Cornerstone Issue 66: June 24, 2005



Welcome to Issue 66 of Cornerstone, a subscription-only electronic newsletter issued periodically by Core Competence.

Cornerstone reports on a wide range of networking topics and activities involving Core Competence. A brief abstract explains what you will find if you choose to visit each URL.

WatchGuard LiveSecurity

http://www.corecom.com/external/livesecurity/takecontrol.htm
Take control of Internet Explorer (or else!)
WatchGuard LiveSecurity, 01 April 2005

Dave Piscitello explains why every network administrator should decide whether to deploy an alternative Web browser, or minimize his or her organization's exposure to spyware threats by locking down IE and deploying spyware countermeasures.

http://www.corecom.com/external/livesecurity/backupblues.htm
Beware the Backup Blues
WatchGuard LiveSecurity, 04 March 2005

In this WatchGuard LiveSecurity column, Lisa Phifer shares a few hard-earned lessons about common mistakes small businesses should avoid when implementing routine data backups.

http://www.corecom.com/external/livesecurity/loganalysis.htm
Proactive Security through Firewall Log Analysis
WatchGuard LiveSecurity, 18 March 2005

Routinely examining firewall logs is important, even for small business firewall administrators. In this LiveSecurity column, Dave Piscitello offers advice on what to log and how to make use of that information through log analysis.

SearchMobileComputing WLAN Advisor

http://searchmobilecomputing.com/tip/1,289483,sid40_gci1098584,00.html
Upgrading your WLAN to WPA2
searchMobileComputing, 15 June 2005

To date, over 30 companies have WPA2-certified products, with more on the way. Last month, Microsoft released a WPA2 patch for Windows XP SP2, putting another supporting piece into place. As WPA2 becomes widely available, why should you upgrade your WLAN to use it, and what will you need to do so?

http://searchmobilecomputing.com/tip/0,289483,sid40_gci1090051,00.html
Creating a wireless security policy
searchMobileComputing, 19 May 2005

Many organizations realize that they need a WLAN security policy, but don't know how to go about creating one. In this column, Lisa Phifer discusses what WLAN security policies are, the kinds of information they should contain, and where to find policy templates and guidance.

http://searchmobilecomputing.com/tip/1,289483,sid40_gci1081170,00.html
Managing Wi-Fi stations
searchMobileComputing, 19 April 2005

As Wi-Fi becomes pervasive, companies are seeking more control over wireless station configuration and behavior. In this WLAN Advisor, Lisa Phifer considers available options to centrally define, configure, monitor, and enforce wireless station settings.

Mobile/Wireless Advice

http://www.esecurelive.com/jsp/sessionDetail.jsp?meetingID=436
Webinar: Next Generation Secure Application Access
Aventail Corporation, May 24th, 2005

Secure, everywhere access business objectives cannot be met until companies discard existing VPN paradigms. In this Aventail webinar, CoreCom's Dave Piscitello explains why there is a great need for solutions that achieve high degrees of end-user transparency and accessibility, provide granular policy control, and are, by design, able to adapt to and accommodate new devices, operating systems, applications, and access technologies.

http://www.aventail.com/documents/wp_next_gen.asp
White Paper: Why Replace Your IPSec for Remote Access?
Aventail Corporation, May 2005

Written by CoreCom's David Piscitello for Aventail, this white paper explains why Aventail's Smart SSL VPNs are replacing IPSec VPNs, making it possible to offer expanded application support, from everywhere, with a single policy model for all access methods.

http://www.bcr.com/bcrmag/2005/04/p18.php
The Evolving Wireless Landscape
Business Communications Review, April 2005

The level of innovation within wireless technology today is amazing. In this BCR article, CoreCom's Lisa Phifer joins Craig Matthias in charting the continuing evolution of wireless technologies, moving from shorter to longer-reach, from narrow-band to broadband, culminating in a future where many technologies will be integrated within one universal do-it-all software-defined radio.

http://www.networkworld.com/newsletters/wireless/2005/0606wireless1.html
Wi-Fi security: Leverage what you know
Network World Newsletter, June 6, 2005

"Wireless in the Enterprise" columnist Joanie Wexler invited CoreCom's Lisa Phifer to contribute to her recent series on getting started with securing enterprise Wi-Fi networks. While it's essential to understand new Wi-Fi risks and apply related countermeasures, don't let all that's new distract you from leveraging what you already have and know. Joanie's column shares Lisa's advice on wired best practices that can be used to help secure your WLAN.

SearchNetworking Presentations

http://searchnetworking.com/generic/0,295582,sid7_gci1089873,00.html
Commonly Overlooked Security Hazards
searchNetworking, 18 May 2005

In this on-line presentation, originally delivered at Interop, Dave Piscitello covers the ten most commonly overlooked security hazards and easy ways to avoid them.

http://searchnetworking.com/generic/0,295582,sid7_gci1089870,00.html
Foolproof Initiatives to Boost Your Network Security
searchNetworking, 18 May 2005

In this companion presentation, Dave provides his list of ten practical guidelines you can put into place today to protect your network and critical data in the future.

CoreCom News

http://www.icann.org/announcements/announcement-02jun05.htm
ICANN Announces New Staff Appointment: David Piscitello
Internet Corporation For Assigned Names and Numbers, June 2005

CoreCom's Dave Piscitello recently accepted a fellow position on ICANN's Security and Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC). To read about Dave's work with ICANN, see http://www.securityskeptic.com/arc20050601.htm#BlogID411

http://www.securityskeptic.com/weblogindex.htm
Dave Piscitello's Blog
May-June 2005

Some of Dave's recent blog postings have covered these topics:

  • Outbound email threats
  • Security's 4-legged Stool needs reinforcement
  • Take stock of endpoint security and admission control

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