Technology News: User Access

The Efficient Enterprise Bouncer
September 17, 2009

Managing access to protected resources for users in the extended enterprise can be a daunting task. New applications and services are continuously being developed and deployed; new users join the extended enterprise, change roles within it, and eventually move on.

Maybe the Policy Is the Problem
August 18, 2009

Imagine for a moment one of your company's employees getting out of their car and arriving at your office building. It doesn't really matter who it is, but for the sake of visualizing the scene more clearly, assume it's someone conservative and maybe a bit socially inept. Maybe it's one of the "suits" in accounting. Now visualize this employee walking through the parking lot of your office.

Managing a Passel of Passwords With Online Tools
August 16, 2009

Do you use your kids' names? Your pet's? Your favorite color? We all use some dumb passwords that are too easy to guess. Worse, we use the same ones for lots of Web sites. So if one site gets compromised, or an employee there is dishonest, someone could start trying out that password on other sites where you have accounts, like Amazon or PayPal, and you've got trouble.

The Comedy - and Tragedy - of the Commons
July 30, 2009

Sensitive data in unstructured formats poses a distinct problem to security- and compliance-minded organizations, a problem exacerbated by the ubiquity of Web-based portals and collaborative tools such as Microsoft SharePoint. This research brief describes how current Microsoft SharePoint users respond to the security challenges raised by their expanding reliance on collaboration.

Refining User Access to Keep Employee Power in Check
July 23, 2009

It has been a year since the city of San Francisco was held hostage because a city network administrator, Terry Childs, allegedly locked down the city's IT system through a privileged account. Yet today, even with the heightened awareness created by this headline incident, companies continue to struggle.

Out of Sight, Out of Mind? Security and the Home-Based Worker
July 21, 2009

Everyone knows the old adage that "out of sight" is "out of mind." There's quite a bit of truth to it. It's a facet of human nature that things that are directly in front of our face get noticed, while things that are out of our scope of awareness don't. Seems pretty obvious, right? In fact, it is obvious -- or at least intuitive.

Twitter Hack Opens Pandora's Box of Security Issues
July 16, 2009

A hack into Twitter's back-end productivity applications earlier this month is raising some serious questions -- not only about password system security itself, but also about some consequences of network intrusion that may have been unforeseen. About a month ago, a hacker was able to access a Twitter employee's personal email account -- and once there, the intruder struck the mother lode.

Data Security's $64 Billion Question: Who Are You?
May 28, 2009

In today's Internet-driven world of business, customer data -- traditionally the lifeblood of any enterprise -- takes on a new and frightening importance. On the one hand, businesses have to provide partners, staff and contractors access to data; on the other, they have to ensure that data does not get lost by accident -- or stolen.

The SaaS Security Squeeze
April 14, 2009

Multiple Software as a Service applications are becoming the delivery method of choice for organizations looking for ways to reduce their IT costs. Some 90 percent of organizations plan to either maintain or increase their SaaS use, according to a recent report by Gartner Research. This adoption rate is accelerating even in the current economic downturn.

A New Approach for Protecting Data All the Way Down the Line
April 01, 2009

Think of it as the seamy underside of the bad economy: Harsh market conditions, corporate cost-cutting and a downsized, disgruntled workforce create the perfect storm for systematic and sophisticated attacks by underworld enterprises on data systems in respected companies worldwide.

Mac Security in the Oval Office - or Any Office
March 30, 2009

President Obama: We hear that your new team is having challenges in getting their Macs integrated into the White House network. Some recent news stories mentioned application compatibility as one of the hassles, but we'd be willing to bet that the bigger challenge is security.

Eliminating the Mobile Security Blind Spot
March 24, 2009

Office-bound workers at most companies today have a significant amount of IT security available to them when best practices are followed. Their computers are physically secure; their hard drives are hopefully encrypted; secure Web gateways, intrusion prevention systems and firewalls block dangers from the Internet. Audit trails are in place. Passwords and policies are enforced. Data protection is comprehensive.

Superuser Privilege Management: It's Not About Trust
February 25, 2009

Though "everyone knows" the threat and consequences of insider attacks, it was still shocking to read the headlines that a former Unix engineer at mortgage giant Fannie Mae was charged in federal court with allegedly planting a logic bomb that would have effectively shut down all 4,000 servers at Fannie.

Getting Firewalls to Play Nice With One Another
February 11, 2009

Home computer users and small-business entrepreneurs usually know enough about broadband Internet security to protect their data with a firewall. In most of these cases, a single firewall at a point of entry to the computers or network is sufficient. Sometimes, though, using multiple firewalls is the smarter option.

iPods, iPhones and the Enterprise Data Clampdown
November 24, 2008

It's a safe bet that most enterprise employees don't haul their personal laptops into the workplace. However, with the ever-increasing capabilities of iPods and iPhones these days, are workers introducing new issues for IT security? The Apple iPod touch now comes with a whopping 32 GB of storage space and built-in WiFi capable of attaching to nearly ubiquitous corporate wireless networks.

Cisco: IT Managers Neglect Employee Security Threat
September 30, 2008

While enterprises may be on top of their security practices for the most part, data leakage as a result of end user misuse and abuse is something that might very well be flying under the radar. According to a newly released global study by Cisco, "The Challenge of Data Leakage for Business and Employees Around the World," employees are taking numerous risks that could lead to the loss of corporate information.