Thanks to Peter Moriarty from IT Genius, I was a recent participant on the Eagle Tech Genius podcast last Thursday the 15th of August 2013. You can find a recording of the episode at:
http://eaglewavesradio.com.au/2013/08/eagle-tech-genius-15-august-2013/
In the episode I spoke about the challenges of IT security as well a key differentiator between Google Apps and Office 365 (which I’ll do a separate upcoming blog post on).
I feature in the first part of the show but I encourage you to listen to the whole episode for some other great information for businesses.
Once again, many thanks to Peter for inviting me on and I hope to be able to come back and share more information with listeners.
Tag: Security
Exchange Online protection
One of the big improvements with Exchange Online and the upgrade to Wave 15 is the integration of many of the protection features of email directly into the administration console. Previously, you actually had to ‘shell out’ to the Forefront protection console to work on much of this.
Now you simply login to the Office 365 console as an administrator.
From the Admin menu option in the top right select the Exchange from the pull down menu that appears.
Now select the protection option on the left hand side to display the screen shown above. Now across the top on the right you will see a number options, with malware filter being currently selected.
You can learn more details about Exchange Online anti malware here:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj200669(EXCHG.150).aspx
If you edit the default policy (by selecting the pencil icon) and select settings on the left hand side you will see the above window.
In there you can set a number of different options for how messages containing malware are handled.
If you return to the previous screen you can now examine the anti-spam protection options. More details about these options can be found at:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj200762(EXCHG.150).aspx
If you now examine the connection filtering policy you will see the above options that allow you to white and black list specific IP addresses.
If you return to the previous menu and edit the content filtering policy you will see the above listed.
In the advanced options you will find even more settings for how content in email is handled.
Finally if your return to the previous menu and select quarantine you will see any messages that are currently being held.
For more detailed information about quarantine have a look here:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj200776(EXCHG.150).aspx
The other area when it comes to protection is reports. This has again been significantly improved and integrated directly into the console. This allows you to display real time results as shown above.
So, if you job is to manage and monitor email protection, spend some time looking at the protection area inside Exchange Online administration.
Web Browser Cookie Forensics
There is a lot of talk these days about tracking, cookies and so on. You can read a lot of good and lot more bad information about the role that cookies play on your system but rather than go through a whole heap of stuff here I’ll refer you to:
https://www.grc.com/cookies/forensics.htm
which will not only explain to you about all the different forms of cookies but also test your system to let you know where you are potentially expose.
The first step to being is more secure is having an understanding of what being secure actually means. The above site should put you well down that path.
Mick Dundee vs the Indian phone scammers
Most people are pretty aware these days of people from foreign countries cold calling you claiming there are issues on your PC and kindly offering to help (for a fee of course). If they are given access to your PC system then things go downhill pretty quick for you from there.
However, even with all the publicity out there about the scams they just keep calling so there must still be people getting scammed. Now what happens if these scammers call a security MVP like Troy Hunt who recently gave a presentation for the CIAOPS Virtual Technology meeting (which you should go and look at after this)?
Watch and enjoy!
Privacy fix
Web browsing, social media and so is great BUT most people think they doing so anonymously when they are away from those place? Not so. Have a look at:
http://privacyfix.com/
Here you can firstly see how you are ‘worth’ to businesses that track you. For me that means:
but interestingly you’ll see how far site like Facebook follow you around the web, like:
Nothing wrong with tracking per se, PROVIDED you know that it is happening. If you don’t well maybe you should go to http://privacyfix.com and have a look!
CIAOPS Virtual technical Meeting recording now available
I held the first CIAOPS Virtual Technical Meeting on Wednesday which features a great security presentation by Microsoft MVP ( Developer Security ) Troy Hunt. You can find the recording here:
The recording process is still a bit rough around the edges but I think you’ll still get great value from what Troy details about web insecurity.
The next meeting with on the first Wednesday in August (7th) at 4pm Sydney time. I’ll have the registration details up soon.
A gift for hackers
Here’s a great documentary on how technology is “protecting” us but compromising our “privacy”. It is another example of the tyranny of the default. Basically, having so many devices freely connected to the Internet with effectively no security is a gift for those willing to look and exploit.
Here’s the brief:
For downloads and more information visit:http://www.journeyman.tv/?lid=64861
IT companies are failing to secure devices connected to the internet, leaving them open to hackers. This shocking report reveals how anything from your pins to your passport could now be accessed online.
“Is this your pin? Is this a letter you received from your bank? Do you have a HP e-Print scanner?” The young man answers yes to every question, stunned that all of his information was accessible on the internet for anyone who wanted to see it. And he’s not alone: the wealth of information available is staggering. From shop owners whose security cameras can be watched and controlled remotely, to medical records and confidential documents for international companies like Unilever, Orange and KLM, it’s a bonanza for any would-be hackers. While it would be simple for the IT firms who provide printers, scanners and software to make the system more secure, they don’t see it as their problem and argue that attending to basic safety protocols is a bit of a marketing nightmare. “There are people who know all about how this works, security-wise, but it’s too much trouble to explain all that.” One company went so far as to call consumers who didn’t know they had to change their passwords “idiots”. As the rate of technological change continues at a frightening pace, do technology companies have a duty to prevent our privacy being eroded?
If you have an Internet connected device ensure the password is CHANGED. Do it now because insecure systems affect every Internet user. Watch the video and change those passwords.
Microsoft acquires two factor provider
One of the criticisms levelled at Office 365 is that it doesn’t easily support two factor authentication. Basically this means that when you log into a system with an id and password you require another form of identification to gain access. This second factor is normally provided by a token that generates a number you enter during login.
Two factor provides an much greater level of security because it means that anyone trying to access your system need more than just a password (which could be captured by a key logged on a PC you are using). A good example of this is the PayPal security key that I have blogged about previously.
When you access PayPal you are asked for the security key number that appears when you press the key. So without this physical key you can’t gain access to PayPal services.
Now this is all well and good if you always remember to have your security key with you. But what happens if you don’t and you need to access your system? The solution is to use a software token. That is a piece of software on a device you have with you (a tablet or mobile for example) that allows you to generate the required key. A great example of this is Google Authenticator which I use with all my Google accounts as well as Lastpass. If I need to access my Google information or retrieve a password from Lastpass I simply run the Google Authenticator program on my iPad and enter the number it provides (along with my password and id) to gain access.
Even something as simple as Google Authenticator can prove technically challenging for some, so a final option is to use an SMS text message to provide the required key. As I mentioned, Microsoft has been a little late to the game but that should all change now that they have acquired Phonefactor.
Hopefully we’ll soon be able to use two factor authentication with Office 365 to provide additional security and overcome the tendency for users to implement poor passwords. It also looks like you’ll be able to use these with on premise Microsoft software but I reckon it’ll come to the cloud first.
I’ll keep my eyes peeled for when it becomes available and let you know.
