The 10 Dumbest Mistakes Network Managers Make
When you look at the worst corporate security breaches, it's clear that network managers keep making the same mistakes over and over again, and that many of these mistakes are easy to avoid.
8. Failing to configure your routers to prohibit unwanted outbound traffic.
One popular form of malware involves putting a backdoor or command shell on a server. One way to prevent a hacker from taking advantage of a backdoor or command shell is network segmentation using access control lists. This way you can prevent servers from sending traffic that they shouldn't be sending. For example, a mail server should only send mail traffic, not SSH traffic. Another option is to use your routers for default deny egress filtering, which blocks all outbound traffic except for what you want leaving your network.
"Only 2% of companies do this. It baffles me as to why the other 98% don't," Tippett says. "Default deny egress filtering is trivial."
9. Not knowing where credit card or other critical customer data is stored.
Most companies think they know where critical data such as credit card information, Social Security numbers or other personally identifiable information are stored, and they harden these servers with the highest levels of security. But often, this data is stored somewhere else on the network such as at a backup site or in the software development department.
It's these secondary, noncritical servers that often get attacked and lead to the majority of data breaches. One easy way to find out where critical data is stored is to conduct network discovery. "We typically stick a sniffer on the network and we see where the critical data is supposed to be and then we see where else it goes," Tippett says.
10. Not following the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards.
Dubbed PCI DSS, this set of 12 controls for protecting cardholder information work, Tippett says. "Most people don't even try to meet the PCI standards," Tippett says. Sometimes a company follows these controls for the servers where it knows it stores credit card data, but not on the other unknown servers that host this critical data.
Even though 98% of all compromised records involve payment card data, only 19% of organizations with security breaches followed the PCI standards, according to the Verizon Business report. "It's obvious. Follow the PCI rules. They basically work," Tippett says.
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