Aircraft Solutions Essay Example for Free

Aircraft Solutions EssaySecurityAircraft Solutions Security and Policy Assessment Table of Contents Executive Summary1 conjunction Overview1 Security Vulnerabilities1 De alter Anti Virus1 Access Control inclination Policy3 Recommended Solutions6 Bitdefender6 AlgoSec Security forethought Suite7 Impact on subscriber line Processes7 Budget8 Summary8 References9 Executive Summary As Aircraft Solutions takes the nigh step in its growth, it is imperative that its IT infrastructure keep pace as to not counteract gains made by the company during this expansion.This is especially important presumptuousness it designs and fabricates components for both commercial and defense related industry. habituated the increase in staff as well as outback(a) vendors accessing the interlock, a more(prenominal) centralized approach to antivirus protection has to be adopted. It is equally important that certain elements within the network that have been done manually, such as Access Control List policy, be automated to avoid consuming the IT department in an ever escalating bar of employee hours. Company OverviewAircraft Solutions operates within California in two separate somatogenetic locations in San Diego and Santa Ana. Working within both commercial and defense industries, their products argon used globally. Aircraft Solutions is overtly technical in nature utilizing Business Process Management (BPM) for end to end processes that interacts with customers, vendors, and suppliers. BPM overly fills a exact role of internal communications for IT to ensure customer needs are being fulfil precisely as they have been ordered. Security Vulnerabilities Decentralized Anti VirusIn reviewing the software system utilized by Aircraft Solutions, it is stated that security is handled by anti-virus software that is independently operated for all workstations and servers. This seems to be a continuation of the host centric theme as evidenced by host found IDS. Whereas host based IDS whoremaster be seen as a more viable alternative to network based IDS, the same cannot be said for anti-virus software in this scenario. Given that the company operates two individual physical locations that obtain the gamut from design to production, it can be assumed that their employee pool is not small despite actual follow not being mentioned.With these numbers, it is quite unlikely that all employees are maintaining their due diligence in ensuring that they are properly updating their anti-virus applications and operating them in such a manner that they are being used efficiently. The primary weakness of this policy is that the end drug user is responsible for its upkeep. It is reasonable to assume that nearlyone working in a loading dock may not have the same level of computing device aptitude as an engineer and would be more likely to cause a break in security by allowing a virus into their computer and threaten the network (Department of Homeland Securit y, 2012).As security is only as strong as the weakest link, this opens the proverbial floodgates of illicit access to the company network. This is problematic in that official statistics ga on that pointd in 2012 estimated that the United States ranks ternary in the world with 50. 1% of all unique users detecting threats from a virus (Kaspersky Security Bulletin, 2012). The most common virus credited with 75. 01% of all online attacks with 712,999,644 instances are malicious URLs (Kaspersky Security Bulletin, 2012) that can infect a computer without the user even realizing what has come to passred.Not even anti-virus software entrust keep a user completely safe as it is reported that 32% of all users have been infected with a virus despite such protection measures (Zorz, 2010). Once infected, viruses can either cause extreme lag with the network, slowly gather information to be used against the company or sold to anyone pull up stakesing to purchase it, or even cause damage to p hysical components used in the business (Weinberger, 2012). There are legion(predicate) other nefarious effects of an infected computer within a network that can cripple productivity and cut into the revenue generating capacity of the company.When you take into consideration that a slower network testament cause a decrease in company production and will not reduce the cost of daily military operations in terms of equipment, utilities or workforce then you must look at the financial ramifications of such an event. The creation and dissemination of viruses has become big business that will grow exponentially as it has moved from the stereotypical basements of hackers into the realm of organized crime and legitimized aspects of armed services for many nations the world around (Fisher, 2012).It is reported that worldwide, viruses have stolen approximately $1. 6 trillion (CMP Media Inc. , 2013) from the global economy. Access Control List Rule policy Security policy at Aircraft Soluti ons dictates that all firewall and router access catch rules pertaining to blocket extend be evaluated on a bi yearly basis. Network infrastructure documentation for the company lists one firewall and two routers that are currently in operation that fall within these parameters. Within the San Diego headquarters, all of these devices act as a bulwark against any unwanted intrusion from the Internet at large.Documentation to a fault details there are contractors and suppliers along with customers to contend with regarding external access to the network through these devices. Looking at the internal physical topology it is seen that there is a single router providing packet control for all traffic between the Defense Division in Santa Anna and the rest of the company consisting of Human Resources, Accounting, Direct calculating machine Numerical Control, Sales and Marketing, IT, and information from the database.Conversely, this same router would also have to act the single point of control between all internal departments at San Diego as it is the only piece of music of equipment that possesses layer three functionality before passing the firewall. Given these relationships this demonstrates these three devices, particularly the router connecting Santa Anna and San Diego, require extremely detailed and expansive routing rules to effectively run the business. Departmental access list rules could for the most part remain static and not require a great deal of attention once utilise as IP schemas would be established ahead of time for each department.Issues begin to arise when you take into account that over the cut across of two years, seven-fold projects will most likely be spun up, numerous unique circumstances, and growth of the network will shape a myriad of antiquated access control rules that will represent gaping holes in security that can allow unauthorized access to sensitive company materials and intellectual property. This would also lead to a lack of documentation of access control rules so that there would be no manner in which to simply reference which rules were in place and for what reason.each annual security review will then sideline the IT department as it analyzes the access control list rules and begins to path them out to their respective devices. At this point, ownership of the device would have to be established, the purpose of that device, and then verifying if access was still warranted. Disagreements at this juncture would result in handlerial superintendence as department heads would then have to present their cases for and against access. Obviously, this would