Summary: 'Anatomy of a Hack -- The Rise and Fall of Your Network'
In this chapter we have examined, in rather excruciating detail, how a network may get hacked. This chapter does not prove that Windows-based networks are any less secure than any other network. Although the specifics of the attack demonstrated in this chapter are unique to Windows, minor modifications to the techniques and a new tool set would make the same compromise possible on any network running any platform. The problem is not the platform, it is in the practices. All platforms are securable, but all networks are exploitable if they are not architected and implemented carefully. The techniques may vary, but the end result does not. Poor implementation is poor implementation, regardless of the underlying platform.
We also showed that exploiting a network is entirely possible using only operational security problems. Note that we did not exploit a single vulnerability in the platform. The only actual programmatic vulnerability we exploited was in a custom Web application. We even were able to do this on a network where every host was fully patched! Patching alone is not the be-all and end-all of security. Patching is critical, but it is also important to understand what you accomplish by patching; it just allows you to focus on the architecture and implementation of your network.
Finally, we cannot stress enough that understanding the patterns and practices that an attacker exploits is crucial to understanding how to protect a network. This does not mean that the system and security administrators need to be capable of actually exploiting all these problems. They just need to understand what an attacker can do with them to gain an appreciation for how to protect against them. In the end, do we need to protect against all of these problems? No, probably not. It is all about risk management. In Chapter 4, "Developing Security Policies," we discuss security policies. Your security policy needs to cover which types of risks you are willing to accept to gain some functionality and ease of use. Do not forget the fundamental tradeoff between security, usability, and cost. Since most networks are designed in the face of limited resources, the policy needs to tell us which tradeoffs are acceptable. The rest of the book deals with all of these issues -- and ultimately helps you design and implement networks protected against the risks you are unwilling to absorb.
What you should do today
- Investigate the security practices of any business partners who have
connections into your network.
- Close down all unnecessary holes in your firewall.
- Filter outbound traffic on your firewall.
- Patch everything.
- Start thinking about attack-surface reduction on your hosts.
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