Displaying articles for: 01-18-2009 - 01-24-2009

Let’s See the Forest and the Trees

by Juniper Employee on 01-19-2009 09:40 AM

Pick up any security magazine....it's ok, I'll wait....

 

Stories are abound with the latest worm, identity theft, targeted attacks and other "James Bond-ish" types of attacks that have claimed its next victim.  Don't get me wrong, all of these things happen with astounding regularity, but there are times, such as now that we need to take a step back to the basics.

 

Our employees are our biggest asset, but they can also be our biggest security risk. Every day, confidential information walks out the door when employees bring thumb drives, laptops and in fact their brains, home. In most cases, it comes back in the next day when employees return to work. But what happens when it doesn't? PCs get stolen, thumb drives get lost, and people talk - sometimes divulging proprietary information that they shouldn't. And this puts organizations at risk.

 

In efforts to stem the incidents of viruses, Trojans, worms and other bad things that can infiltrate a network, we not only should be investing in gear to secure our network, but we must also invest in our own employees in the form of education. In order to truly stack the deck in the company's favor, it is essential to establish a real and ongoing "in-service" to educate employees on the ways they can help secure the organization from security incidents.

 

Striking the right balance between employee education and purchasing security products is not easy, but is necessary. However, focusing on one without the other can be a recipe for a breach. From a security perspective, investment in the network and employees costs money, but it also pays dividends. And you can take that to the bank.

 

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About the Author
  • Michael Rothschild is the Senior Manager of Solutions Marketing at Juniper Networks, responsible for security solutions for the enterprise. When he’s not busy helping customer’s understand the importance of a solutions focus to address the new security threats affecting business, Michael is a professor of marketing and volunteers as a paramedic.
  • Krishna is a Distinguished Engineer in the Service Layer Technologies group at Juniper. He's currently working on DPI technology initiatives in products targeted at service providers and enterprise markets. Krishna has 19 years of experience in data networking involving Ethernet, ATM, IP, Switching and Security technologies. He has authored 10 patents in the areas of switching, security and QoS. He was actively involved in the IEEE 802.1 and ATM Forum standards committees. Prior to Juniper, he was the co-founder and System Architect at Top Layer Networks where he played a pivotal role in bringing multiple products to the market. He has also held senior engineering roles at Digital Equipment Corporation and Fore Systems.
  • As a Solutions Architect and Leader of Enterprise Solutions Engineering, Lior Cohen is responsible for developing reference architectures and best practices utilizing Juniper products. He has been designing and building enterprise networks and security solutions for over a decade and has helped several Fortune 500 companies develop risk mitigation strategies and implement information security technologies. Prior to joining Juniper, Lior was Chief Technology Officer for a privately held information security consulting firm where he led multi-national consulting and auditing engagements for the financial services and real estate sectors. He also filled various roles at Check Point Software, including leading the company’s Solutions Center. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Information Systems from Tel Aviv University.
  • Rich Campagna, Senior Product Manager in the Access Business Group is responsible for business strategies, product development, partner interactions and customer engagements to help drive the growth of Juniper Networks' Unified Access Control and SA Series SSL VPN solutions. Rich is also an avid snowboarder and motorcyclist (not at the same time).
About Technically Secure
Welcome to Technically Secure, the Juniper Networks blog dedicated to trends and innovation in the world of IT risk management and security. Here we'll offer technical perspectives on network security, covering things happening within Juniper Networks as well as issues across the industry as a whole. Our mission is simple: explore ideas, share information, and provide insight that will help you take a proactive stance on threat and risk mitigation.

Our primary objective is to explore technical IT security issues as business and technology challenges that could compromise the effectiveness of enterprises and service providers. We'll share our strategies for staying ahead of today’s rapidly changing threat landscape and focus in particular on innovation in network security technologies.

We’ve assembled a great team of bloggers to kick off these conversations with you, but we encourage your participation. If there's a topic that you'd like us to cover, let us know by commenting on the blog. We’re not just talking — we’re listening.

Our Bloggers Krishna Narayanaswamy,
Distinguished Engineer

Krishna is a Distinguished Engineer in the Service Layer Technologies group at Juniper. He is currently working on DPI technology initiatives in products targeted at service providers and enterprise markets.

Krishna has 19 years of experience in data networking involving Ethernet, ATM, IP, Switching and Security technologies. He has authored 10 patents in the areas of switching, security and QoS. He was actively involved in the IEEE 802.1 and ATM Forum standards committees.

Prior to Juniper, he was the co-founder and System Architect at Top Layer Networks where he played a pivotal role in bringing multiple products to the market. He has also held senior engineering roles at Digital Equipment Corporation and Fore Systems.

Michael Rothschild,
Senior Manager
Solutions Marketing

Michael Rothschild is the senior manager of solutions marketing at Juniper Networks, responsible for security solutions for the enterprise.

When he’s not busy helping customer’s understand the importance of a solutions focus to address the new security threats affecting business, Michael is a professor of marketing and volunteers as a paramedic.

Lior Cohen,
Solutions Architect

As a Solutions Architect and Leader of Enterprise Solutions Engineering at Juniper Networks, Lior Cohen is responsible for developing reference architectures and best practices utilizing Juniper products. In his free time, Cohen enjoys mountain biking and spending time with his children.

Rich Campagna,
Senior Product Manager

Rich Campagna,
Senior Product Manager in the Access Business Group at Juniper Networks is responsible for driving the business strategies, product development, partner interactions and customer engagements to help drive the growth of Juniper Networks' Unified Access Control and Secure Access SSL VPN solutions. Rich is also an avid snowboarder and motorcyclist (not at the same time).

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