Complying with PCI DSS–Part 3: Maintain a Vulnerability Management Program
According to the PCI SSC, there are 12 PCI DSS requirements that satisfy a variety of security goals. Areas of focus include building and maintaining a secure network, protecting stored cardholder data, maintaining a vulnerability management program, implementing strong access control measures, regularly monitoring and testing networks, and maintaining information security policies. The essential framework of the PCI DSS encompasses assessment, remediation, and reporting. We’re exploring how F5 can help organizations gain or maintain compliance and today is Maintain a Vulnerability Management Program which includes PCI Requirements 5 and 6. To read Part 1, click: Complying with PCI DSS–Part 1: Build and Maintain a Secure Network and Part 2: Complying with PCI DSS–Part 2: Protect Cardholder Data Requirement 5: Use and regularly update antivirus software or programs. PCI DSS Quick Reference Guide description: Vulnerability management is the process of systematically and continuously finding weaknesses in an entity’s payment card infrastructure system. This includes security procedures, system design, implementation, or internal controls that could be exploited to violate system security policy. Solution: With BIG-IP APM and BIG-IP Edge Gateway, F5 provides the ability to scan any remote device or internal system to ensure that an updated antivirus package is running prior to permitting a connection to the network. Once connections are made, BIG-IP APM and BIG-IP Edge Gateway continually monitor the user connections for a vulnerable state change, and if one is detected, can quarantine the user on the fly into a safe, secure, and isolated network. Remediation services can include a URL redirect to an antivirus update server. For application servers in the data center, BIG-IP products can communicate with existing network security and monitoring tools. If an application server is found to be vulnerable or compromised, that device can be automatically quarantined or removed from the service pool. With BIG-IP ASM, file uploads can be extracted from requests and transferred over iCAP to a central antivirus (AV) scanner. If a file infection is detected, BIG-IP ASM will drop that request, making sure the file doesn’t reach the web server. Requirement 6: Develop and maintain secure systems and applications. PCI DSS Quick Reference Guide description: Security vulnerabilities in systems and applications may allow criminals to access PAN and other cardholder data. Many of these vulnerabilities are eliminated by installing vendor-provided security patches, which perform a quick-repair job for a specific piece of programming code. All critical systems must have the most recently released software patches to prevent exploitation. Entities should apply patches to less-critical systems as soon as possible, based on a risk-based vulnerability management program. Secure coding practices for developing applications, change control procedures, and other secure software development practices should always be followed. Solution: Requirements 6.1 through 6.5 deal with secure coding and application development; risk analysis, assessment, and mitigation; patching; and change control. Requirement 6.6 states: “Ensure all public-facing web applications are protected against known attacks, either by performing code vulnerability reviews at least annually or by installing a web application firewall in front of public-facing web applications.” This requirement can be easily met with BIG-IP ASM, which is a leading web application firewall (WAF) offering protection for vulnerable web applications. Using both a positive security model for dynamic application protection and a strong, signature-based negative security model, BIG-IP ASM provides application-layer protection against both targeted and generalized application attacks. It also protects against the Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) Top Ten vulnerabilities and threats on the Web Application Security Consortium’s (WASC) Threat Classification lists. To assess a web application’s vulnerability, most organizations turn to a vulnerability scanner. The scanning schedule might depend on a change in control, as when an application is initially being deployed, or other triggers such as a quarterly report. The vulnerability scanner scours the web application, and in some cases actually attempts potential attacks, to generate a report indicating all possible vulnerabilities. This gives the administrator managing the web security devices a clear view of all exposed areas and potential threats to the website. Such a report is a moment-in time assessment and might not result in full application coverage, but should give administrators a clear picture of their web application security posture. It includes information about coding errors, weak authentication mechanisms, fields or parameters that query the database directly, or other vulnerabilities that provide unauthorized access to information, sensitive or not. Otherwise, many of these vulnerabilities would need to be manually re-coded or manually added to the WAF policy—both expensive undertakings. Simply having the vulnerability report, while beneficial, doesn’t make a web application secure. The real value of the report lies in how it enables an organization to determine the risk level and how best to mitigate the risk. Since recoding an application is expensive and time-consuming and may generate even more errors, many organizations deploy a WAF like BIG-IP ASM. A WAF enables an organization to protect its web applications by virtually patching the open vulnerabilities until developers have an opportunity to properly close the hole. Often, organizations use the vulnerability scanner report to either tighten or initially generate a WAF policy. While finding vulnerabilities helps organizations understand their exposure, they must also have the ability to quickly mitigate those vulnerabilities to greatly reduce the risk of application exploits. The longer an application remains vulnerable, the more likely it is to be compromised. For cloud deployments, BIG-IP ASM Virtual Edition (VE) delivers the same functionality as the physical edition and helps companies maintain compliance, including compliance with PCI DSS, when they deploy applications in the cloud. If an application vulnerability is discovered, BIG-IP ASM VE can quickly be deployed in a cloud environment, enabling organizations to immediately patch vulnerabilities virtually until the development team can permanently fix the