remote access

Mobile tech is here to stay

Thu, 08 Nov 2007 06:59:58 -0500

Handheld computers are great until you try to protect them from hackers. Then portable devices, especially personal digital assistants and laptops become a big headache. In a new survey, the Computing Technology Industry Association found that 60 percent of organizations surveyed said that security issues had increased over the last 12 months. And the problem is bound to increase. About 80 percent of the organizations in the survey permit data access by remote or mobile employees. Not surprisingly, only a third have developed any security awareness training for these workers. So what's a CIO to do? Get with this issue quickly because mobile technology is not just coming--it's already here. "The increasing pervasiveness of remote access to confidential data and applications by mobile employees, and the implementation of wireless networks, are raising the stakes for corporate IT departments," said John Venator, president and chief executive officer of CompTIA. What are you doing about this issue? Are you blocking mobile access until you can be sure it is secure? Are only a few top-level employees at your shop allowed to use remote devices? Let us know if you are ready for this high-tech revolution, and how your colleagues can be ready for it, too.

To read more about this mobile trend:
- See this Federal Computer Week article

The IT motto: Be prepared

Wed, 16 May 2007 20:01:36 -0400

As hurricane season approaches, it's time for businesses to think hard about whether or not their their disaster recovery and business continuity plans are adequate. Anticipate potential problems in advance and create a well-documented, comprehensive plan to address both disaster recovery and continuity of essential business processes. Assess both networks and business models to determine risks, as well as operational and financial exposures. Choose business partners whose resources are readily available for rapid deployment. Inventory critical equipment and applications and assess vulnerabilities. Deploy networks engineered to meet your changing business requirements. Build redundancy to support critical operations. Use network-based services to rapidly restore service. Maintain worker productivity through applications like remote access alert notification services and conferencing. Train and educate your employees to do their jobs in the office, on the road or at home. And finally, continually review, test and refresh your plan.

Learn more about business continuity and disaster recovery:
- read the press release at PRNewswire

ALSO:
- read this on satisfying both sides when it comes to disaster recovery
- this on why disaster recovery isn't enough
- this on best practices for disaster recovery
- and this on current trends in disaster recovery

Smart mobile security

Wed, 02 May 2007 20:01:38 -0400

Beyond the obvious ways of securing mobile technology and the corporate data that resides on it, some enterprises are going a step further, using a combination of smart card technology and public key infrastructure (PKI). Managed PKI services can help alleviate the administrative and financial burden for enterprises while delivering the level of security required. Combined with smart card technology, it's also an effective approach to securing remote access without having to incur infrastructure changes or high costs. And it comes in pocket-sized, fully encrypted devices. This technology, when combined with a managed PKI service, allows fully encrypted, secure access to enterprise networks from any location, without data ever leaving the boundaries of the corporate firewall. This level of security also allows much more freedom for remote functionality than ever before.

Read more about smart mobile security:
- read the article at CIO Canada

ALSO:
- read this on bolstering mobile security
- this on why mobile security is Job One
- this for best practices in managing mobile devices
- this on why a mobile security effort is a mandate
- this on balancing mobile functionality with security
- and this for mobile security tools for SMBs

Secure remote access

Thu, 12 Apr 2007 20:01:38 -0400

Secure remote access solutions are maturing quickly, and IT leaders today have plenty of choices. There are basically two types of solutions: virtual private networks and shared computing solutions. The traditional VPN, from vendors like Cisco, Juniper and Checkpoint Software, allow authenticated remote users to appear to be on their local headquarters' networks and have the same types of access that they would have if they were plugged into the local Ethernet in the office wall.

A newer and more flexible type of VPN is one based on secure sockets layer (SSL) connections. Leading vendors in this area include Juniper, F5 Networks and Aventail. SSLs don't require any client software outside of a Web browser, so they are useful for times when users find themselves at Internet cafés or on other public computers that are out of the reach of the IT department. Another option is in terminal server products. Leading vendors in this area include Microsoft, SSH Communications and Citrix. A computer runs a special operating system that turns a Windows PC into a multi-user environment. Remote users are just sent screen images and keyboard commands, cutting down on the amount of data that needs to be transmitted across a slower-speed link.

