7 Ways to Improve Your Network’s Web Security

Admins looking to improve on their company’s web security often turn to software solutions to help assess and automate their security tasks. Good web security software can make surfing the web safe and secure by protecting users from potential vulnerabilities in their operating systems or browsers, as well as helping them to avoid policy violations. The top web security software packages can help you to improve your network’s web security in many ways. Here are seven of the major benefits web security software offers:

1. Automatic blocking of malicious content

Compromised websites can lead to compromised workstations. Whether it’s a malicious script or a media file, web security software can scan and block data before displaying it in a browser compromises a machine.

2. Scan downloads for malware

Users frequently go to the Internet to download files, whether those are programs, music, or screensavers. Web security software can scan those downloads with multiple anti-malware engines to ensure maximum protection for your users.

3. Support acceptable use/appropriate content policies

There’s a time and a place for most things; but many of those things are not appropriate at the workplace. Web security software can proactively block access to websites containing content that is not right for access during working hours, which helps users avoid policy violations or other situations that can impact others.

4. HTTPS inspection

Many times, HTTPS is used to get around filters and proxies because they cannot inspect encrypted traffic. With all the Certificate Authorities that have been compromised in the past few months, this could be a huge risk, but the best web security software can use PKI to scan even HTTPS traffic while still protecting the confidentiality of data.

5. Bandwidth controls prevent impact to mission critical apps

Web security software can also enforce bandwidth limits on users’ browsing, so that your ecommerce site, email system, etc., don’t suffer from slow performance due to Internet access.

6. Block phishing sites

You can read a new story every week about a company that lost data, money, and customer confidence because an employ fell victim to a phishing attack. Web security software can stop these kinds of scams dead in their tracks by blocking access to phishing sites.

7. The exception is the rule

The best web security software should use a combination of lists, categories, reputation, whitelists and blacklists to control Internet access, and easily allow admins to create exceptions when a site may be categorized one way, but is still necessary for a business purpose.

With good web security software, administrators can allow their users safe and secure access to the Internet, while protecting them, the company’s data and reputation, and their customers from the worst the web has to offer. Web security software is the right way to take advantage of the best that Internet access has to offer, while avoiding the worst threats that are out there. Web security software is one of the must-have applications every network admin needs.

This guest post was provided by Casper Manes on behalf of GFI Software Ltd. GFI is a leading software developer that provides a single source for network administrators to address their network security, content security and messaging needs. Learn more on what to include in your web security strategy.

Free Configuration Check Tool by eEye Digital Security

eEye Digital Security, the industry’s leading innovator of threat management solutions, just released new research, “Working Toward Configuration Best Practices” . Findings verify that proper configuration and mitigations remain the most effective way to secure IT infrastructure.

The research team at eEye also found that the leading mitigations it recommended in 2011 disabling WebDAV and Microsoft Office document converters - prevented even more vulnerabilities in 2011 than in 2010. In the case of turning off the Office document converters, the percentage increased from eight to 10 percent. Combined, the two tactics mitigate 20 percent of vulnerabilities.

To put these relatively simple recommendations into action, IT administrators can download a new, free tool from the eEye researchers. It tests for some of the most highly recommended configuration updates and:

• Offers a simple pass/fail and informational status check to compare how the user's company rates against recommended configurations

• Tests how the local system operating system is configured and how the network is architected, identifying potential problem areas

• Provides information on potential backdoors and other areas of concern related to Advanced Persistent Threats (APT)

• Shows how much of the user's processes and code are signed, allowing users to determine what is valid and what is not

The research also shows that in addition to upgrading and disabling WebDAV and Office converters, users should limit administrative privileges, put proxy servers to work, encrypt traffic on VLANs and IPsec, and deny access to Windows subsystems. Additional recommendations, most of which are easy fixes, are noted in the research, including how to protect against threats such as Stuxnet, Night Dragon and Aurora.

eEye's new free configuration tool and accompanying white paper are available for download here and eEye Research Report available Here.