application. Additionally, organizations are often unable to fix applications developed by third parties, and this lack of control prevents many of them from considering cloud deployments. But with BIG-IP ASM VE, organizations have full control over securing their cloud infrastructure. BIG-IP ASM version 11.1 includes integration with IBM Rational AppScan, Cenzic Hailstorm, QualysGuard WAS, and WhiteHat Sentinel, making BIG-IP ASM the most advanced vulnerability assessment and application protection on the market. In addition, administrators can better create and enforce policies with information about attack patterns from a grouping of violations or otherwise correlated incidents. In this way, BIG-IP ASM protects the applications between scanning and patching cycles and against zero-day attacks that signature-based scanners won’t find. Both are critical in creating a secure Application Delivery Network. BIG-IP ASM also makes it easy to understand where organizations stand relative to PCI DSS compliance. With the BIG-IP ASM PCI Compliance Report, organizations can quickly see each security measure required to comply with PCI DSS 2.0 and understand which measures are or are not relevant to BIG-IP ASM functions. For relevant security measures, the report indicates whether the organization’s BIG-IP ASM appliance complies with PCI DSS 2.0. For security measures that are not relevant to BIG-IP ASM, the report explains what action to take to achieve PCI DSS 2.0 compliance. BIG-IP ASM PCI Compliance Report Finally, with the unique F5 iHealth system, organizations can analyze the configuration of their BIG-IP products to identify any critical patches or security updates that may be necessary. Next: Implement Strong Access Control Measures psHoliday Shopping SmartPhone Style
Close to 70% of smartphone owners plan to use the devices for holiday shopping, according to Deloitte (pdf). Smartphone ownership has jumped from 39.7% last year to 46.1% this year and tablet owners have doubled from 10.5% to 22.4% according to 9,000 shoppers surveyed by BIGinsught. This will probably also spur an increasing number of people colliding heads and walking into fountains as everyone in the mall will be looking down at their mobile devices instead of watching where they are walking. Knowing that these devices have become permanent fixtures on our bodies, retailers are using the technology in an attempt to enhance the shopping experience. As soon as you cross the mall threshold, your phone will buzz with merchant coupons or even better, your online shopping cart has been paid and converted to real items for you walk out, bags in hand, without standing in the check-out aisle. You’ll be able to browse inventory to know if that incredible deal is in stock or simply purchasing the item on the smartphone while standing in the store and have it arrive, already wrapped, the next day. Retailers are trying to combat the behavior of looking for the best deals on an item, only to go home and purchase online elsewhere. Many retailers are equipping employees with tablets and checkout areas with mobile payment systems. Employees have apps that offer richer information in case a shopper wants to know what a coat is made of, or specific warranty info on an electronic item. These employee handhelds could also check-out a shopper in the middle of the store, avoiding any lines. Some stores have even installed iPads in the dressing room so shoppers can choose what music to listen to while parading their selections in the mirror. Hopefully on those, the cameras are disabled since I can already see a remote ‘Peeping in the Dressing Room’ breach in the headlines. Coupon sites are starting to deploy Geofencing, or the ability to offer deals that are within range. You cross a digital boundary and the phone lights up with scan-able deals from area merchants. While retailers will be trying to entice the shopper, mobile technology also helps the shopper. They can look up items, prices and reviews; see who has the best selection/inventory/deals; who offers free shipping and a host of other data to help complete Santa’s list while staying under budget. More stores will also be offering free WiFi for shoppers. Boingo Wireless indicates that 20%-30% of retailers have deployed wireless in the stores and they expect that to grow to 30%-40% in the coming years. While it’s wonderful not to be ‘connected’ while shopping, most of these WiFi zones are not secure and all the security rules of open WiFi still apply. Watch the type of sensitive info you enter while connected since there is virtually no protection. In other Holiday Shopping news, Consumer Reports released its 2011 Naughty & Nice Holiday List, which looks at the good and not-so-good shopping policies and the companies behind them. And, Toy sales down after early rush. psComplying with PCI DSS–Part 6: Maintain an Information Security Policy
According to the PCI SSC, there are 12 PCI DSS requirements that satisfy a variety of security goals. Areas of focus include building and maintaining a secure network, protecting stored cardholder data, maintaining a vulnerability management program, implementing strong access control measures, regularly monitoring and testing networks, and maintaining information security policies. The essential framework of the PCI DSS encompasses assessment, remediation, and reporting. We’re exploring how F5 can help organizations gain or maintain compliance and the last entry is Maintain an Information Security Policy which includes PCI Requirement 12. To read Part 1, click: Complying with PCI DSS–Part 1: Build and Maintain a Secure Network, Part 2:Complying with PCI DSS–Part 2: Protect Cardholder Data, Part 3: Complying with PCI DSS–Part 3: Maintain a Vulnerability Management Program, Part 4: Complying with PCI DSS–Part 4: Implement Strong Access Control Measures and Part 5: Complying with PCI DSS–Part 5: Regularly Monitor and Test Networks. Requirement 12: Maintain a policy that addresses information security for all personnel. PCI DDS Quick Reference Guide description: A strong security policy sets the security tone for an entire organization’, and it informs employees of their expected duties related to security. All employees should be aware of the sensitivity of cardholder data and their responsibilities for protecting it. Solution: The spirit of this requirement is to ensure the adoption of a Corporate Information Security Policy (CISP). Although policy-based, F5 solutions don’t, by themselves, meet this requirement in context. F5 products facilitate adherence to the CISP, but they do not actually comprise a CISP. That said, F5 products can help organizations roll out business policies and security policies together. Applications needn’t be built and deployed in a vacuum; F5 technologies can be implemented in conjunction with corporate policies that address information security. Since the inception of the PCI DSS, organizations have been laboring to understand, implement, and comply with its guidelines. Often, achieving that goal requires deploying and managing several different types of devices. The BIG-IP platform enables organizations to understand inherent threats and take specific measures to protect their web application infrastructures and to satisfy many PCI DSS requirements. psComplying with PCI DSS–Part 5: Regularly Monitor and Test Networks
