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VoIP and Security for You and Me

Peter Rung — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 10:10:53 AM -0700

There are several elements to VoIP security. Your direct mention of encryption, assuming payload encryption, can also leave vectors of attack. The standards leave open vectors of attacks. And then, authentication resilience and completeness must be addressed.

Our approach is symmetric authentication with Diffie Hellman exchanges for self service key management. Using multiple keys for multiple people, topics, assignment or mission provide a depth to the encryption approach with the flexibility of using multiple keys in the same communications session. It also includes encrypting in the endpoint device or software, and only decrypting at the receiving endpoint device or software. This also allows for encrypted conference calling.

The fact that solutions, sights, books, seminars, etc are available for tracking, saving and recording voice from VoIP streams, GSM phones, etc, sets the stage for gathering and compiling packets which are not secured into actual voice is a simple automation step away. That's the bad news.

Good news? Yes. Tricky? Yes. Hard? No. Secured? Yes. Available now? Yes!

Peter Rung - CEO

I.D. Rank Security, Inc.

www.idranksecurity.com

VoIP and Security for You and Me

John — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 01:54:30 PM -0700

It's just as simple as gathering the packets and listening to them once compiled into a single sound file. Sounds simple, but it's painfully hard!

When social networks go down, how is business affected?

Jonathon Narvey — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 04:54:10 PM -0700

Hey Maurice. Very good points, as usual. Social media seems just too useful to ignore, yet the security concerns have been around since before the whole Web 2.0 era began. How to square this circle?

I can say that we've been helping some companies dip their feet into the social media waters (Let me know if you want more info). Success hinges on being able to offer measurable results and mitigate the risks to keep them manageable (keeping in mind that companies that haven't adopted social media tools are still vulnerable on many levels).

Getting back to the main question posed in the post, our own operations were not severely affected, but given our own presence on Twitter and other social networks, it was definitely frustrating (for some of my colleagues more than others). We're not dependent on these things yet, and being an experienced IT consulting firm at our heart, we have built-in capabilities to devise technical work-around's for ourselves and clients if need be.

But I expect that not too far off, these kinds of events will seriously downgrade some of our clients' abilities to do their job. Certainly, some of the old media/new media/PR companies we're in touch with nearly had a nervous breakdown last week.

When social networks go down, how is business affected?

Maurice Cardinal — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 01:18:21 PM -0700

We also use social media primarily as a promotional tool, not a business medium, so when specific subsets go down for a short period it has little if any impact, especially considering SM has not reached even near critical mass.

I will say however that when it stutters and stops repeatedly like Twitter has recently, we use it less and less.

I used Twitter in the early years and dropped it, and have no hesitation to drop it again.

Time is money - sorry, that doesn't sound very social does it?

Social media for us is more like a business dating service, and not a closer. I deal with traditional companies that have substantial budgets, and haven't yet met a client that considers social media a serious business tool, although they are interested in having us keep them abreast of developments.

Currently, I can help clients more effectively in other ways instead of trying to convince them to experiment with a program that has questionable returns at best, but I applaud and watch carefully younger generation companies that have taken on the challenge, and we experiment on our own projects.

I primarily enjoy social media as a distraction and interesting place to hang out and learn, just as I did in the early 90's when I "bought" my first copy of Netscape Navigator. Maybe I'm not utilizing SM to its full potential, but I still consider a good website, the phone, email, and Google corner posts to business.

Things do however change exponentially in this era so I might change my mind tomorrow.

Considering that everyone is risk adverse today, if the people running the big social media sites can't generate profit or keep it relatively safe, I wouldn't feel comfortable advising my clients to invest heavily in it yet.

How often should we change passwords?

Jonathon — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 12:06:37 PM -0700

Hey Faisal. Good points.

It's true that even the best can put their passwords into a fake site. We're not aiming for perfection here, but rather suggesting a way to mitigate risk. Until biometric encryption becomes standard, as you suggest, we have to make do with these inferior text passwords. Even better could be image-based passwords, as we've discussed at { Link }

How often should we change passwords?