The last solution is Web-based remote access. This involves using a remote-control application from leading vendors such as LogMeIn and Citirx/GoToMyPC to send screen images and keyboard commands across the link, just like terminal servers. Instead of connecting into a central server, the remote access users are doing one-to-one connections to a specific desktop computer that is running the host version. All that is needed on the remote end is a browser, just like the SSL VPNs.

Learn more about secure remote access options:
- read the article at CIO Update

ALSO: read this on how Microsoft tackles remote access security

Study: Secure remote access solutions on the rise

Wed, 04 Apr 2007 20:01:38 -0400

More companies today plan to adopt secure remote access solutions, according to a survey from vendor Aventail. The reason, the survey says, is to meet the increasing demands from mobile devices and wireless LANs used by employees. For many companies, the planned adoption of secure remote access solutions will be an addition to the existing support these organizations already provide for teleworkers, traveling employees, home computer users, wireless LAN users, and mobile device users. Key criteria include ease of use and ease of management, with features such as auto discovery and being able to expose configurability in an intuitive object-driven manner. Common secure remote access solutions include technologies like SSL VPN or use encryption and digital certificates that can be revoked if a mobile device is lost or stolen.

To get more about secure remote access:
- read the article at eChannelLine

ALSO NOTED: Renegotiating your outsourcing deal; Next-generation desktop applications;

Wed, 28 Mar 2007 20:01:38 -0400

> The best way to renegotiate your outsourcing deal. Article

> Next-generation desktop applications will be linked to the Web. Article

> Analysis: Compromised PCs will continue to pose network security problems. Article

> Survey: Most organizations will support secure remote access solutions by 2008. Press release

> Oracle Launches Governance, Risk Management Tools. Article

> Social software improves collaboration. Article

> Today's systems are too complex to test by trial and error. Article

And Finally … How one organization conquered the audit challenge. Article

Improving communication across business units

Tue, 06 Mar 2007 19:01:39 -0500

Getting teams to work together--especially teams from different areas of the company--can be challenging under the best of circumstances. Different viewpoints, different ways of working and geographical distance all contribute to the strain. Inter-departmental projects are often the only way to ensure a good outcome, and that means finding a way to communicate and work together effectively. Often, CIOs are put in the position of having to find the common ground that levels the playing field. Technology can help, especially in cases where physical distance presents obstacles. Technologies that can help include remote access, WiFi, videoconferencing, Web conferencing, audio conferencing and presence management. Even the revisions function of word processing applications can help the collaborative process. It's also important to create measures that are based on the overall organization's mission, vision and strategies and that are understood by all parties.

Read more about inter-departmental collaboration:
- read the article at Silicon.com

How Microsoft tackles remote access security

Wed, 20 Dec 2006 19:01:36 -0500

If you think your security admins have their hands full thwarting malware attacks, you should see what Microsoft has to deal with. The vendor claims it gets about 100,000 attack attempts each month and is dealing with an email to spam ratio of 1:90. Yet the company encourages users to use virtual private networks to log on and into systems, which many may think leaves the company even more vulnerable. But Microsoft has managed to tie two unique security layers to the remote access approach.

For more on Microsoft's security workload:
- read the feature at Computerworld

Fed deadline to protect data comes and goes

Thu, 10 Aug 2006 20:01:35 -0400

Given the laptop thefts and other security incidents hitting the news on the federal government level, it's safe to say that a mandate for good security checklists and proper remote data protection hasn't been deployed too well. The Office of Management and Budget had declared agencies, by this past August 7th, develop a security checklist, work on encrypting mobile data, provide remote access through two-factor authentications and verification on database extraction activity.

For more insight on the federal security mandate status:
- read more at InformationWeek

Microsoft re-patches a patch

Wed, 28 Jun 2006 20:01:35 -0400

A patch for a flaw in the Routing and Remote Access has been re-patched by Microsoft after the vendor discovered the initial fix caused issues for users relying on dial-up Windows functionality. The remote-code vulnerability could let hackers into Windows XP and Windows Server. If you used the first patch and didn't experience any trouble, you don't need to grab the redo, says Microsoft.

For more on the re-patch effort:
- read this article at Vnunet