According to the PCI SSC, there are 12 PCI DSS requirements that satisfy a variety of security goals. Areas of focus include building and maintaining a secure network, protecting stored cardholder data, maintaining a vulnerability management program, implementing strong access control measures, regularly monitoring and testing networks, and maintaining information security policies. The essential framework of the PCI DSS encompasses assessment, remediation, and reporting. We’re exploring how F5 can help organizations gain or maintain compliance and today is Regularly Monitor and Test Networks which includes PCI Requirements 10 and 11. To read Part 1, click: Complying with PCI DSS–Part 1: Build and Maintain a Secure Network, Part 2:Complying with PCI DSS–Part 2: Protect Cardholder Data, Part 3: Complying with PCI DSS–Part 3: Maintain a Vulnerability Management Program and Part 4: Complying with PCI DSS–Part 4: Implement Strong Access Control Measures. Requirement 10: Track and monitor all access to network resources and cardholder data. PCI DSS Quick Reference Guide description: Logging mechanisms and the ability to track user activities are critical for effective forensics and vulnerability management. The presence of logs in all environments allows thorough tracking and analysis if something goes wrong. Determining the cause of a compromise is very difficult without system activity logs. Solution: The spirit of this requirement is to ensure appropriate systems generate logs, with implementation and monitoring of log aggregation and correlation systems. The ability to monitor and log all user sessions and requests for access to sensitive information, such as cardholder data and Social Security numbers, is critical to any security environment. F5 offers a suite of solutions that are session-based, not packet-based. With this full reverse proxy architecture, the BIG-IP platform has the ability to manage full user sessions, regardless of the transport mechanism or network, and match those user sessions to specific data actions, supplying log data and a full audit trail from the user to the data. This allows F5 application security devices to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of all application data on the network. All F5 products support remote logging, allowing logs to be pushed to secure networks and devices for archiving. In addition, the TMOS architecture can manage isolated, secure logging networks in conjunction with the application networks, using features such as mirrored ports, VLANs, and virtualized administrative access. Protecting network resources and application data 24 hours a day, seven days a week, without affecting network performance, is a core function and the foundation of all F5 security products. Requirement 11: Regularly test security systems and processes. PCI DSS Quick Reference Guide description: Vulnerabilities are being discovered continually by malicious individuals and researchers, and being introduced by new software. System components, processes, and custom software should be tested frequently to ensure security is maintained over time. Testing of security controls is especially important for any environmental changes such as deploying new software or changing system configuration. Solution: The spirit of this requirement is to ensure that the complying organization itself tests its security system and processes. Since F5 does not offer a penetration testing service, this is one of just two PCI DSS requirements that F5 products cannot significantly address. Next: Maintain an Information Security Policy psComplying with PCI DSS–Part 4: Implement Strong Access Control Measures
According to the PCI SSC, there are 12 PCI DSS requirements that satisfy a variety of security goals. Areas of focus include building and maintaining a secure network, protecting stored cardholder data, maintaining a vulnerability management program, implementing strong access control measures, regularly monitoring and testing networks, and maintaining information security policies. The essential framework of the PCI DSS encompasses assessment, remediation, and reporting. We’re exploring how F5 can help organizations gain or maintain compliance and today is Implement Strong Access Control Measures which includes PCI Requirements 7, 8 and 9. To read Part 1, click: Complying with PCI DSS–Part 1: Build and Maintain a Secure Network, Part 2: Complying with PCI DSS–Part 2: Protect Cardholder Data and Part 3: Complying with PCI DSS–Part 3: Maintain a Vulnerability Management Program. Requirement 7: Restrict access to cardholder data by business need-to-know. PCI DSS Quick Reference Guide description: To ensure critical data can only be accessed by authorized personnel, systems and processes must be in place to limit access based on a need to know and according to job responsibilities. Need to know is when access rights are granted to only the least amount of data and privileges needed to perform a job. Solution: BIG-IP APM and BIG-IP Edge Gateway control and restrict access to corporate applications and cardholder data. Secure access is granted at both user and network levels on an as-needed basis. Delivering outstanding performance, scalability, ease of use, and endpoint security, BIG-IP APM and BIG-IP Edge Gateway help increase the productivity of those working from home or on the road, allowing only authorized personnel access while keeping corporate and cardholder data secure. For application services, the BIG-IP platform protects data on the ADN as it is communicated to the user and other service architectures. The BIG-IP platform can scan, inspect, manage, and control both incoming and outgoing data—in messaging requests such as headers (metadata), cookies, and POST data, and in message responses in metadata and in the response payload. BIG-IP APM, BIG-IP Edge Gateway, and