Security Now Blog: Addressing Today's Information Security Issues

SSL VPN security is equivalent to holding private meetings in a crowded restaurant whereby other diners are required to voluntarily ignore the conversation and those in it are blind-folded and required to recognize the voices of their colleagues to prevent outside influences. Web browser security flaws, lack of browser and computer policy enforcement, computer malware, and dependence on end-users recognizing man-in-the-middle attacks make SSL VPN a poor choice for organizations with anything worth stealing or manipulating. (more…)

1. You are paying more than $120 per month per site to connect your retail stores. Legacy networks such as Frame Relay and ATM can cost retailers as much as $500 per month per site, not including the additional charges for MACDs and technical support calls. Even the “new” generation of MPLS networks are burdened with infrastructure costs they must pass along. Excessive charges like these can significantly impact profitability. Control these costs and you could increase your quarterly profit as much as 5%.

2. Your vendor will not sign up to a security SLA. Security breaches are a common occurance these days. There are many well publicised breaches that have cost millions of dollars to cleanup and untold dollars in customer confidence. Yet, for you to compete effectively requires real-time access to store and customer data to make sure shelves are stocked and customers can fly through the checkout lanes. However, the constant movement of data increases your exposure to the risk of data loss. A security SLA will ensure your network provider keeps up with the latest PCI-DSS requirements and will help you sleep better at night. 

3. The quality of Vendor support declines as your contract ages. All vendors promise good customer service, but few can deliver. How long does it take to make a change to your network configuration? How responsive is your Support Representative? When was the last time you received a call from your vendor just to ‘check in”? Is 24×7x365 Level 1 support included in your contract? Retailers are constantly challenged to deliver outstanding customer service. You should receive nothing less from your network provider.

4. Your network prevents you from rolling out innovative revenue generating programs. With consumers spending less during these lean economic times, retailers must get creative in how they capture and maintain the customer relationship. Inevitably this means developing loyalty programs that require customer data during an in-store transaction. If your network is incapable of rapidly delivering data, you will likely be unable to introduce the types of programs that diferentiate you from the competition. A next generation fast, low cost data network will provide the foundation for deploying data intensive programs that increase sales and keep customers.

5. You are constantly hit with unexpected charges and expenses. Running on tight margins, retailers especially, need to have a handle on their network costs. Providers that get your business with a low monthly bid just to “nickel and dime” you throughout the term of the contract make the budgeting and reporting processes difficult at best and create an environment of distrust. Look for data network providers that charge a fixed monthly fee, regardless of the number of network changes or helpdesk calls. Also negotiate with the provider to deploy your network with no up front capital expenses.

Although the inherent flaws in MPLS security have been known for sometime, only in the last few months has there been a concerted effort to deliver hacking tools designed specifically to exploit MPLS security vulnerabilities, putting retail data networks at risk of attack.

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Cisco recently commissioned InsightExpress to examine security and data leak implications from business employees actions and inactions. The result is a Top 10 list of the most noteworthy behavioral findings, according to Cisco. IT personnel and business stakeholders must take action. (more…)