78 Chapter 11 Security PolicyCase Study: Use Better Technology Means Less PolicyThe easiest policy to follow is one that has been radically simplified. For example, password policies often include guidelines for creating acceptable passwords and specifying how often they need to be changed on various classes of machines. These detailscan be reduced or removed with better technology. Bell Labs’ infrastructure includes asecure handheld authenticator (HHA) system, which eliminates passwords altogether.What could be simpler?❖ Handheld Authenticators An HHA, a device the size of a small calculator or a fat credit card, is used to prove that people are who theysay they are. An HHA generates a one-time password (OTP) to identifythe user. One brand of HHA displays a new 7-digit number every 30seconds. Clocks are synchronized such that the host knows what digitsshould be displayed at a given time for a particular user. The user entersthe digits instead of a password. (The HHA is protected with a PIN.)Therefore, the computer can know that the user is who she claims to beor at least is holding the right HHA and knows the PIN for that person.This is more secure than a password that never, or rarely, changes.HHAs can be used to log in to hosts, gain secure access---UNIX sucommand---and even gain access to web sites. With this infrastructurein place, password policies, become much simpler. Hosts outside thefirewall no longer require password policies, because they don’t useplain passwords. Gaining root access securely on UNIX systems, previously difficult because of paranoia over password sniffing, is made morefeasible by virtue of HHAs combined with encryption.1 This is an example of how increased security, done correctly, made the system moreconvenient.Lack of Policy Hampers the Security TeamChristine was once brought in as a consultant to a large multinational computer manufacturer that had no formal, approved written security policy. In particular, the companyhad no network connectivity policy. As a result, many offices had connections to third1. SSH provides an encrypted rsh/telnet-like system. (Yben 1996. See also Farrow 1997 and Thorpe1998b.)11.1 The Basics 279parties that were not secure; in many cases, the corporate IT department and the securitygroup did not even know that the connections existed, because the remote offices werenot under any obligation to report those connections.Christine was asked to work on centralizing third-party access to the corporate network into three U.S. sites, two European sites, one Australian site, and one Asian site.On the process of discovering where all the existing connections were, the estimatednumber of third-party connections increased from 50+ to 80+.The security team spoke to the people responsible for the connections and describedthe new architecture and its benefits to the company. The team then discussed with the
customers what services they would need in this new architecture. Having assured themselves and the customers that all the services would be available, the team then discussed the transition to the new architecture. In most cases, this is where the process
began to fail. Because the new architecture centered on multiple hub sites, connections to a small sales office closest to the third party would need to be moved farther
away, and so the costs would increase. Lacking not only a policy stating the permissible ways to connect third parties to the network but also money allocated to pay
the extra connectivity costs, the security group had no recourse when customers refused to pay the extra cost of moving the connection or adding security to the existing
connection.
Despite having been built at the main office, the initial third-party connection infrastructure saw very little adoption; as a result, the other connection centers were not
deployed. If there had been a network connectivity policy that was reasonable and supported by upper management, the result would have been very different. Management
needed to support the project both financially and by instituting a formal policy with
which the groups had to comply.
In contrast, Christine also worked at a security-conscious site that had policies and an
information-protection team. At that site, she set up a similar centralized area for thirdparty connectivity, which included access for people from other companies who were
working on-site. That area was used by the majority of third-party connections. The
other third-party connections had their own security infrastructure, as was permitted by
the network connectivity policy. There were no issues surrounding costs, because this
arrangement was required by company policy, and everyone understood and accepted
the reasons.
Reigning in Partner Network Connections
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has a network connection to the equivalent organization of nearly every government in the world, as well as to many airlines,
vendors, and partners. However, the FAA did not have a uniform policy on how these
connections would be secured and managed. In fact, the FAA had no inventory of the
connections. Without an inventory, these connections could not be audited. Without
auditing, there was no security.
280 Chapter 11 Security Policy
The FAA was very smart in how it went about building the inventory so that securing
and auditing could begin. First, it built the inventory from all the information it did
have and any it could gain from analyzing its network with various tools.
Once the network group felt that it had done the best it could on its own, it was
time to announce the new auditing policy to all the IT organizations within the FAA.
The group’s first thought was to announce that any network connections not on its list
and therefore not secured and audited would result in trouble for the people responsible
for the network connection. However, the group realized that this would simply make
people increase their effort to hide such connections. It would, in fact, encourage people
with unreported connections to go “underground.”
Instead, the group announced an amnesty program. For a certain number of months,
anyone could report unofficial network connections and receive no punishment but
instead help in securing and auditing the connection. However, anyone who didn’t come
forward by a certain deadline: Well, that would be a bad thing.
People confessed in droves, sometimes via email, sometimes by a very scared person
entering the office of the director to confess in person. But the program worked. Many
people came to the group for help; nobody was punished. In fact, even after the amnesty
program ended, one person who came to the director nearly in tears confessed and
received no punishment. The goal was to secure the network, not to get people fired;
being as open and forgiving as possible was the best policy.
At the same time, the network team had many of its own undocumented connections
that required analysis to determine where they connected to. Sometimes, billing records
were consulted to help identify lines. Sometimes, the jack was labeled, and a little research could identify the network carrier, which led to more research that identified the
line. Other times, the team wasn’t as lucky.
In the end, a few connections could not be identified. After all other attempts failed, the
team simply picked a date and time that had the fewest flights in the air and disconnected
them. In some cases, it was months later before the country that was disconnected noticed
and complained. The remaining were never identified and remain disconnected. We’re
not sure which is more disconcerting: the connections that were never identified or the
fact that some countries flew for months without complaint.
11.1.2.1 Get High-Level Management Support
For a security program to succeed, it must have high-level management suppo
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