BIG-IP ASM, along with the TMOS operating system, all work together to create a secure, role-based data access path, prohibiting malicious users from bypassing role restrictions and accessing unauthorized data. Lastly, BIG-IP ASM can help make sure web pages that should only be accessed after user login/authentication are only accessible to users who have been properly authenticated. Requirement 8: Assign a unique ID to each person with computer access. PCI DSS Quick Reference Guide description: Assigning a unique identification (ID) to each person with access ensures that actions taken on critical data and systems are performed by, and can be traced to, known and authorized users. Requirements apply to all accounts, including point of sale accounts, with administrative capabilities and all accounts with access to stored cardholder data. Solution: The entire F5 product suite addresses the issue of unique user identification and management and acts as an enforcement mechanism. For identification, BIG-IP APM, BIG-IP Edge Gateway, and BIG-IP ASM all work on the user session level, managing a single user session throughout its duration. This is accomplished using various tools, such as secure cookies, session IDs, and flow based policies. For authentication, BIG-IP APM and BIG-IP Edge Gateway communicate with nearly all user ID and authentication systems via RADIUS, Active Directory, RSA-native, Two-Factor, LDAP authentication methods, basic and forms-based HTTP authentication, SSO Identity Management Servers such as Siteminder, and Windows Domain Servers. They also support programmatic user authentication via secure keys, smart cards, and client SSL certificates, allowing near-infinite authentication combinations across public and enterprise credential services. Transport security is accomplished through TLS/SSL. The BIG-IP platform can offload SSL computations from the back-end application servers, providing data security and network flexibility. A BIG-IP ADC is a full SSL proxy, allowing it to inspect and protect data passed to the application over SSL before re-encrypting the data for secure delivery to the application or back to the user. In addition, BIG-IP APM’s detailed reporting gives organizations the answers to questions such as “Who accessed the application or network, and when?” and “From what geolocations are users accessing the network?” Reporting capabilities include custom reports on numerous user metrics, with statistics grouped by application and user. Requirement 9: Restrict physical access to cardholder data. PCI DSS Quick Reference Guide description: Any physical access to data or systems that house cardholder data provides the opportunity for persons to access and/or remove devices, data, systems, or hardcopies, and should be appropriately restricted. “Onsite personnel” are full-and part-time employees, temporary employees, contractors, and consultants who are physically present on the entity’s premises. “Visitors” are vendors and guests that enter the facility for a short duration, usually up to one day. “Media” is all paper and electronic media containing cardholder data. Solution: A hardware security module (HSM) is a secure physical device designed to generate, store, and protect digital, high-value cryptographic keys. It is a secure crypto-processor that often comes in the form of a plug-in card (or other hardware) with tamper protection built in. HSMs also provide the infrastructure for finance, government, healthcare, and others to conform to industry-specific regulatory standards. Many BIG-IP devices are FIPS 140-2 Level 2 compliant. This security rating indicates that once sensitive data is imported into the HSM, it incorporates cryptographic techniques to ensure the data is not extractable in a plain-text format. It provides tamper-evident seals to deter physical tampering. In fact, the HSM in BIG-IP is certified at 140-2 level 3. By being certified at level 3, the HSM has a covering of hardened epoxy which, if removed, will render the card useless. The BIG-IP system includes the option to install a FIPS HSM (on BIG-IP 6900, 8900, 11000, and 11050 devices). Additionally, the FIPS cryptographic/SSL accelerator uses smart cards to authenticate administrators, grant access rights, and share administrative responsibilities to provide a flexible and secure means for enforcing key management security. PCI Cardholder Data Environment with F5 Technologies Next: Regularly Monitor and Test Networks psComplying with PCI DSS–Part 2: Protect Cardholder Data
According to the PCI SSC, there are 12 PCI DSS requirements that satisfy a variety of security goals. Areas of focus include building and maintaining a secure network, protecting stored cardholder data, maintaining a vulnerability management program, implementing strong access control measures, regularly monitoring and testing networks, and maintaining information security policies. The essential framework of the PCI DSS encompasses assessment, remediation, and reporting. We’re exploring how F5 can help organizations gain or maintain compliance and today is Protect Cardholder Data which includes PCI Requirements 3 and 4. To read Part 1, click: Complying with PCI DSS–Part 1: Build and Maintain a Secure Network Requirement 3: Protect stored cardholder data. PCI DSS Quick Reference Guide description: In general, no cardholder data should ever be stored unless it’s necessary to meet the needs of the business. Sensitive data on the magnetic stripe or chip must never be stored. If your organization stores PAN, it is crucial to render it unreadable, for instance, [by] obfuscation [or] encryption. Solution: The spirit of this requirement is encryption-at-rest—protecting stored cardholder data. While F5 products do not encrypt data at rest, the BIG-IP platform has full control over the data and network path, allowing the devices to secure data both in and out of the application network. F5 iSession tunnels create a site-to-site secure connection between two BIG-IP devices to accelerate and encrypt data transfer over the WAN. With BIG-IP APM and BIG-IP Edge Gateway, data can be encrypted between users and applications, providing security for data in transit over the Internet. BIG-IP APM and BIG-IP Edge Gateway can also provide a secure access path to, and control, restricted storage environments where the encryption keys are held (such as connecting a point-of-sale [POS] device to a secure back-end database to protect data in transit over insecure networks such as WiFi or mobile). With BIG-IP Application Security Manager (ASM), data such as the primary account number (PAN) can