Contributed by Cisco Systems, Inc.

Increasingly, mission-critical business applications and services are deployed on open networks with substantial connections to the public Internet. Without appropriate security policies, processes, and products, Internet connectivity can compromise the very gains in productivity that help make today’s companies more profitable and that enable them to serve a larger and more diverse customer base.  Security enables enterprises to confidently extend the network to customers, partners, and remote/mobile employees, thus increasing revenues sources, efficiency of business processes and employee productivity.  In some industries, data privacy and the threat of litigation has become a government mandate. U.S. healthcare providers must comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), U.S. financial services providers are governed by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, and U.K. companies must adhere to the Turnbull Report on Internal Control for public companies, as well as the Data Protection Act of 1995.  

Technology Best Practices for Endpoint Security

Contributed by Cisco Systems, Inc.

As technologies such as high-speed networks, switching, and end-to-end encryption are more widely adopted, providing desired security at the network level becomes a major challenge. One important place to enforce security is at the endpoint, where data resides and the potential for damage is greatest. Today, businesses are confronted with the availability of several point products, each attempting to solve a part of the endpoint security problem. These include distributed personal firewalls for protection against network-borne threats, antivirus scanners for detection of file-based threats, and audit or integrity products for detection of malicious configuration activity. These technologies do not address new attacks that are carried over existing protocols to attack applications, or new content-based attacks that attack systems before vendors are able to release and distribute signatures and other responses. This document outlines the technology best practices for endpoint security solutions, to help organizations make informed decisions when choosing endpoint security products.