Datacom

Is your company refraining from connecting to the Internet? If so, you’re not alone. It’s the fear of being successfully hacked that’s keeping many companies and their employees off the Internet. In fact, according to Infosecurity News, over 25% of all companies polled responded that hackers have tried to gain unauthorized access from outside the corporate network.

What else keeps companies disconnected? There’s a mystique to being hacked. It’s the new crime, it’s the hottest news. And all this hype, say the media watchers and technical experts, is keeping companies off the Internet.

Why the mystique? Many people, including company executives, lack a fundamental understanding of technology. Mix this with the complexities of network security issues and you can see why many companies haven’t ventured onto the Information Superhighway. What you don’t know, reason many companies, can hurt you.

On the other hand, there are many companies with executives who have “Teflon® sensibilities.“ Media hype doesn’t stick to them. Unfortunately, neither does the advice of company network administrators who want network security problems addressed. These companies go about their connected-to-the-Net business until the inevitable compromise in security happens. And when something valuable is swiped, the executives worry.

“We’ve taken steps to make sure something like this never happens again!“ is the boilerplate reaction. Otherwise, they say, heads will roll. For companies that have been hacked, the cost of information security now equals the cost of the incident plus the cost of countermeasures.

A network, as it turns out, is only as secure as the people who run it, use it, and fund its protection. Industry insiders believe overall spending on information security will increase dramatically.

So protect yourself from hackers while getting the Internet access you need. For answers to your network security questions, call Black Box Technical Support today.

What you don’t know can—and will—hurt you. Know your security risks and keep your site safe from harm.

Security risks affect every computer, whether the machine is connected to a network or not. There are basically four types of risk, and some often overlap the other.
• Bugs or misconfiguration problems in the Web server that enable unauthorized remote users (hackers or crackers) to access the system to steal data and/or cause greater harm.
• Active content (say a virus) on the browser side that crashes the browser, damages the user’s system, or breaches the user’s privacy.
• Interception of network data sent from browser to server or vice versa via network eavesdropping. Eavesdropping can occur at any point along the pathway between the browser and server. These points include the network on the browser’s side of the connection, the network on the server’s side of the connection (including intranets), the end-user’s ISP, the server’s ISP, and either ISP’s regional access provider—quite a lot of points. So-called “secure“ browsers and servers are only designed to protect confidential information against network eavesdropping. If system security isn’t available on both the browser and server sides, confidential documents could be compromised.
• Viruses installed via software onto network or standalone computers.

So which operating systems are more susceptible to attack? In general, the ones which are touted as more powerful and flexible. UNIX® systems are a prime example. They come with a large number of built-in servers, services, and scripting languages which provide hackers multiple portals of entry to exploit. By contrast, less capable operating systems (apologies in advance) like Windows® and Macintosh® are tougher to exploit. In short, what you trade away in security you make up for in capability and vice versa.

The same logic extends to Web servers. The more features that are offered, the more likely hackers can find inroads. One classic case involved a UNIX® server that featured a security hole. The hole that enabled outsiders to execute arbitrary commands on the server host—and that was a proverbial barrel of monkeys for Web administrators.

Common Gateway Interface (CGI) scripts are also a major source of security risks. Although the CGI protocol isn’t inherently insecure, the scripts must be written with the same kind of care accorded to the server itself. However, some scripts aren’t created with finesse, and trusting Web administrators often install them without knowing any better.

Server-side includes, which are snippets of server directives embedded in HTML documents, are another potential source of problems. A subset of their directives instruct the server to execute arbitrary system commands and CGI scripts, and unintentional side effects can be introduced.

So what can you do to keep on top of the latest security holes? Call Black Box Tech Support at 724-746-5500.

You can also implement some common sense procedures that go a long way to keeping data-communication assets safe from harm.
• Encourage employees to choose passwords that aren’t obvious.
• Require employees to change passwords every 90 days.
• Keep your virus-protection subscriptions current.
• Educate employees about the risks of e-mail attachments.
• Implement a comprehensive network security plan.
• Assess your security plan and levels of security.
• Remove network access immediately for all former employees.
• Provide a secure, centrally managed server for telecommuters.
• Update your Web server software.
• Don’t run any unnecessary network services.

Identity
Accurate and positive identification of network users, hosts, applications, services, and resources is a must. Kerberos, password tools, and protocols such as RADIUS and TACACS+ enable identification.

Perimeter security
This enables you to control access to network applications, data, and services so only authorized users and information can pass through the network.

Data privacy
Data privacy is the providing of confidential data on command to authorized users while protecting that information from eavesdropping or tampering. Tunneling, encryption technologies, and protocols like IPSec provide important protection when implementing Virtual Private Networks (VPNs).