be masked when delivered and displayed outside of the secure ADN. BIG-IP ASM also can mask such data within its logs and reporting, ensuring that even the administrator will not be able to see it. Requirement 4: Encrypt transmission of cardholder data across open, public networks. PCI DSS Quick Reference Guide description: Cyber criminals may be able to intercept transmissions of cardholder data over open, public networks, so it is important to prevent their ability to view this data. Encryption is a technology used to render transmitted data unreadable by any unauthorized person. Solution: The modular BIG-IP system is built on the F5 TMOS full-proxy operating system, which enables bi-directional data flow protection and selective TLS/SSL encryption. All or selective parts of the data stream can be masked and/or TLS/SSL encrypted on all parts of the delivery network. The BIG-IP platform supports both SSL termination, decrypting data traffic with the user for clear-text delivery on the ADN, and SSL proxying, decrypting data traffic on BIG-IP devices for content inspection and security before re-encrypting the data back on the wire in both directions. The BIG-IP platform, along with the F5 iRules scripting language, also supports specific data string encryption via publicly tested and secure algorithms, allowing the enterprise to selectively encrypt individual data values for delivery on the wire or for secure back-end storage. The BIG-IP® Edge Client software module, offered with BIG-IP APM and BIG-IP Edge Gateway or as a mobile application, can encrypt any and all connections from the client to the BIG-IP device. Customers have customized and installed BIG-IP Edge Client on ATMs and currency or coin counting kiosks to allow those devices to securely connect to a central server. In addition, two BIG-IP devices can create an iSession tunnel to create a site-to-site connection to secure and accelerate data transfer over the WAN. iSession tunnels create a site-to-site secure connection to accelerate data transfer over the WAN Next: Maintain a Vulnerability Management Program psComplying with PCI DSS–Part 1: Build and Maintain a Secure Network
According to the PCI SSC, there are 12 PCI DSS requirements that satisfy a variety of security goals. Areas of focus include building and maintaining a secure network, protecting stored cardholder data, maintaining a vulnerability management program, implementing strong access control measures, regularly monitoring and testing networks, and maintaining information security policies. The essential framework of the PCI DSS encompasses assessment, remediation, and reporting. Over the next several blogs, we’ll explore how F5 can help organizations gain or maintain compliance. Today is Build and Maintain a Secure Network which includes PCI Requirements 1 and 2. PCI DSS Quick Reference Guide, October 2010 The PCI DSS requirements apply to all “system components,” which are defined as any network component, server, or application included in, or connected to, the cardholder data environment. Network components include, but are not limited to, firewalls, switches, routers, wireless access points, network appliances, and other security appliances. Servers include, but are not limited to, web, database, authentication, DNS, mail, proxy, and NTP servers. Applications include all purchased and custom applications, including internal and external web applications. The cardholder data environment is a combination of all the system components that come together to store and provide access to sensitive user financial information. F5 can help with all of the core PCI DSS areas and 10 of its 12 requirements. Requirement 1: Install and maintain a firewall and router configuration to protect cardholder data. PCI DSS Quick Reference Guide description: Firewalls are devices that control computer traffic allowed into and out of an organization’s network, and into sensitive areas within its internal network. Firewall functionality may also appear in other system components. Routers are hardware or software that connects two or more networks. All such devices are in scope for assessment of Requirement 1 if used within the cardholder data environment. All systems must be protected from unauthorized access from the Internet, whether via e-commerce, employees’ remote desktop browsers, or employee email access. Often, seemingly insignificant paths to and from the Internet can provide unprotected pathways into key systems. Firewalls are a key protection mechanism for any computer network. Solution: F5 BIG-IP products provide strategic points of control within the Application Delivery Network (ADN) to enable truly secure networking across all systems and network and application protocols. The BIG-IP platform provides a unified view of layers 3 through 7 for both general reporting and alerts and those required by ICSA Labs, as well as for integration with products from security information and event management (SIEM) vendors. BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) offers native, high-performance firewall services to protect the entire infrastructure. BIG-IP LTM is a purpose-built, high-performance Application Delivery Controller (ADC) designed to protect Internet data centers. In many instances, BIG-IP LTM can replace an existing firewall while also offering scalability, performance, and persistence. Running on an F5 VIPRION chassis, BIG-IP LTM can manage up to 48 million concurrent connections and 72 Gbps of throughput with various timeout behaviors and buffer sizes when under attack. It protects UDP, TCP, SIP, DNS, HTTP, SSL, and other network attack targets while delivering uninterrupted service for legitimate connections. The BIG-IP platform, which offers a unique Layer 2–7 security architecture and full packet inspection, is an ICSA Labs Certified Network Firewall. Replacing stateful firewall services with BIG-IP LTM in the data center architecture Requirement 2: Do not use vendor-supplied defaults for system passwords and other security parameters. PCI DSS Quick Reference Guide description: The easiest way for a hacker to access your internal network is to try default passwords or exploits based on the default system software settings in your payment card infrastructure. Far too often, merchants do not change default passwords or settings upon deployment. This is akin to leaving your store physically unlocked when you go home for the night. Default passwords and settings for most network devices are widely known. This information, combined with hacker tools that show what devices are on your network, can make