draw management, especially that of IT, into contracted deliberation that would distract from day to day business.A lack of an general firewall policy, a bi yearly evaluation of access control list rules, and the previously mentioned issue of non centralized anti-virus software creates a very dangerous purlieu for data security. A port that i s opened for user access is a window into the companys network that can ultimately be exploited. The more ports that are odd open, the greater the opportunity for intrusion. This same lack of a detailed firewall policy also entails that these multiple holes in security can vary in chain of mountains since there is not a set control in place to reign in the extent of the security exception being asked (Hogg, 2011).These open ports score the company susceptible to port scanning as outside entities search for network soft spots that can be exploited to gain entry. These scans occur with such constant frequency that they are referred to as Internet background radiation (Notenboom, 2008). Given these factors it is a foregone conclusion that there will ineluctably be a breach of the network as a result. Such an event would result in loss of intellectual property, decrease of production, and repeated incidents would create a devastating loss of trust in the eyes of customers.An ancilla ry security risk is derived from the time and energy spent by IT during each manual review of all access control listings in the firewall and routers. It is feasible that each rule will take an average of an hour to complete if all goes smoothly with tracing the routed path from beginning to end, complying with internal ticket work, verifying the device, and accepting a reason for the route to be in existence. More time would be expended by both engineering staff and then management if there was a dispute as to if a rule should be left in place or not.In terms of just the basic work to go through all the established rules that will accumulate over the course of 2 years, a conservative estimate of 25 requests for new rules per week (based on personal experience within a mid-sized company) would yield a total of 2600 new lines to be analyzed. Assuming approximately a third of these rules could be associated together as projects are increased or decreased, that leaves roughly 866 line s that translates into as many employee hours that will be occupied for this task over the course of 108 days.A team of five in the IT department would require just over 21 full working days to effectively handle this task at a cost of $2,898. 75 to have entry level Network Engineers (Salary. com, 2013) utilize to the task . If a quarter of these rules are disputed, then the company will pay out another $9,964. 70 (Salary. com, 2013) of lost productivity as the IT manager has to contend with other managers to mediate the need for the rules. It is likely that this endeavor would constitute a major departmental project at the end of the 2 years kinda of being worked on throughout the duration.During this time, other work will be assigned to secondary position and put projects and perhaps updates that could be critical in risk of being done on time as all energy and focus resides on the access evaluation. Recommended Solutions Bitdefender To effectively control antivirus from a cent ral source that will push updates to all network devices, demand all equipment connecting has antivirus and allow for expeditious devices to be used without issue, Bitdefender small business pack would be the ideal choice.Given that this application suite will provide service to all Windows OSs from XP to Windows 8 along with Macintosh and Linux jump out (Squidoo. com, 2012) , it is perfect for allowing outside vendors who may not conform strictly to the Windows platform adopted by Aircraft Solutions. Support for the product is offered by email, and phone coupled with configuration assistance scanty of charge. As it was not definitely declared how many employees are with Aircraft Solutions, there is a pricing scale of $449. 95 per year for 20 computers and 20 mobile devices (Bitdefender, 2012) .AlgoSec Security Management Suite In terms of Access Control List management on the firewalls, industry reviews would recommend a single piece of software, Algosec Security Management Su ite. With this application, all a user is required to do is simply enter in the IP of the device wanting entry to the network as well as the IP of the device is wishes to access. Algosec will then compute the path from source to destination, provide a listing of all firewalls in the path, and then list out what changes would need to be made to firewall configuration.With a click of a button, it would even implement these changes thereby freeing an inordinate summate of time on the part of IT staff and management (AlgoSec, 2012) . Cost of the application is approximately $10,000 (AlgoSec, 2013) which also include support of the product and updates. Impact on Business Processes Implementation pains felt as both Bitdefender and AlgoSec are introduced will be minimal at best. In each instance, less work will be required of employees as they are no longer responsible for their own antivirus and the process by which firewall flows are drafted and put into configuration will be dramati cally increased.The point of contention that might make itself known will be at the onset of these applications being installed as they will require some new policy changes. At first, there will most likely be an uptick in questions asked of IT as employees want to know what is required of them with Bitdefender antivirus. It will also require new policy on the part of IT in terms of management of the application as well as procedures for pushing updates into the network.AlgoSec will be almost entirely without incident as it will create a process by which a request is put in for access and instead of being delayed as the path is verified, it can move directly into managerial oversight for approval. Budget Product Features Cost Bitdefender Centralized AV updatesScalable user supportInternal firewallIntuitive GUIApplication supportInstallation assistance $449. 95 per year per set of 20 computers/20 mobile devices AlgoSec Firewall path operation automationFirewall configuration change a utomationNegates access control rule auditsProduct support and updates $10,000 (approximate quote)Summary Without changes made to IT policy, requests upon the IT department for access to the network and the bi yearly audit of existing rules will eventually grind all departmental make headway to a complete stop for months at a time. Automation in this arena as well as a universal standard for antivirus are dire in maintaining a secure network with the necessary resources to make changes as needed. In the face of company growth, if automation is not embraced, then it will become necessary to increase the IT staff by at least 50% within the next 2 years to simply maintain the status quo.Assuming an employee pool of 100, an investment in Bitdefender and Algosec at this time will cost $12,249. 75, with reoccurring annual fees of $2,249. 75. Such an amount if a far cry from an commodious uptick in staff. The end result will be a far more efficient IT department that will be able to acco mplish more sustentative work with existing staff at hand. References AlgoSec. (2012, january). AlgoSec Security Management Suite. Retrieved February 18, 2013, from Algosec. com http//www. algosec. com/en/products/products_overview AlgoSec. (2013, January). How to Buy. Retrieved February 18, 2013, from algosec.