RE: in-to-out security

["David Gillett" <gillettdavid () fhda edu>]

  All of these various technical measures are, at heart, policy
enforcement mechanisms.  If he does not have a policy to guide 
their deployment, they cannot be considered a "solution".
  So:  the real question here is:  Should users be told what the
policy is?

  If users are not told what the policy is, they cannot be subject
to disciplinary action for violating it.  A secret policy is 
simply not enforceable.  Which may make it kind of moot.

David Gillett


> -----Original Message-----
> From: Joe George [mailto:j.george () conservation org] 
> Sent: Tuesday, March 28, 2006 6:33 AM
> To: security-basics () securityfocus com
> Subject: in-to-out security
>
> Dear all,
>  
> I hope you're all doing well.  A colleague of mine does 
> technical support for some charities on the side.  One of his 
> clients is a person who is the CTO of a 400+ person, 
> non-profit organization.  This CTO asked my colleague what 
> was the best way to (a particular application or training 
> method) to get his 400+ staff in-line and keep them from 
> doing inappropriate things on the network such as downloading 
> rogue applications, and inadvertently installing apps which 
> can attack the network and other networks.  He's looking for 
> an in-to-out solution.
> This CTO feels he and his team would be able to secure the 
> network from intrusion from outside rogue users by 
> implementing necessary firewall, IDS, etc.  I suggested to my 
> colleague that this gentleman can not adequately secure 
> external/internal intrusion and attacks without implementing 
> an acceptable use or some kind of written policy with the 
> assistance of his HR department.  I informed him that 
> end-users should have the right to know that their activity 
> is being monitored by the IT staff (which is what I presumed 
> he meant by an application/training method to keep his staff 
> in-line).  This CTO fellow, feels that any kind of policy is 
> not a viable option.  I told my colleague a written policy 
> will protect the organization and the employees and allow the 
> security team to build and design a security countermeasures, 
> not to mention get the best use of expensive security 
> appliances.  Besides rogue applications, I mentioned that 
> other issues such as disgruntled employees, corporate 
> espionage, maintaining data and company integrity are just a 
> few reasons to start off with written policy.  My colleague 
> mentioned that his CTO client is not uninformed, but rather 
> too scared to bring up a very controversial solution as 
> written policy to his superiors and the end-users. My 
> questions to you are these:
>  
> 1.    Was I right to suggest this rather than help my colleague look
> for an app/training solution?
> 2.    How would you convince an obviously passive CTO to do the right
> thing?
> 3.    If such an application/training exists, can you suggest
> something? 
> 4.    Is it legal to implement user-monitoring without informing the
> staff?  This is where I think policy 
>  
> Thanks in advance.
>  
> Take it easy,
>  
> Joe 
>
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EARN A MASTER OF SCIENCE IN INFORMATION ASSURANCE - ONLINE
The Norwich University program offers unparalleled Infosec management 
education and the case study affords you unmatched consulting experience. 
Tailor your education to your own professional goals with degree 
customizations including Emergency Management, Business Continuity Planning, 
Computer Emergency Response Teams, and Digital Investigations. 

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