unauthorized entry a simple task if you have failed to change the defaults. Solution: All F5 products allow full access for administrators to change all forms of access and service authentication credentials, including administrator passwords, application service passwords, and system monitoring passwords (such as SNMP). Products such as BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) and BIG-IP Edge Gateway limit remote connectivity to only a GUI and can enforce two-factor authentication, allowing tighter control over authenticated entry points. The BIG-IP platform allows the administrator to open up specific access points to be fitted into an existing secure network. BIG-IP APM and BIG-IP Edge Gateway offer secure, role-based administration (SSL/TLS and SSH protocols) and virtualization for designated access rights on a per-user or per-group basis. Secure Vault, a hardware-secured encrypted storage system introduced in BIG-IP version 9.4.5, protects critical data using a hardware-based key that does not reside on the appliance’s file system. In BIG-IP v11, companies have the option of securing their cryptographic keys in hardware, such as a FIPS card, rather than encrypted on the BIG-IP hard drive. The Secure Vault feature can also encrypt certificate passwords for enhanced certificate and key protection in environments where FIPS 140-2 hardware support is not required, but additional physical and role-based protection is preferred. Secure Vault encryption may also be desirable when deploying the virtual editions of BIG-IP products, which do not support key encryption on hardware. Next: Protect Cardholder Data psVulnerability Assessment with Application Security
The longer an application remains vulnerable, the more likely it is to be compromised. Protecting web applications is an around-the-clock job. Almost anything that is connected to the Internet is a target these days, and organizations are scrambling to keep their web properties available and secure. The ramifications of a breach or downtime can be severe: brand reputation, the ability to meet regulatory requirements, and revenue are all on the line. A 2011 survey conducted by Merrill Research on behalf of VeriSign found that 60 percent of respondents rely on their websites for at least 25 percent of their annual revenue. And the threat landscape is only getting worse. Targeted attacks are designed to gather intelligence; steal trade secrets, sensitive customer information, or intellectual property; disrupt operations; or even destroy critical infrastructure. Targeted attacks have been around for a number of years, but 2011 brought a whole new meaning to advanced persistent threat. Symantec reported that the number of targeted attacks increased almost four-fold from January 2011 to November 2011. In the past, the typical profile of a target organization was a large, well-known, multinational company in the public, financial, government, pharmaceutical, or utility sector. Today, the scope has widened to include almost any size organization from any industry. The attacks are also layered in that the malicious hackers attempt to penetrate both the network and application layers. To defend against targeted attacks, organizations can deploy a scanner to check web applications for vulnerabilities such as SQL injection, cross site scripting (XSS), and forceful browsing; or they can use a web application firewall (WAF) to protect against these vulnerabilities. However a better, more complete solution is to deploy both a scanner and a WAF. BIG-IP Application Security Manager (ASM) version 11.1 is a WAF that gives organizations the tools they need to easily manage and secure web application vulnerabilities with multiple web vulnerability scanner integrations. As enterprises continue to deploy web applications, network and security architects need visibility into who is attacking those applications, as well as a big-picture view of all violations to plan future attack mitigation. Administrators must be able to understand what they see to determine whether a request is valid or an attack that requires application protection. Administrators must also troubleshoot application performance and capacity issues, which proves the need for detailed statistics. With the increase in application deployments and the resulting vulnerabilities, administrators need a proven multi-vulnerability assessment and application security solution for maximum coverage and attack protection. But as many companies also support geographically diverse application users, they must be able to define who is granted or denied application access based on geolocation information. Application Vulnerability Scanners To assess a web application’s vulnerability, most organizations turn to a vulnerability scanner. The scanning schedule might depend on a change control, like when an application is initially being deployed, or other factors like a quarterly report. The vulnerability scanner scours the web application, and in some cases actually attempts potential hacks to generate a report indicating all possible vulnerabilities. This gives the administrator managing the web security devices a clear view of all the exposed areas and potential threats to the website. It is a moment-in-time report and might not give full application coverage, but the assessment should give administrators a clear picture of their web application security posture. It includes information about coding errors, weak authentication mechanisms, fields or parameters that query the database directly, or other vulnerabilities that provide unauthorized access to information, sensitive or not. Many of these vulnerabilities would need to be manually re-coded or manually added to the WAF policy—both expensive undertakings. Another challenge is that every web application is different. Some are developed in .NET, some in PHP or PERL. Some scanners execute better on different development platforms, so it’s important for organizations to select the right one. Some companies may need a PCI DSS report for an auditor, some for targeted penetration testing, and some for WAF tuning. These factors can also play a role in determining the right vulnerability scanner for an organization. Ease of use, target specifics, and automated testing are the baselines. Once an organization has considered all those details, the job is still only half done. Simply having the vulnerability report, while beneficial, doesn’t mean a web app is secure. The real value of the report lies in how it enables an organization to determine the risk level and how best to mitigate the risk. Since