Faisal Mohammad Asif — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 10:49:52 AM -0700

Okay now that is great! This way people will suck all the bandwidth around the world! and smart black-hat hackers will be ready for the party time! It's good but has disadvantages too. By the way, even the best computer freak can mistakenly put his/her password in a phishing site! (It happens when you're too busy working, and you need to log in quickly!) There must be biometrics security solutions with every personal computer as you see in notebooks these days, and it's lovely!

What do you do when the government hacks your online identity?

Faisal Mohammad Asif — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 05:13:31 AM -0700

Well I guess right now almost all countries have their CERT teams, the idea is that there must be some agency other than of government, who actually look after what CERTs do and how they can stop this internal cyber intrusions, just like what's going on in Iran right now, there must be someone to stop that, it's totally unfair I guess, they don't own internet, neither the blogs.

Trading Up to A Tech Hub Requires Accountability

Philip Neves — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 02:24:28 PM -0700

I want to add one more thing about the bread maker. The reason why its not ideal for us to talk to the other bread maker is cost. It may cost us less to do business with this particular bread maker then the foreigner. In fact in most cases thats the case. Domestic industries are always more valuable then foreign businesses because they cost less to market to and there is considerably less effort involved because you don't have to get on a plane.

Trading Up to A Tech Hub Requires Accountability

Philip Neves — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 02:17:40 PM -0700

Jonathon, I guess I'm looking at this issue from the point of view of accountability is needed for any sort of business. Its a method of creating trust. As one of my business professors in college once told me. There is no business without trust and you must have accountability to gain that trust. So accountability for me is a given. Its kind of a show stopper for me. If the other side is not accountable I probably won't continue to do business with them and I expect the same from them. But do I see it as the largest issue effecting us? The answer is no because there are many companies out there. If one company is not accountable another one will be. But thats the beauty of diversity.

Perhaps I should explain this whole concept of the tech industry being a support industry. First just because its a support industry doesn't make it play second fiddle to other industries. It does however need other industries to be a vibrant and robust. Sure there are products out there that are primary consumer related businesses but that is just one section of the Industry. You can't count on that part of the industry to handle every contingency that comes up. Most of the time those are very generic products and don't do everything you need. And most of those products are used in other businesses anyways. So in that sense the tech industry is a support industry. It provides products and services that are used to support other businesses in there business. So if the other industries are hurting then they may not buy a technical product or service. This is a problem for the technology industry because our customers can't afford to buy our goods or services.

Please understand. We are all interconnected. This is the way the economy works. A bread maker bakes his bread and sells it. He then buys a computer to track all of his sales and inventory. We as the technology depend on that bread maker. If someone from another country is able to import that bread for a 10th of what the bread maker can charge then the bread maker will go out of business and so will we. We can't ignore the bread maker. He is our customer and we support his business activities with our products and services. This is what I mean by a support industry and this is why trade is such a big issue.

What do you do when the government hacks your online identity?

Jonathon — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 01:26:21 PM -0700

Government having CERT teams to protect national infrastructure against cyber-attack (like that being developed by the US) would seem to be a good thing. Whether it's on its own or in partnership with the private sector is a whole other ball of wax.

I think the point here is that no-one should have to worry about getting hacked (and as a result, getting persecuted and jailed), by the bizarre cyber apparatchiks of their own government. It's bad enough that the usual suspects are out there looking to hack our information.

What do you do when the government hacks your online identity?

Faisal Mohammad Asif — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 10:47:48 AM -0700

Pardon me, but I think CERT teams must be not in control of government BUT in coordination with government with some ethical agreements so that they can protect the citizen of whatever country it is, I really think CERT for countries like Iran should be neutral & help protect citizens from government hackers (of course they're black hat in this case), but this is really bad that they're using a good thing for wrong & personal matters.

