (if you join at the event, $20 goes toward membership)
Lunch: Provided for all attendees at no cost

If you are interested in attending please contact me by 10/19.  We need an RSVP to ensure we order enough food.