re-coding an application is expensive and time-consuming, and may generate even more errors, many organizations deploy a web application firewall like BIG-IP ASM. A WAF enables an organization to protect its web applications by virtually patching the open vulnerabilities until it has an opportunity to properly close the hole. Often, organizations use the vulnerability scanner report to then either tighten or initially generate a WAF policy. Attackers can come from anywhere, so organizations need to quickly mitigate vulnerabilities before they become threats. They need a quick, easy, effective solution for creating security policies. Although it’s preferable to have multiple scanners or scanning services, many companies only have one, which significantly impedes their ability to get a full vulnerability assessment. Further, if an organization’s WAF and scanner aren’t integrated, neither is its view of vulnerabilities, as a non-integrated WAF UI displays no scanner data. Integration enables organizations both to manage the vulnerability scanner results and to modify the WAF policy to protect against the scanner’s findings—all in one UI. Integration Reduces Risk While finding vulnerabilities helps organizations understand their exposure, they must also have the ability to quickly mitigate found vulnerabilities to greatly reduce the risk of application exploits. The longer an application remains vulnerable, the more likely it is to be compromised. F5 BIG-IP ASM, a flexible web application firewall, enables strong visibility with granular, session-based enforcement and reporting; grouped violations for correlation; and a quick view into valid and attack requests. BIG-IP ASM delivers comprehensive vulnerability assessment and application protection that can quickly reduce web threats with easy geolocation-based blocking—greatly improving the security posture of an organization’s critical infrastructure. BIG-IP ASM version 11.1 includes integration with IBM Rational AppScan, Cenzic Hailstorm, QualysGuard WAS, and WhiteHat Sentinel, building more integrity into the policy lifecycle and making it the most advanced vulnerability assessment and application protection on the market. In addition, administrators can better create and enforce policies with information about attack patterns from a grouping of violations or otherwise correlated incidents. In this way, BIG-IP ASM enables organizations to mitigate threats in a timely manner and greatly reduce the overall risk of attacks and solve most vulnerabilities. With multiple vulnerability scanner assessments in one GUI, administrators can discover and remediate vulnerabilities within minutes from a central location. BIG-IP ASM offers easy policy implementation, fast assessment and policy creation, and the ability to dynamically configure policies in real time during assessment. To significantly reduce data loss, administrators can test and verify vulnerabilities from the BIG-IP ASM GUI, and automatically create policies with a single click to mitigate unknown application vulnerabilities. Security is a never-ending battle. The bad guys advance, organizations counter, bad guys cross over—and so the cat and mouse game continues. The need to properly secure web applications is absolute. Knowing what vulnerabilities exist within a web application can help organizations contain possible points of exposure. BIG-IP ASM v11.1 offers unprecedented web application protection by integrating with many market-leading vulnerability scanners to provide a complete vulnerability scan and remediate solution. BIG-IP ASM v11.1 enables organizations to understand inherent threats and take specific measures to protect their web application infrastructure. It gives them the tools they need to greatly reduce the risk of becoming the next failed security headline. ps Resources: F5’s Certified Firewall Protects Against Large-Scale Cyber Attacks on Public-Facing Websites IPS or WAF Dilemma F5 Case Study: WhiteHat Security Oracle OpenWorld 2011: BIG-IP ASM & Oracle Database Firewall Audio White Paper - Application Security in the Cloud with BIG-IP ASM The Big Attacks are Back…Not That They Ever Stopped Protection from Latest Network and Application Attacks The New Data Center Firewall Paradigm – White Paper Vulnerability Assessment with Application Security – White Paper F5 Security Vignette: Hacktivism Attack – Video F5 Security Vignette: DNSSEC Wrapping – Video Jeremiah Grossman blog Technorati Tags: F5, big-ip, virtualization, cloud computing, Pete Silva, security, waf, web scanners, compliance, application security, internet, TMOS, big-ip, asmSecurity’s Rough Ride
1 if by land, 2 of by sea, 0 if by IP I know I’ve said this before but it sure seems like almost daily there is a security breach somewhere. Over the years, the thought process has changed from prevent all attacks to, it is inevitable that we will be breached. The massive number of attacks occurring daily makes it a statistical reality. Now organizations are looking for the right solution (both technology and practice) to quickly detect a breach, stop it, identify what occurred and what data may have been compromised. Over the last couple of days various entities have had their security breached. As you are probably already aware either due to the headlines or a direct note in your email inbox, Zappos, a popular online shoe site, was compromised exposing information on 24 million customers. While a good bit of info was taken, like usernames, passwords, addresses, email and other identifiable information, Zappos claims that the stored credit card information was apparently spared due to being encrypted. There are still many details that are unknown like how it occurred and how long it had been exposed but all users are being required to change their passwords immediately. Users might also want to change similar passwords on other websites since I’m sure the criminals are already trying those stolen passwords around the web. These days it's entirely too easy to use information from one hack in many others. It doesn't even matter if passwords were compromised. Your can change your password, but the make and model of your first car, and your mother's maiden name can't be changed. Yet, online service providers continue to rely on these relatively weak forms of secondary authentication. The interesting thing is Zappos is/was apparently PCI-DSS compliant, proving once again, PCI compliance is a first step, not the goal. Being PCI compliance does not mean that one is secure and this also underscores importance of using WAF like BIG-IP ASM. And if it was not a web app that was owned on the server in Kentucky, then Section 6.6 is irrelevant. But again, all the details are still to be uncovered and as far as I know, no-one has claimed responsibility. Overseas, there is an ongoing cyber-war between a Saudi (reported) hacker and Israel. 