PC World…
Google’s Free Airport Wi-Fi: Five Ways to Protect Yourself
Writer, Jeff Bertolucci shares with us Google’s generous gift of free Wi-Fi in 47 airports. While it may seem like a thoughtful idea it unfortunately opens users up for potential hacks if they are not careful. Jeff provides us with some helpful tips—an important one to highlight is no. 3—use a VPN, especially if you are accessing the Internet for business.

Computerworld…
Update: H1N1 Drives Demand For Secure Remote Access
In this article Jaikumar Vijayan discusses how the H1N1 pandemic is motivating companies to upgrade their secure remote access capabilities. In case of an emergency, employees will be able to work from their homes and other remote locations. This has led to vendors of remote access technologies seeing an increase in demand for their products. As part of an effort to help companies support more teleworkers quickly, RSA has introduced an on-demand authentication system for companies to use to enable workers to securely log in from remote locations. Instead of hardware-based tokens, workers get one-time passwords sent to their mobile phones. Has your company invested in more remote access technology because of H1N1?

CNNMoney…
Independent “SMB IT Pulse” Benchmark Survey Shows SMB Workforce Mobility on the Rise
A recent study of small businesses by Logmein shows that 63 percent of non-IT managers say remote access services make their staff more productive. This proves that administrators need a simple management solution that is not complicated or expensive to maintain.

To gain more insight for our how to rethink remote access series, we turned to IT expert Dave Dennis. He shared his thoughts on rethinking remote access planning with us. Dave is currently the Network Manager at Buckhorn Inc., a supplier of reusable industrial containers and pallets throughout the Western hemisphere.

How can you lessen the end user’s burden of managing remote communications? The key is to design your data/applications to be simple. Here are some things to consider:

1. What is the “shape” of your data and applications? Is your data stored in a lot of places? Do you need several applications to access it? Do you need applications requiring specialized installation and configuration? Or can they be accessed through simple tools like browsers? Fewer, simpler tools will work better remotely.

2. How much of your data is stored on servers versus individual workstations? Data on laptops is great for mobile users, but not for coworkers who might need access to it. It’s also bad for security–not just someone stealing it, but it’s actually more likely that data might be just lost (hardware theft, crashed hard drive, etc.). I like to ask decision makers how the company would be affected if their computer were lost–that gets their attention.

3. What is the business need for remote access? And what security levels are required? Occasional work on weekends or evenings has different requirements than people who are always on the road. Industry regulations (HIPAA, SOX) may also require certain security access and practices as well.

Lately, I’ve been gravitating toward simple devices that VPN into the network and connect to either a Terminal Server or even the user’s own desktop computer. Once the user connects, everything is where he usually finds it. The mobile devices also tend to be cheaper and simpler to configure. This is a great configuration for people with simple or occasional remote needs. It is harder to do this with people who travel a lot and have a lot of complex data/application needs.

If your data/applications can accommodate it, go with a single remote connectivity method. Easy to use, easy to support. And the more like their familiar desktop, the better.

Actually the last point might be a good technology planning goal. As virtual desktop technology matures, we may find even in-house users “remoting” into their virtual desktops on a server.

Big news today from Cisco as reported by Network World:

“Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is warning customers of its unified communicationsWindows 7 will be supported.” products that support for Windows 7 won’t be forthcoming until the product’s 8.0 release scheduled for the first quarter of 2010. About a dozen more UC products will not support Windows 7 until version 8.5, in the third quarter of 2010 and at that time, only the 32-bit version of.”

For customers who need IPsec 64-bit support, NCP engineering can help you out. The “beta” version of the client is scheduled to go release candidate any day now too.

We are now starting with the next installment of our how to rethink remote access series, focusing on planning. We spoke with networking, security and remote access specialist, Joerg Gerschuetz. Joerg is a Senior Systems Architect at Siemens IT Solutions and Services.

I believe the human factor can never be removed from any technology, not only remote access! Working in the remote access business for more than 10 years now, I always encounter users who are:
- wittingly or unwittingly able to overcome all the implemented measures
- incapable of finding that single button they were presented in the UI and trained a dozen times to hit

And I want to stress another very important aspect: we are only thinking about the remote access user being the “biggest pain.” But what about the other side of the fence? There is the human factor, too… and I think the pain here is as big as on the simple user´s side!

Just a few examples:

1) The best user interface, the best physical firewall, the best remote access protocols – they are all designed and coded by humans, and therefore prone to errors! There is no error-free source code, there is no error-free hardware. With all these solutions we always have possible security issues due to these intrinsic errors!