Oxford University launches Cyber Security Centre

Cyber crime is not going away. As the world becomes ever more interconnected and dependent on networks, laptops and personal handheld devices, the opportunities are just too great. The personal information stored on such devices credit card information, drivers’ licenses and Social Security numbers is at high risk and is often targeted by criminals because of the price it can bring on the black market.

The Oxford Cyber Security Center is the new home to cutting-edge research designed to tackle the growing threats posed by cyber terrorism and cyber crime, and to safeguard the trustworthiness of electronically-stored information. In addition to being a springboard for new research, is an umbrella for current research activity worth in excess of £5m, supported close involvement of over 12 permanent academic staff, and in excess of 25 research staff, 18 doctoral students.

Each year brings its own set of risks and challenges. Another concern is the growing use of “malware,” which is used to infiltrate or damage computer systems without the company’s knowledge. Professor Sadie Creese, Director of the Cyber Security Centre explained, “Oxford is striving to have apositive impact on society and the economy. Helping to create a more secure digital environment willbe a wonderful way of doing this. Security requires a positive and to a large extent open collaboration between industry, government agencies and universities. That is what we aim to achieve.”

The Cyber Security Centre is dedicatedto the essential task of being able to to anticipate, deter, detect, resist and tolerate attacks, understandand predict cyber risks, and respond and recover effectively at all levels,  whether individual, enterprise,national or across international markets.

The invite-only launch event is being held at Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum on 26th March 2012, and will be attended by eminent security experts from government, industry and academia. Speakers will include James Quinault, Director of the Cyber Security and Information Assurance, at the Cabinet Office and Martin Sadler, Director, Cloud Security, HP Labs.

Chinese hacker arrested for leaking 6 million logins from CSDN

In the biggest hacking case in China's Internet history, police have arrested a man suspected of leaking personal information about more than six million users. The suspect, surnamed Zeng, was nabbed in Wenzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, on February 4 after an investigation into the case, Beijing News reported.

Surnamed Zeng suspected of leaking personal information belonging to more than 6 million users of theChina Software Developer Network (CSDN). Zeng has been detained on charges of illegal acquisition of computer data.

Police said the leaked information contained user IDs, passwords and e-mail addresses in clear text. The leak had a rippling effect on other websites, including online shopping, gaming, social networking and even financial service websites. Police noticed that most of the leaked data dated from July 2009 to July 2010, indicating the CSDN server was hacked before July 2010.

Zeng caught the police's attention because he claimed in an online post in September 2010 that he had gained command of the CSDN database and wanted to cooperate with the website, it was reported.He admitted to hacking into the CSDN server in April 2010 through a system loophole and sneaking into an online recharge platform and a stock brokerage system.

After the incident, Beijing police punished CSDN for poorly securing its database. CSDN apologized to its subscribers and claimed that its server has been properly protected since September 2010.

A Russian Zeus attacker Sentenced from Million Dollar Fraud

 Russian Hacker, who was part of an elaborate Cyber attack that used Zeus Banking Trojan in U.S. visas to move cash stolen from U.S. businesses out of the country was sentenced on March 23 to two years in U.S. federal prison.

Nikokay Garifulin received a two-year prison term for his involvement in a global bank fraud scheme that used hundreds of phony bank accounts to steal over $3 million from dozens of U.S.accounts that were compromised by malware attacks.

According to court documents and statements, Garifulin was part of a cyber bank fraud scheme, backed by Eastern European hackers to steal money from the bank accounts of small and mid-sized businesses throughout the U.S. The cyber attacks included Zeus Trojan, would embed itself in victims’ computers and record keystrokes as they logged into their online bank accounts.

The hackers responsible for the malware then used the account information to take over the victims’ bank accounts and make unauthorized transfers of thousands of dollars at a time to accounts controlled by co-conspirators, including Garifulin, who were members of a money mule organization.

Garifulin collected money that had been withdrawn by mules from the phony accounts in the United States and, under the direction of the organization’s leader, distributed it to other co-conspirators and transported it back to Eastern Europe. GARIFULIN also arranged for fake passports to be transferred from Eastern Europe to mules in the United States.

In addition to his prison term, Garifulin, 23, of Volgograd, Russia, was sentenced to three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to forfeit $100,000 and to pay $192,123,122 in restitution.