Securing IM and P2P Applications for the Enterprise
By Marcus H. Sachs, Paul Piccard
HIGHLIGHT
Instant Messaging (IM) and Peer-to-Peer (P2P) applications are taking over the workplace as P2P transfers now account for 70% of ALL internet traffic and more than 50% of corporate workstations are running an IM application. IT Professionals now face the challenge of managing and securing these applications which last year were the point of entry into corporate networks for 40% of all computer viruses and worms. |
Can You Control the Instant Messaging on Your Network?
Date: Nov 2005
Pages: 480 (est.)
User level: All |
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MSN Messenger |
DESCRIPTION
This book is for system administrators and security professionals who need to bring now ubiquitous IM and P2P applications under their control. Many businesses are now taking advantage of the speed and efficiency offered by both IM and P2P applications, yet are completely ill-equipped to deal with the management and security ramifications. These companies are now finding out the hard way that these applications which have infiltrated their networks are now the prime targets for malicious network traffic. This book will provide specific information for IT professionals to protect themselves from these vulnerabilities at both the network and application layers by identifying and blocking this malicious traffic.
KEY
SELLING POINTS
- A recent study by the Yankee group ranked “managing and securing IM and P2P applications” as the #3 priority for IT managers in 2004.
- The recently updated SANS/FBI top 10 list of vulnerabilities for computers running Microsoft Windows contained both P2P and IM applications for the first time.
- The recently released Symantec Threat Assessment report for the first half of 2004 showed that 19 of the top 50 virus threats targeted IM or P2P applications. Despite the prevalence of IM and P2P applications on corporate networks and the risks they pose, there are no other books covering these topics.
MARKET
INFORMATION
According to IDC, corporate IM users will jump from approximately 50 million in 2003 to over 181 million in 2005 meaning that well over half of corporate workstations will be running an IM application. At the same time the sharing of files associated with P2P networks will be using close to ¾ of the internet’s bandwidth. In a recent study, TruSecure corporation analyzed all of the files contained on KaZaA (the most popular P2P network) and found that 45% of the files contained viruses or Trojan horses.
ABOUT
THE AUTHOR
Marcus H. Sachs is the Director of the SANS Internet Storm Center and is a cyberspace security researcher, writer, and instructor for the SANS Institute. He previously served in the White House Office of Cyberspace Security and was a staff member of the President's Critical Infrastructure Protection Board. While a member of the White House staff, Marcus coordinated efforts to protect and secure the nation's telecommunication and Internet infrastructures, leveraging expertise from United States government agencies, the domestic private sector, and the international community. He also contributed to the National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace, upon his joining of the National Cyber Security Division of the US Department of Homeland Security. While working for DHS, he developed the initial concept and strategy for the creation of the United States Computer Emergency Response Team. Marcus retired from the United States Army in 2001 after serving over 20 years as a Corps of Engineers officer. He specialized during the later half of his career in computer network operations, systems automation, and information technology.
Paul Piccard is the Director of Threat Research for Webroot. Paul Piccard is responsible for research and development as well as providing early identification, warning and response services to Webroot customers. Paul's experience spans the technology sub-fields of security, systems, technology management and strategic planning, and makes him a valuable asset to Webroot Software, Inc.
As the global intelligence manager for ISS, Paul handled all management roles in X-Force, and was instrumental in building the organization. Prior to that, Paul served as the technical lead at Lehman Brothers during their migration of trading systems from Unix to Windows NT. In addition, Paul handled technology systems in New York for Coopers and Lybrand and Ernst & Young.
He holds an undergraduate degree from Fordham University in New York.
TECHNOLOGY
BACKGROUND
The popularity of IM and P2P applications has risen dramatically over the past 2 years to the point where the vast majority of corporate workstations contain one or both types of applications. Users love IM because it provides a method of communication that is faster, more efficient, and more personal than e-mail. P2P traffic now accounts for over 70% of all traffic on the internet as users download and share movies, music, photos, and many other types of data. Both of these applications pose serious security threats to companies because these are consumer-grade applications that do not offer any cryptographic or security features that are standard in all other corporate applications. Never before have IT professionals had to cope with so many of their computers containing insecure applications that provide basically open paths going both in and out of their networks. IT professionals must now specifically configure all of their network devices and deploy new, enterprise-grade security software to mitigate the security threats presented by both IM and P2P applications.
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