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Behavioural analysis required to provide effective wireless security

22nd January 2016

By: Schalk Burger

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

  

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Owing to the inherently open and exposed nature of wireless networks, securing them requires active and robust monitor-ing and analysis of user and device behaviour to identify potential risks or intrusions, says network security firm Fortinet Africa regional director Perry Hutton.

Wireless connectivity can offer speeds rivalling fixed-line Ethernet speeds; its adoption and use are, therefore, expected to grow significantly.

Survey company Lightspeed GMI conducted a wireless security survey of 103 South African information technology decision-makers in medium-sized and large enterprises and found that 30% of them ranked end-point devices as most vulnerable, while 21% ranked core network infrastructure and 18% ranked email as most vulnerable.

Of those surveyed, 12% indicated that wireless networks were the most vulnerable elements of their enterprise networks.

“From our experience, about one in three enterprises in South Africa do not have effective security in place to defend against breaches, despite 69% of respondents indicating concern about losing sensitive data. The Fortinet global threat survey found that only 48% of respondents globally identified sensitive data loss as the largest threat to their organisations.”

However, about 25% of South African com-panies have robust and effective security strat-egies in place, he adds.

Of critical concern is the predictions of attack patterns this year, with machine-to-machine attacks highlighted as a key vector for infection, says Fortinet Africa security manager Tinus Janse van Rensburg.

Land-and-expand attacks were also high-lighted as a key threat, with hackers using a variety of vectors to enter a network. The malware hides itself and attempts to profile and infiltrate as many portions of a network as possible, after which it identifies when and how it can send information to a command and control centre.

“The risks associated with improperly secured wireless and mobile networks are considerable, especially given the sensitivity of industrial supervisory control and data acquisition systems. The chance of a wireless device or connection being used to breach a company’s network is very high, partly owing to poor wireless security measures.”

Many factories and manufacturers have adopted wireless networks and mobile access to improve oversight and operations, but this has made these systems vulnerable.

To effectively secure a wireless network, companies must deploy unified threat protection and management to identify what various devices are doing on the network, says Janse van Rensburg.

“Wireless is generally understood as being solely for use by trusted insiders of a company’s network and, often, this means that network traffic of devices accessing the network is not, or poorly, monitored,” says Hutton.

“Companies should have tools in place, such as next-generation firewalls and intrusion- detection and -prevention tools to close the vulnerabilities of wireless systems.”

Identifying devices and their actions on the network and managing whether the devices and associated users are allowed to access various portions of the network are essential to effec- tively monitor and protect a wireless network, says Fortinet major account manager Paul Williams.

Edited by Martin Zhuwakinyu
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

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