Firewalls are still vulnerable

 

Connecting state and local government leaders

Computer security products are worthless unless installed properly, a security expert told a FOSE trade show audience in Washington last month. Agencies should devise a checklist of effective security practices, recompute their technology risks every two weeks and constantly verify that their systems are reasonably secure, advised Peter S. Tippett, president of the International Computer Security Association Inc. of Carlisle, Pa.







Computer security products are worthless unless installed properly, a security
expert told a FOSE trade show audience in Washington last month.


Agencies should devise a checklist of effective security practices, recompute their
technology risks every two weeks and constantly verify that their systems are reasonably
secure, advised Peter S. Tippett, president of the International Computer Security
Association Inc. of Carlisle, Pa.


ICSA has tested and certified 54 network firewall products, whose combined market share
totals 99.9 percent, Tippett said. Nevertheless, more than 70 percent of sites with
ICSA-certified firewalls are vulnerable to automated Internet attacks, he said.


Tippett discussed four recent hacks of federal Web sites, including Air Force and CIA
sites. He said hackers have defaced a total of about 5,000 Web sites in the past 12
months.


All the sites had firewalls, and their webmasters could have prevented attacks by
implementing an integrated, multilayer, ICSA-sponsored security program called TruSecure,
he said. Some sites were vulnerable because of their network operating systems, others had
fallible Domain Name System scripts, and still others had vulnerable Common Gateway
Interface scripts, Tippett said.











To demonstrate that most managers do not know where their Web sites’ DNS
scripts are, Tippett asked audience members to raise their hands if they knew. Almost none
did.


“It doesn’t help to have a better air bag if it’s installed under the
back seat,” Tippett said.


He said “computer geeks think computers are perfect and that we therefore get
perfect computer security,” which he called “a social science. We tend to think
of computers attacking other computers. It’s humans who attack computers.”


A Defense Department security expert spoke about security threats from insiders. In one
survey, 70 percent of security problems were caused by insiders, said Col. Robert L.
Simmons, deputy chief information officer of the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s IRM Office.


Simmons discussed how the Joint Staff evaluates commercial security products. “If
we can, we try to avoid” products from foreign-owned information security companies,
he said.


Large software vendors can win the Joint Staff’s trust by submitting their
products for third-party certifications and by having a large pool of users test the
products and report any security problems with them, Simmons said.


The Joint Staff works with security software contractors as well as with niche vendors,
such as a small company whose product rates classification levels of Microsoft Exchange
e-mail messages on classified networks, he said.


DOD agencies should re-evaluate prohibiting use of Java applets across firewalls,
Simmons said. “That may have to change because of the sharing of information,”
he said. Senior DOD leaders, for example, like to use Java code to extract information
from databases for decision-making, he said.


Judith Spencer, director of government-wide security at the General Service
Administration’s Office of Information Security, said firewalls are one component of
an effective security system but not foolproof.


“For every innovative mousetrap, there exists a smarter mouse,” Spencer said.


She urged agencies to set realistic security expectations to limit their losses in case
of break-ins.  


X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.