Secure access continues to be paramount for a connected world. People connect to the Internet for business and for personal use, from wired, wireless or mobile devices—locally and remotely. The Internet is a global system of interconnected networks. User devices, the Internet, and all computer networks are the target of a growing number of increasingly complex security threats. Let’s take a look at some recent trends from the Cisco Connected World Technology Report that speaks to the need for secure access:

• Three devices is the average per end user with the desire or mandate to work anywhere and anytime—how do we ensure control of all these devices?
• 71 percent of the next generation workforce will not obey the policies—how do we enforce policy?
• 60 percent will not be responsible for protecting corporate information and devices—how do we protect sensitive data?
• Mobile malware is growing; Android malware grew over 2000% from 2012 but is only 1% of the web malware encounter—how do we ensure secure connection from your mobile device and with web intensive users   Read More »

Tags: cisco annual security report, Cisco Identity Service Engine (ISE), cisco live london 2013, Gartner Magic Quadrant, ISE, MDM, NAC, secure BYOD, security policy

My previous two posts have been about the address planning process and how to break into the IPv6 integration process. I’ve tried to show that IPv6 is a task that you should be interested in and that it is not an intractable problem. However, I know that some people are still questioning why they would ever want to take this task on. I typically hear comments along the lines of “IPv4 is working for my organization and we’ve got plenty of address space to grow the business. There is nothing interesting on the IPv6 Internet. We don’t need IPv6.” With the successful World IPv6 Launch and over 3500 web sites now IPv6 enabled, the IPv6 Internet has grown in size and demonstrated that IPv6 transport is a viable way to deliver content and services.

I won’t spend too much time discussing it here, but I will remind everyone that IPv4 address depletion is a very real problem. It is not something to be lightly ignored, and it will impact your business and the services you offer whether you like it or not. I see two areas where IPv6 is going to have to be a part of future plans: customer/partner interaction and security.

Read More »

Tags: IPv6, mobile devices, security, security policy

What good does a firewall, IPS sensor, encryption device, and your favorite security product and tool do if you do not have guidelines, policies, and best practices on how to effectively configure and use them? Building strong security policies is crucial for any organization. These policies should be strong, yet realistically flexible to accommodate ever-changing requirements. Read More »

Tags: cyber-security-month-2011, security, security policy