Re: How to choose an IDS/FW MSS provider

["David W. Goodrum" <dgoodrum () nfr com>]

I think it's interesting how this is an unwinnable argument for any 
vendor.  At NFR our signatures are openly readable by our customers, but 
we've heard the exact opposite argument of what you are presenting 
here:  "A potential hacker can read how the signatures work, and use 
that information to try to evade the IDS".  So, if we appeased them, 
we'd close our signature base, and then we'd be hearing it from the 
other side of the house.  This is a no-win situation for the vendor.  
We've tried to appease both sides by not having our sigs "publicly" 
available, but all a really determined hacker has to do is buy our 
product to read the signatures. 

So, before you ask ISS to release their codebase for their signature 
set, you might want to think about what the full consequences of that 
would be.  Snort has had 2 or 3 remote exploits.  The only reason this 
was possible is because their entire product is totally open to the 
world.  I doubt ISS wants to open themselves up to that type of 
publicity.  :)

-dave

Jeff Boggie wrote:

> No, the lack of visibility into ISS signature content is a major bone of
> contention in my shop.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Brady, Rick [mailto:Rick.Brady () LibertyMutual com] 
> Sent: Wednesday, March 09, 2005 5:08 PM
> To: Melih Kirkgöz (Koç.net); Stephane; focus-ids () securityfocus com
> Subject: RE: How to choose an IDS/FW MSS provider
>
>
> Melih,
> I guess you must be special to ISS, from my experience the support has been
> sub-par. Also do you like the idea that ISS IDS signatures are not known to
> the customer and only ISS ? 
>
> Rick Brady
> Liberty Mutual Group
> I/S TSSS Engineering Network Access Control
> mailto:rick.brady () libertymutual com
> (603) 245-4214   8-435-4214sdn 
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Melih Kirkgöz (Koç.net) [mailto:melihk () koc net] 
> Sent: Tuesday, March 08, 2005 2:22 AM
> To: Stephane; focus-ids () securityfocus com
> Subject: RE: How to choose an IDS/FW MSS provider
> Importance: High
>
> Hello Stephane,
>
> We have been using ISS since last two years.(50 Server Sensor,15 Network
> Sensor,1 Proventia G 100 IPS),managed by SiteProtector. We tested
> Netscreen,ISS,Radware,NAI Intrushield and Checkpoint during our evaluation
> period for intrusion detection/prevention systems. Strong level of expertise
> and good technical support was one of the big reasons choosing ISS.
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Stephane [mailto:stephane.d () ecologie net] 
> Sent: Monday, March 07, 2005 12:42 PM
> To: focus-ids () securityfocus com
> Subject: How to choose an IDS/FW MSS provider
>
> Dear All,
>
> How do I choose an IDS/IPS provider if I need a strong level of expertise
> 24x7x365 and a worldwide representaion? I need it on Netscreen, PIX,
> CheckPoint and ISS Realsecure and Proventia.
>
> Thank you,
>
> S.
>
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> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Test Your IDS
>
> Is your IDS deployed correctly?
> Find out quickly and easily by testing it with real-world attacks from 
> CORE IMPACT.
> Go to http://www.securityfocus.com/sponsor/CoreSecurity_focus-ids_040708 
> to learn more.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Test Your IDS
>
> Is your IDS deployed correctly?
> Find out quickly and easily by testing it with real-world attacks from 
> CORE IMPACT.
> Go to http://www.securityfocus.com/sponsor/CoreSecurity_focus-ids_040708 
> to learn more.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Test Your IDS
>
> Is your IDS deployed correctly?
> Find out quickly and easily by testing it with real-world attacks from 
> CORE IMPACT.
> Go to http://www.securityfocus.com/sponsor/CoreSecurity_focus-ids_040708 
> to learn more.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>  

--
David W. Goodrum
Senior Systems Engineer
NFR Security
703.731.3765


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