Security monitoring
You also should regularly test and monitor security preparations. By being proactive, you can identify areas of weakness and make adjustments. When a real security event occurs, you’ll be ready.

Policy management
It’s likely your network will grow in size and complexity. You’ll need centralized policy-management tools that use directory services to grow with the network. These tools define, distribute, enforce, and audit the security policy through browser interfaces, plus they enhance the usability and effectiveness of your network’s security solutions.

Security modems typically offer four options for levels of security:
• No security
• Password
• Password with callback
• Password with callback and second-level password

Auto callback enables an answering modem to dial a prestored callback number after answering a call.

When configured for auto callback security, modems like the Series II Modems provide secure and cost-effective corporate LAN access for both travelers and telecommuters. Unauthorized connections are prevented by invalid passwords.

Callback numbers minimize toll charges via the following procedure: When called, the security modem will answer and, after a slight delay, respond with a prompt that requests entry of your modem’s login password. Once you’ve typed it in correctly and hit the return key, the security modem can either allow the user through or disconnect and dial back the prestored number.

The security modem gives you several attempts at each prompt to provide correct information—incorrect entries result in a password retry. If the requested information isn’t provided within a set amount of time, your call is disconnected.

Depending on what security level your particular modem is configured for, you may or may not be asked to provide more password information upon callback.

If the second-level password clearance is required, then the security modem responds with another request for your modem’s login password when your modem answers the callback. After you enter the password, the security modem should respond with an acknowledgement of connection.

This acknowledgement tells you that the modems are now in Data Mode, your reversal of phone charges is complete, and you are ready to communicate with the host computer.

Frequency-Hopping Spread Spectrum wireless communication provides error-free transmission, top security, and high levels of throughput without the need for an FCC site license. The key to Spread Spectrum is a frequency-hopping transceiver.

Narrow-band frequency hoppers use a predefined algorithm to maintain synchronization and high throughput between master and remote modems. They achieve this by continually switching or “hopping” from one transmission frequency to another throughout the Spread Spectrum band. The sequence of frequencies is very difficult to predict and thus nearly impossible to eavesdrop on or jam. If interference is encountered at any particular frequency, the built-in error correction detects it and resends the data packet at the next frequency hop. Because EMI/RFI interference rarely affects the entire available bandwidth, and each frequency hop is at least 6 MHz, the radio transmitter has access to as many as 100 frequencies within the spectrum to avoid interference and ensure that data gets through.

A terminal server (sometimes called a serial server) is a hardware device that enables you to connect serial devices across a network.

Terminal servers acquired their name because they were originally used for long-distance connection of dumb terminals to large mainframe systems such as VAX™. Today, the name terminal server refers to a device that connects any serial device to a network, usually Ethernet. In this day of network-ready devices, terminal servers are not as common as they used to be, but they’re still frequently used for applications such as remote connection of PLCs, sensors, or automatic teller machines.

The primary advantage of terminal servers is that they save you the cost of running separate RS-232 devices. By using a network, you can connect serial devices even over very long distances—as far as your network stretches. It’s even possible to connect serial devices across the Internet. A terminal server connects the remote serial device to the network, and then another terminal server somewhere else on the network connects to the other serial device.

Terminal servers act as virtual serial ports by providing the appropriate connectors for serial data and also by grouping serial data in both directions into Ethernet TCP/IP packets. This conversion enables you to connect serial devices across Ethernet without the need for software changes.

Because terminal servers send data across a network, security is a consideration. If your network is isolated, you can get by with an inexpensive terminal server that has few or no security functions. If, however, you’re using a terminal server to make network connections across a network that’s also an Internet subnet, you should look for a terminal server that offers extensive security features.

Fiber optic cable not only gives you immunity to interference and greater signal security, but it’s also constructed to insulate the fiber’s core from the stress associated with use in harsh environments.

The core is a very delicate channel that’s used to transport data signals from an optical transmitter to an optical receiver. To help reinforce the core, absorb shock, and provide extra protection against cable bends, fiber cable contains a coating of acrylate plastic.

In an environment free from the stress of external forces such as temperature, bends, and splices, fiber optic cable can transmit light pulses with minimal attenuation. And although there will always be some attenuation from external forces and other conditions, there are two methods of cable construction to help isolate the core: loose-tube and tight-buffer construction.

In a loose-tube construction, the fiber core literally floats within a plastic gel-filled sleeve. Surrounded by this protective layer, the core is insulated from temperature extremes, as well as from damaging external forces such as cutting and crushing.

In a tight-core construction, the plastic extrusion method is used to apply a protective coating directly over the fiber coating. This helps the cable withstand even greater crushing forces. But while the tight-buffer design offers greater protection from core breakage, it’s more susceptible to stress from temperature variations. Conversely, while it’s more flexible than loose-tube cable, the tight-buffer design offers less protection from sharp bends or twists.