Trading Up to A Tech Hub Requires Accountability

Jonathon — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 10:12:04 AM -0700

Hey Philip. I see what you mean now about the technology industry making other industries more efficient. I'm still a bit disagreeable about the semantics, but I think we're on the same page. And I have to agree with what you're saying regarding outsourcing to other nations putting a bit of a cap on tech pay for some types of positions, as you've cited.

As for the tech industry being a support industry, I think we're only a step or two apart. I absolutely agree that technology can provide business solutions that make other companies (and entire industries) more efficient and able to compete in a global market. That's the basic premise of any technology - it helps us do what we want to do better.

But I just want to make sure we're not saying that the tech industry necessarily needs to play second fiddle to other industries on the provincial or national stage.

Other countries with scarce to no natural resources have benefited from building up their technology industries that service their own industries and sectors abroad. Meanwhile, our manufacturing sector is likely going to continue to get hammered over the coming years and decades by low-cost competitors who are increasingly making higher-quality goods. Technology will help keep us competitive and alleviate the pain. Absolutely, we want to help keep other industries around, as a balanced and diverse economy is key to surviving tough times. But we're saying that to keep our living standards high and to extract other benefits for society, the tech sector will have to take an increasing role in our overall economy.

Thanks for your support. Accountability will always be an issue, and as we've stressed, accountability needs to be on both sides - not just government. We have responsibilities as well to continue to show government that their investment and partnership is worth it.

Trading Up to A Tech Hub Requires Accountability

Philip Neves — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 08:55:15 PM -0700

Hmmmm... I don't see your differentiation between technology and the technology industry. The technology industry does make other industries more efficient. Its usually technology workers that go in to a large corporation, or a small one, learn their businesses and then recommend changes that will ultimately make those businesses more efficient. So there is no difference between the two. Technology is just one part of the equation its just the tool that the technology worker uses to get the job done.

As for creating opportunities. I'm more of a pragmatist. There is a saying. "Necessity is the mother of invention." If you don't create an environment of necessity you will not have a technology industry because the creators of technology will not have the experience to determine the problems that need to be fixed or improved upon. I believe the tech industry is a support industry. Without the other industries to support you won't have a tech industry. Its not an either or situation. Those other industries are vital to the survival of the technology industry and in Canada in general those other industries have either become complacent or they have left for areas with cheaper labor, lower environmental standards or just less government intervention.

The way you build a solid technology industry is by having for instance a car industry that needs to automate a business process. They go to a technology company who then comes up with a solution. That solution is the technology that the technology industry created, and because of it the car company will be able to create more cars faster and for less money then they did before.

As for my stats. I have a great deal of experience in finding what is happening in the tech sector. In 2002 I was working in an outsourced call center providing technical support for HP. HP then decided to pull its tech support out of north America and move it to India. Compared to me and the 600 other people they let go they would save a fortune because they would pay the Indian workers only $2 an hour. This has been the story of the technology industry for the last 6 years. Even silicone valley is having difficulty. California is practically bankrupt and its the struggling tech sector that they site as the main reason. As for here in BC. I'm not sure if you've gone out and looked for a job lately. But finding something in tech has been an absolute endeavor. We are not weathering this financial crisis well at all. So much so I've been thinking about getting out of the technology industry in hopes to find a job in an industry where the opportunities are easier to come by. Still trying to find the best industry for that. You can site all the examples you wish about people making 50k or 100K a year but jobs like that in the tech industry I can assure you are not that easy to come by. Someone just coming out of school can expect to be looking for a long time and finally having to take a job that is way beneath their abilities.

So until you fix the bleeding of industries out of north America in general your not going to have a strong technology industry. If accountability is one of the reasons why industries are leaving then sure I'm all for dealing with accountability issues. But I'd say that accountability in government would be the bigger issue as that would be a reason why industries would stop doing business in BC. Government accountability is one of the biggest problems in the province in general because a lack of it is the reason why our taxes are so high and that makes us less competitive. If you've got a way to make government more accountable I'll be right behind you in helping you implement it. But this I would say is a tough problem to fix.