2) The best remote access overall environment is always designed and implemented by humans, and therefore prone to errors! There is no error-free implementation, because of different interpretations/understandings of the same topic, not reading/understanding documentation or using technology not the way it was intended/designed to just to achieve cheap or fast solutions! … or simply because of its complexity: Nobody can be a specialist with all jigsaw pieces necessary to get the picture complete, and even if we team up, there are still the interfaces and connections between the single pieces!

3) And as a final thought – there are always administrative errors, again wittingly or unwittingly. With the best firewall in place and a well settled documentation of its rule-set… I suppose there is nearly always a discrepancy between this documentation and the implemented rule-set. With the best processes in place you will always find “cadavers” in your remote access user´s database.

From my perspective there is an apprehensive tendency in absolute believe in technology and neglect of the fact, that this technology is man-made and in some (most?) cases so complex that it is not possible any more to overlook all its attributes, features and interfaces and their interaction!

The Globe and Mail…
Businesses Big and Small Weigh Windows 7 Potential
Lynn Greiner discusses some of the features that Microsoft has incorporated in Windows 7 for businesses. One of those features is DirectAccess, which not only allows VPN-free access to the corporate network, it lets the administrator manage those client systems remotely any time they are connected to the Internet. Administrators should know that since DirectAccess requires IPv6, there needs to be a DNS server that supports AAAA records (which is likely a Windows Server 2008). If users want to connect to older servers on the network that can only cope with IPv4, a device supporting NAT-PT is required to bridge the gap. If you use a standard VPN, it will be enhanced by VPN Reconnect. It automatically and transparently restores a VPN connection after its Internet connection briefly drops.

Information Week…
Wolfe’s Den Podcast: Windows 7 Virtually Speaking
In this post, Alexander Wolfe looks at some of the ways Windows 7 affects virtual private networks. Alexander feels DirectAccess has a strong usability angle in that it makes administration much easier on a lot of levels, in terms of making sure users are properly audited and are running what they’re supposed to. He also notes that many people do not believe DirectAccess is “connecting” them to their corporate network, which is interesting in terms of overall Internet usage. He suggests what is does is effectively break down the probably false separation most of us make between the “personal” (or non-work) Web and one’s business network.

Tech Republic…
What Windows 7 Means to Windows Server Administrators
Scott Lowe shares 10 items that Windows server administrators need to know in order to adequately support Windows 7 clients. The list includes New Remote Server Administration Tools, DirectAccess, VPN Reconnect, Offline Domain Join, BranchCache, New Group Policy capabilities, AppLocker, Windows XP Mode adds patching challenges, Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC) and Windows Deployment Services supports Windows 7 deployments. Scott offers his take on each of these items.

The next IT expert to offer insight for our how to rethink remote access series is Evan Francen. Evan, an experienced Information Security leader, is a managing partner at FRSecure LLC. FRSecure is a full-service information security consulting company dedicated to information security education, awareness, application, and improvement. Evan shares his thoughts on remote access policy with us.

How would I go about creating my remote access policy?
1) Understand how the business uses remote access
2) Perform a simple risk assessment
3) Write a draft policy with input from management and business units
4) Edit the remote access policy until there is agreement and approval from senior management

What would I include?

Functionally, I would include Approval(s), Version History, Purpose, Audience, and Policy sections at a minimum.

• Approval(s) (Required) – If you expect people to do what the policy tells them to do, they need to know who’s telling them. Management approval gives the information security professional authority to carry out functional control.
• Version History (Required) – Information security policies need to be reviewed on a regular basis. A version history allows reviews and changes to be tracked.
• Purpose (Required) – A simple sentence or two that communicates why the policy exists.
• Audience (Required) – A sentence or two that communicates who must read and comply with the policy. Not all of your users will be remote access users, so not all users need to read the policy.
• Policy (Required) – The meat of the remote access policy. These are the rules that govern remote access. Each rule should be concise and cover a single aspect of your remote access protection.

Why?
How else do you plan on documenting and communicating management’s rules to manage the risks involved with remote access? I know you’re not supposed to answer a question with a question, but I couldn’t resist.

The approach you take to enforce your remote access policy is largely dependent upon the culture of your company. Enforcement = Compliance (sort of). Understand that 90% of your users will never read your policy, so you will probably need to be creative in how you approach employee compliance and use your policy as a reference document. Policy compliance is increased through a mix of communication, training, awareness, monitoring and corrections/sanctions.

InformationWeek…
Keep Your Laptop Off Our Inadequate Network
In this post, Jonathan Feldman asks why IT people resist end-users bringing their own equipment to the enterprise network. To be able to address issues like this, InformationWeek launched a research survey about end-user device practices in enterprise networks. We look forward to seeing the data and hearing what people had to say!