0xOmar, as news articles have identified him, claims to have posted details of 400,000 Israeli-owned credit cards and Israel’s main credit card companies have admitted that 20,000 cards have been exposed. Along the way, he has also attacked the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange and Bank Massad. In an interesting and potentially scary turn of events, a group of Israeli hackers, IDF-Team, took down the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) and the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) as a counter-attack. Another Israeli hacker going by Hannibal claims to have 30 million Arab e-mail addresses, complete with passwords (including Facebook passwords), and says he’s received e-mails not only from potential victims but from officials in France and other countries asking him to stop. This cyber-conflict is escalating. In a very different type of breach, you’ve probably also seen the cruise ship laying on it’s side a mere 200 yards from the Italian shore. While not necessarily a data security story, it is still a human security story that, so far, has been attributed to human error – like many data security breaches. Like many data breach victims, people put their trust in another entity. Their internal risk-analysis tells them that it is relatively safe and the probability of disaster is low. But when people make bad decisions which seems the case in this situation, many others are put at greater risk. Put on your virtual life vests, 2012 is gonna be a ride. ps References: Zappos Hacked: What You Need to Know 10 Security Trends To Watch In 2012 Hackers swipe Zappos data; customers should change password Zappos Hack Exposes Passwords Zappos Hacked: Internal Systems Breached in Cyber Attack Delivering Unhappiness Alleged Saudi hacker discloses more Israeli credit card numbers Israeli hackers bring down Saudi, UAE stock exchange websites Cruise disaster: captain neared rocks in Facebook stunt for friend's family Technorati Tags: F5, cyber-crime, trojan, Pete Silva, security, business, education, technology, application delivery, cruise, cyber war, ddos, hackers, iPhone, web, internet, security, breach, privacy, PCI-DSS,Hackers Hit Vacation Spots
Just when you were having all that fun running around the waterpark and playing those arcade games comes news that the card processing system of Vacationland Vendors Inc., a Wisconsin Dells firm that supplies arcade games and installs vending machines, was breached. From the notice on their website, they say, ‘Vacationland Vendors recently discovered that an unauthorized person wrongfully accessed certain parts of the point of sales systems that Vacationland Vendors uses to process credit and debit transactions at the Wilderness Resorts.’ Up to 40,000 debit or credit cards that were used in the arcades any time between December 2008 to May 2011 at the Wilderness Waterpark Resort near Wisconsin Dells and a companion resort in Tennessee are potentially compromised. The hackers, according to Vacationland Vendors, improperly acquired credit card and debit information and around 20 accounts have shown irregular activity. Reservation and restaurant transactions were not involved in the breach, only the point-of-sale devices. Malware was the apparent culprit. Point-of-sale devices and the networks they are connected to are often the target of malicious hackers. These ‘kiosks’ are typically unattended and might be in locations where observation is limited. A couple years ago, Target’s breach was the result of hackers gaining access via the customer service kiosks and the huge hit at Heartland Payment Systems, resulting in tens of millions of exposed credit and debit cards was from a breach of the company's point-of-sale network. After successful installation of malicious software, thieves are able to sniff and intercept payment card data as the information is transmitted within the internal network or to the bank for authorization. It might not even be encrypted as it travels. If it was, then the crooks wouldn’t have the info. Many people may think these kiosk point-of-sale devices are safe since it is taking credit card data and merchants need to be PCI compliant. While the overall deadline for PCI 1.2 compliance was a couple years ago (and PCI 2.0 at the end of this year), the deadline for unattended point-of-sale devices was July 2010, a little over a year ago. That’s why you’ve seen a whole slew of new gas station pumps at your favorite fueling stations and just like regular compliance, it’s going to take time to update all the point-of-sale devices. Now, I’m not insinuating that the arcade devices were not PCI compliant since nothing has been reported about that, but what I am saying is be careful with those since you may not know if it is or not. If it looks a few years old, then most likely, it is not. With this and other similar point-of-sale breaches, many security experts (and even the Heartland CEO) believe end-to-end encryption is necessary, even if transmitting on the internal network, from the time the card is swiped all the way until the data reaches the the processor or bank. Many credit card swipe terminal vendors are building encryption into the hardware itself and F5 can help keep that information encrypted while it’s travelling the great unknown. Our BIG-IP APM and BIG-IP Edge Gateway (voted Best Secure Remote Access Product by TechTarget Readers) can easily encrypt any traffic, internal or external. Heck, even a couple BIG-IP LTM running our latest v11 code can initiate a secure tunnel between them, creating an instant, secure WAN connection. With the advent of credit card swiping capabilities on mobile phones now in full force, I’m not sure if this is going to get better or worse. The terminal might be fine but if you install a hacked mobile payment app, then you can skim credit card info like the pros. Remember, humans will often trade privacy for convenience. ps Related blogs & articles: Vending machine company announces major data breach Vending Company Reports Significant Data Breach Security breach affects card users tied to Wilderness arcade Vacationland Vendors Notice Encryption Anywhere and Everywhere Will you Comply or just Check the Box? PCI Turns 2.0 CloudFucius Wonders: Can Cloud, Confidentiality and The Constitution Coexist? Identity Theft Resource Center
