Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Finance Sector Ahead of the Curve on Security
While banks recognise the risks of privileged rights other organisations should follow their lead
Manchester (UK) and Boston (MA)
Avecto today revealed that as the migration to Windows 7
is proving a catalyst to organisations, banks are stepping up to
the challenge to protect themselves against malware attacks abusing
admin rights. In its dealings with more than 50 banks globally,
Avecto found that while enterprises in most sectors are aware of
the risks posed by standard users with admin rights the finance
sector is ahead of the curve when it comes to eliminating
them.
Cyber-criminals are focusing their attacks, in an effort to
monetise their malware programs. Legislation stipulates that if
admin rights are not removed from users then at the very least they
must audit everything they do. However, while Avecto believes
financial institutions are ahead of the curve on security risks,
and especially the threat from excessive user rights, it also
warned the financial sector not to compromise security for the sake
of delivering functionality.
Paul Kenyon, Avecto's COO, explains: "The financial sector is in
the same position as every other organisation in experiencing
privilege creep - where users are given elevated rights, in an
effort to quickly solve problems, which don't get revoked. However,
where they do differ is recognising that this is a serious issue
that leaves them open to attack by cyber-criminals after their
commodity - hard cash. As a result, financial organisations are
actively looking for ways to negate this risk. Not only have they
identified that malware operators are tailoring their software to
operate under the traditional radars of AV and firewall to avoid
detection. Cyber criminals are also using admin rights as a way to
infect the enterprise and stay there undetected."
Making the announcement today, Avecto revealed the five key areas
this sector is having to address:
1) The biggest challenge is
upgrading to Windows 7, as it either assigns standard users or
admin users - there's no middle ground. From this standpoint it is
virtually impossible to strike the perfect balance, as either too
many privileges are given away, which introduces unacceptable
levels of risk, or users don't have adequate privileges to do their
job. The challenge is to create a middle ground where people have
access to what they need without requiring admin rights.
2) Time and resources are often
wasted by employees requesting a service or application to be
installed and typically CISOs, trying to run a secure ship, are
seen as a hindrance for either saying no or for delaying getting
the request actioned securely. For this reason IT is often viewed
as a negative cost to the organisation, leaving managers to come up
with a strategy that ensures secure access to tools without
interrupting the work flow.
3) IT is continuously struggling to
control insecure third party programs - such as browsers, games,
animations and password crackers, that are able to run, even on the
most secure Microsoft desktop. Whitelisting and blacklisting
applications and programs ensures malicious code and content can be
blocked to create a secure environment.
4) Time and resources are wasted
managing the many disjointed applications and programs these
organisations typically utilise. By integrating and amalgamating
all these tools into a single architecture, all tools can be
managed from a common infrastructure
5) The migration to windows 7 has
introduced a very different environment, as far as security in
Windows 7 versus Windows XP is concerned. Understanding what part
UAC plays, what Applocker can do, and what else has changed from a
security point of view within the operating system is a major
challenge.
Paul concludes, "Privilege creep is a common problem which the
financial sector has recognised and acted on to mitigate the risk.
Other sectors are still in catch-up mode, leaving them exposed to
the dangers of admin right abuse. Perhaps it is because they're
protecting money or perhaps it is legislation that is the driver.
What is pertinent is that this sector has taken a battering
financially, which has negatively affected their image, and they
can't afford to be found lacking in security. Thankfully, this is
something they do not need to risk."
About Avecto
Avecto is the leader in Windows privilege management, helping
organizations to deploy secure and compliant desktops and servers.
With its award winning Privilege Guard technology, organizations
can now empower all Windows based desktop and server users with the
privileges they require to perform their roles, without
compromising the integrity and security of their systems.
Customers of all sizes rely on Avecto to reduce operating expenses
and strengthen security across their Windows based environments.
Our mission is to enable our customers to lower operating costs and
improve system security by implementing least privilege. Avecto is
building a worldwide channel of partners and system integrators and
is headquartered in Manchester, UK with key regional offices in
Andover, MA. For more information, visit www.avecto.com
Contact:
Regine Hartmann
Regine@eskenzipr.com
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