Author: admini

Log management push has its roots in compliance

Posted on by admini

Log management tools can help organizations drill down and look for specific data strings such as full track data from credit cards; PCI prohibits storage of such information, so companies can then take corrective action. The log management market includes tools from LogLogic, LogRhythm, Splunk, syslog-focused products such as Kiwi Enterprises’ Syslog Daemon and freeware like Unix’s syslog daemon. Also, security information management (SIM) vendors have begun tailoring their product lines to meet the demand for log management by offering options that focus on providing more storage capacity than correlation capability.

At the Burton Group Catalyst Conference, Jay Leek — manager of corporate IT security services at Nokia — plans to talk about practical considerations for log management and how a centralized system can improve compliance, incident response and troubleshooting while also saving time and money. Without any control over what’s being logged, companies can spend a great deal of time and effort searching through log data during an incident investigation or when trying to troubleshoot an IT problem, he said.

http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid14_gci1261647,00.html

Read more

Feds choose 10 vendors to secure mobile data

Posted on by admini

The 10 winning contractors are:
* MTM Technologies, with Mobile Armor
* Rocky Mountain Ram, with SafeBoot
* Carahsoft Technology, with Information Security Corp.’s SecretAgent
* Spectrum Systems, with SafeBoot
* SafeNet
* HiTech Services, with Encryption Solutions’ SkyLock
* Autonomic Resources, with WinMagic
* GovBuys, with WinMagic
* Intelligent Decisions, with Credant Mobile Guardian
* Merlin International, with Guardian Edge Technologies

Federal officials are urging commercial industry to follow its lead on encrypting data stored on mobile devices. “Whenever we band together to look for products that raise the bar for security, we’re helping everybody, including our private sector partners,” Wennegren said.

http://seclists.org/isn/2007/Jun/0075.html

Read more

CIOs, Auditors To Get New Software Controls Guide on July 9

Posted on by admini

“These controls and suggested tests are generic and should apply to all systems,” says Heriot Prentice, director of technology practices at the IIA in Altamonte Springs, Fla.

For one, all transactional systems such as ERP and financial systems–as well as support applications such as e-mail programs and design software–pose risks stemming from how they are configured, managed and used by employees. Another reason for regular audits and tests of software controls is that any configuration changes or modifications to business applications can introduce additional risk. For instance, tolerance levels can be manipulated to disable controls.

For this reason, the GTAG guidance recommends that auditors should be part of any software-implementation or upgrade team to ensure controls are in place and working. Prentice recommends that companies make their software-control audits a joint effort involving the chief internal auditor, the CFO and the CIO. “One of the biggest issues I’ve found when it comes to I.T. is that the chief audit officer or the CFO in many cases may not understand the technology, while at the same time, the CIO may not understand the auditors’ needs,” he says.

Software controls are used to monitor a variety of aspects of the application, including input, processing, output and data integrity, as well as data storage and retrieval. Some controls are embedded into transactional and support applications, such as an automated accounts-payable match of invoice with purchase order and notice of receipt of shipment. Other controls are configurable, such as an accounts-payable system’s limit on the amount of an invoice that can be processed without certain approvals.

Management trail—Processing-history controls, often called an audit trail, allow management to identify the transactions and events they record by tracking each transaction from the source to the output and by tracing backward.

http://www.baselinemag.com/article2/0,1397,2143482,00.asp?kc=BARSS02129TX1K0000533

Read more

IBM Makes Security Move to Acquire Watchfire

Posted on by admini

Watchfire technology will also complement existing IBM Tivoli identity, access and compliance management software offerings and ISS by extending security and compliance testing as an integrated element of the application development life cycle.

“Security breaches and lack of compliance with industry and government regulations can topple business integrity and customer trust,” said Danny Sabbah, general manager of IBM Rational software, in a statement.

“IBM’s purchase of Watchfire capitalizes on an important trend in the security software market: inherently secure products,” said Allan Krans, an analyst at Technology Business Research, in an e-mail.

http://ct.enews.eweek.com/rd/cts?d=186-6697-49-642-521895-722981-0-0-0-1

Read more

Symantec to test major revamp of corporate AV client

Posted on by admini

Although Hamlet is a step forward, antivirus vendors like Symantec are playing catch-up in the fight against malware writers, who are increasingly evading detection with a large number of low-circulation variants of their code, said Andrew Jaquith, an analyst with Yankee Group Inc. “Most of the AV labs are like fishing boats with a drift net,” he added.

Symantec competitor McAfee Inc. is planning to announce a rival product to Hamlet next week relating to the company’s “Total Protection for Enterprise with ePolicy Orchestrator security management software,” a McAfee spokesman said Thursday.

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9023958&source=NLT_AM&nlid=1

Read more