[ISN] Security UPDATE -- Lessons in Disaster Recovery -- September 14, 2005

InfoSec News isn at c4i.org
Thu Sep 15 00:50:14 EDT 2005


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Supercharging SMS for Effective Asset Management
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1. In Focus: Lessons in Disaster Recovery

2. Security News and Features
   - Recent Security Vulnerabilities
   - McAfee and Microsoft Warn About ASP.NET Forms Authentication
   - eEye's Lengthy Laundry List of Vulnerabilities

3. Security Toolkit
   - Security Matters Blog
   - FAQ
   - Security Forum Featured Thread

4. New and Improved
   - Make Your Public PCs More Resilient

====================

==== 1. In Focus: Lessons in Disaster Recovery ====
   by Mark Joseph Edwards, News Editor, mark at ntsecurity / net

I seriously doubt that there is a person reading this newsletter who 
doesn't know of the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina. Vast areas 
of the southern coast of the United States have been destroyed. 
People's lives are in ruins, and how long it will take to recover is 
still unknown. 

The human suffering and loss of life is heart wrenching, to put it 
mildly, and although I have a difficult time thinking about protecting 
computer systems in the wake of such disaster, such protection is in 
fact the focus of this newsletter. Therefore I think it's appropriate 
to revisit disaster recovery in terms of information security and 
computer networks. 

Katrina brings to light the fact that you and your business can be 
displaced not just temporarily, but for significant periods of time. A 
robust disaster recovery plan is paramount. Katrina shows us that in 
addition to thinking about system and communication failure, you should 
also consider the possibility that your premises might be destroyed and 
rendered unusable either temporarily or permanently. You need to think 
about system recovery, but you also need to consider hardware 
replacement or recovery, relocating available personnel in new office 
space, and replacing communication systems. 

Data backup strategies can include offsite storage by either physically 
transporting media somewhere or by using a backup system that transmits 
data over a communication link. Either way, you should probably use an 
offsite backup location that's in a completely different geographic 
area. 

You should also consider maintaining live backup Web sites, mail 
servers, and DNS systems that are ready to go. If you plan these right, 
they'll kick into action immediately as soon as anything at your main 
site goes down. 

To get in touch with key employees after a disaster, you might need 
conventional-phone alternatives such as cell phones and Voice over IP 
(VoIP) tools. However, if cell towers and other communication lines 
fail, then those technologies will also be useless. You could consider 
getting satellite phones if your business needs justify the cost. 

You'll also need a quick exit strategy. If you must evacuate the area, 
what will you take, aside from obvious essentials? You could gather 
disk drives that contain mission-critical data and other devices if you 
have time. One easy way to help protect hardware and documents you 
might need to take with you or leave behind is to waterproof them by 
using a product such as Space Bags (see URL below). Having a big safe 
or vault to store hardware might be a good idea too. After all, if the 
building collapses, Space Bags won't be much help. 
   http://list.windowsitpro.com/t?ctl=13897:4FB69

In addition, you might consider the fact that you might have to leave a 
lot of data behind. If it's sensitive information, then it should be 
encrypted in case the hardware falls into the wrong hands in your 
absence. You probably won't have time to start encrypting data during a 
crisis, so you need to have such a process in place beforehand. 

Those are a few ideas that might help you review your disaster recovery 
plans. As I've written before, you need to be ready to take action 
quickly on short notice and be ready to recover quickly from events 
that strike with little or no advance warning. A comprehensive disaster 
response and recovery plan is part of good business security.

You can find more information about disaster recovery for OSs, 
databases, email systems, and more in numerous articles on our Web 
site. 
   http://list.windowsitpro.com/t?ctl=1387C:4FB69

-----

The Microsoft Professional Developers Conference 2005 (PDC05) is this 
week in Los Angeles. Check out Paul Thurrott's PDC05 blog on our Web 
site to find out the latest development news from LA.
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==== 2. Security News and Features ====

Recent Security Vulnerabilities
   If you subscribe to this newsletter, you also receive Security 
Alerts, which inform you about recently discovered security 
vulnerabilities. You can also find information about these 
discoveries at
   http://list.windowsitpro.com/t?ctl=13887:4FB69

McAfee and Microsoft Warn About ASP.NET Forms Authentication
   McAfee published a white paper that helps developers understand how 
to better protect against replay attacks in applications based on 
ASP.NET. Microsoft also published an article about the problem, which 
pertains to forms authentication. Both Microsoft and McAfee recommend a 
series of defenses.
   http://list.windowsitpro.com/t?ctl=1388F:4FB69

eEye's Lengthy Laundry List of Vulnerabilities
   Since the end of March, eEye Digital Security has discovered no less 
than nine vulnerabilities in Microsoft products, two in RealNetworks 
products, and one in Macromedia products. No patches are publicly 
available for any of these problems. 
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Walking the Tightrope Between Recovery and Continuity
   There's a big difference between the ability to quickly recover lost 
or damaged data and the ability to keep your messaging operations 
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====================

==== 3. Security Toolkit ==== 

Security Matters Blog: Some Vulnerabilities Are Downright Funny 
   by Mark Joseph Edwards, http://list.windowsitpro.com/t?ctl=13892:4FB69

Full Disclosure is a decent mailing list, although the conversation can 
at times become childish and full of offensive language. Once in a 
while, a truly funny post comes across the list to lighten the 
discussion. Read this blog item for a little comedic relief. 
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FAQ
   by John Savill, http://list.windowsitpro.com/t?ctl=13891:4FB69 

Q: I'm trying to copy a user profile, but the Copy To button is grayed 
out in the dialog box in the System Control Panel applet. How can I 
access that functionality?

Find the answer at
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Security Forum Featured Thread: Securing Microsoft Access
   A forum participant has a Microsoft Access database on the company 
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able to make changes to it. When he chooses what he thinks are the 
proper security settings in Tools, Security, he gets a "Not a valid 
account name or password" error message. Does he need to save an .mdw 
file to a particular folder, and can he create passwords on the fly? 
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==== 4. New and Improved ====
   by Renee Munshi, products at windowsitpro.com

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