Trading Up to A Tech Hub Requires Accountability

Jonathon — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 02:49:17 PM -0700

Hey Philip. I'll try to respond to your points in order.

First off, we're not saying accountability is the biggest issue with the tech industry, but that it is going to be an essential part of any ongoing partnership between government and the tech sector. As for salaries, I'm not sure where you got the idea that tech sector pay has come down relative to other industries. Care to share your stats?

As for your final point, I think you may be confusing "technology" and the "technology industry". The tech industry doesn't make other industries more efficient. Technology does.

As a globalized economy leaves control of traditional industries more in the hands of the lowest-cost providers paying less and less benefits to their workers, building a knowledge-economy is a good way to ensure present and future generations enjoy a relatively high standard of living. This isn't a gold-rush mentality. We're just saying that increasingly, the opportunities for economic advancement will come from a bigger and better tech sector.

What do you think?

Trading Up to A Tech Hub Requires Accountability

Philip Neves — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 08:45:39 PM -0700

This article is not very realistic in my view of the tech sector. Accountability is not the biggest issue with the tech industry and accountability goes both ways. Not just that of the high tech worker but of the managers and the companies involved. Also technology companies no longer pay their employees better then other industries. Thats a myth. Considering the hard work and dedication that those tech workers put forward to learn and do their job technology companies don't pay enough.

The biggest issue that I see in BC and in Canada is the fact that the tech sector is a support industry. Its the tech industry that makes other industries more efficient and more competitive. If the other industries are hurting then so will the high tech industry. The best way to fight this is to encourage diverse industries in BC. Avoid the gold rush mentality that has gotten us into the problems of the past.

Outsourcing Security for Companies of All Shapes and Sizes

Jonathon — Fri, 15 May 2009 12:41:33 PM -0700

Good points, Pablo. When it comes to figuring out ROI for security, these are good starting points:

1. If your network is unprotected, it will get hacked.

2. If you get hacked, your business operations will shut down, at least temporarily. What would this cost? (This is before costs from remediation, damage control, legal bills, etc).

3. There are certainly areas that are higher priority than others when it comes to security, and that will depend on the unique setup of your network. You'll probably need an assessment to figure out priorities for where to start hardening your systems. Then get to those improvements ASAP. Now you're on your way to getting value for your security dollars.

Outsourcing Security for Companies of All Shapes and Sizes

Pablo Livardo — Wed, 13 May 2009 05:14:04 PM -0700

I think the other problem is that IS Security professionals haven't learned to quantify their needs into dollars and cents. Most IS Security experts say they need this and they need that or the world will descend into chaos. Any prioritized list is usually nothing more than a list of desires according to somebody's preference for toys.

Only by putting these risks into business priority order with costs and benefits can we overcome this. We then need to develop performance management on top of this to measure the effectiveness and report back to the business that it was worth it after all.

Who actually knows how much the IS Security department actually saved any company each year in bad publicity or downtime? Very few. Therefore, why is it no surprise to find that the IS Security projects and staff are the first to be culled when money gets tight.

Security Awareness Training to Stem Data Loss from USB Drives

Pablo Livardo — Wed, 13 May 2009 05:06:41 PM -0700

I think a lot of these systems people talk about raise false hopes. Stopping particular files, particular file types or that contain particular keywords are all prone to failure. You can't implement effective data loss prevention (DLP) by relying on a computer algorithm to evaluate the value of the data being copied.

You either stop everything and keep your data island away from the public (which gets progressively more difficult each day) or you look at classifying your data upon creation. Even automatically classifying your data upon folder hierarchy, business group, business role is better than an explicit process.

However, from a records management and DLP perspective we need to migrate to an environment where we classify data according to value to the business so we can manage the risk effectively. Even Google announced this sort of approach yesterday by introducing its support of RDF. Even Google is starting to see the problem of managing too much data.

Corporate IT Security Breach Apology Letter Template

Jonathon Narvey — Mon, 9 Mar 2009 03:16:36 PM -0700

Thanks, Maurice. We thought it was pretty cool. So sad for Mr. Carr, though.