Enterprise Networking Planet…
Build an IPSEC VPN Without Losing Your Mind
In this article, Charlie Schluting offers some tips on how to build an IPsec VPN. Most people expect to have a difficult time configuring IPsec, but Charlie explains the concepts and makes it a less intimidating process for readers.

InformationWeek…
Should Your Enterprise Network Be An Internet Hot Spot?
Alexander Wolfe discusses whether enterprises should open up their networks, effectively turning them into Internet hot spots. With the emergence of both cloud computing and Windows 7, he says this could be a growing trend. Wolfe suggests Microsoft’s new operating system makes it unnecessary for users to launch VPN clients; instead, the discovery and authentication takes place automatically in the background anytime and anywhere a user connects to the Internet. Therefore, the average user will now perceive the Internet and his/her corporate network as pretty much one and the same thing. What do you think about the idea of the enterprise network as an Internet hot spot?

Continuing with our how to rethink remote access series, IT expert Travis Fisher has shared some thoughts on remote access policy with us. Travis is the Executive Vice President of Inacom Information Systems in Salisbury, MD, specializing in developing strong, secure reliable networks for Delmarva organizations.

I’d like to discuss something that isn’t necessarily policy centric, but needs to be addressed during implementation. One thing that isn’t well discussed at this point is who owns the computer during the remote connection and how is it used.

All too often, I see organizations that want remote access, but they do not understand the vulnerabilities that exist when you let an uncontrolled device VPN into your network. At this point, they are behind any access controls and security devices that you have in place. If it’s a shared PC in the family, you open yourself up to all the threats encountered when people consume all of the content on sites that are inappropriate for the workplace.

If you are going to let remote users connect via VPN, you should have a Network Access Control (NAC) solution in place. This will make sure that the device conforms to your security policies.

The general idea is to mitigate the risks associated with granting network access to different classes of users or even to devices that are not directly under the company’s control. It’s going to be up to the network administrator to deploy and configure a NAC solution based upon the needs and resources of their organization.

Common policies that NAC enforces include the device having a current antivirus definition and scan, that the device is validated to be a part of the network and granting appropriate resources for the user. In the event that the remote connection request is not in compliance, the device and user are quarantined until problems can be resolved (i.e., the device can have a new AV definition sent to it, missing patches, etc). The overall goal is to meet any security or regulatory needs in a way that minimizes risk given the amount of management resources available to the administrator.

The next IT expert in our how to rethink remote access series is Javed Ikbal. Javed is the Chief Security Officer at zSquad, an Information Security consulting company in the Boston area. His specialty is building or re-engineering information security programs. Javed has taken some time to share his thoughts on remote access policy.

- Define who may get remote access and the documentation/authorization for getting that privilege
- Document and define the add/change/delete process
- Define if the VPN can be installed on personally owned HW or not
- Prohibit split tunneling
- Enforce endpoint security (patches, AV, local firewall)
- Activity they can do while connected to the VPN

Around the blogosphere…
With the release of Windows 7 today, there has been quite a bit of discussion about the new version and its features. We have captured some articles and posts that have shared some insight into what Windows 7 will bring.

HowFunky.com
Why Cisco Isn’t Doing What is Right for the Client
In this post, Ed Horley suggests that Cisco is not doing what is right for their customers by only offering a 32-bit VPN client. Many people have upgraded to Windows 7 and 64-bit and he is frustrated that there is no Cisco supported 64-bit IPSec client for Windows Vista or 7.

Gartner
To 64-bit or Not 64-Bit?
Steve Kleynhans discusses that with the launch of Windows 7, corporate customers need to start thinking about 64-bit. If it is not the right time to make the move, they should start preparing for the inevitable 64-bit shift. He suggests that at the very least everyone should include one 64-bit environment in their testing matrix. Steve has been using 64-bit and although he hit a showstopper with his corporate VPN, he resolved the issue and has been successfully running a beta VPN client for several months. If you haven’t already, do you think you will make the transition to 64-bit?

Cnet News
Windows 7 Debuts in New York
In this Live Blog, Ina Fred is updating us with what is happening in New York as CEO Steve Ballmer introduces Microsoft’s newest operating system at a special event. Balmer and Brad Brooks, Windows’ VP of Marketing are showing the crowd Window’s 7 coolest features.

The Windows Blog
What People Are Saying About Windows 7
Blogger, Brandon LeBlanc shares with us a social media “hub” for Windows 7 on Windows.com.  This hub is designed to highlight what consumers are saying about Windows 7, by pulling content from all over the web (via tweets, blog posts, etc.) and bringing it all to one spot.  It’s a great (and convenient) tool to see different opinions on W7.