The Lippis Report

December 13th, 2010

In an effort to offer a multi-vendor SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) solution, Cisco is placing its SIEM product, CS-MARS, in end-of-life and in its place, offering the industry its first SIEM ecosystem. Cisco acquired MARS six years ago in December 2004. MARS provided traditional event management and security monitoring along with limited forensic capabilities and compliance reporting. But the market demanded a broader cross-vendor SIEM solution rather than a SIEM focused primarily on Cisco products. In response Cisco has launched a SIEM ecosystem to support deep event monitoring, forensics and compliance reporting across a heterogeneous enterprise network. IT has also expanded the role of its Cisco Security Manager or CSM to support policy management and troubleshooting across a wider range of Cisco products. In this Lippis Report Research Note, we examine the new distribution of security responsibilities that now stretch across Cisco CSM and its new SIEM ecosystem with an eye toward stronger defense of IT assets.

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March 22nd, 2010

With all the investment in IT security over the years, one would think that threats would have subsided; but they have only increased and largely increased with exploits and iframes (redirection on a reputable website to infect its visitors) up nearly by a factor of 2000 over the past two years. This has resulted in an increase in data theft Trojans over the same period by a factor of 6000, according to the 2009 ScanSafe Global Threat Report, enriching hackers and cybercriminals. What’s driving this exploit growth is that hackers and cybercriminals are automating successful techniques for mass website infection. In addition, hackers increasingly collaborate, sharing best practices to infect websites for personal gain. In short, IT and business leaders are not confronting individual hackers, but a community of cybercriminals working together to steal corporate data that is increasingly organized as a traditional business with suppliers, resellers and end users. And this community’s opportunities to attack individuals and corporations have only increased with the huge growth in mobile access and deep corporate reliance of web-based applications to automate business processes.

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March 9th, 2010

No matter where you look today the structure of IT is fundamentally changing. Applications are increasingly being accessed from mobile devices along with traditional laptop, desktop and even kiosk machines. SaaS has taken off and is far more prevalent than most executives realize as they are acquired by line of business and divisional budgets, leaving many IT leaders blind-sided and out of control with their relevance coming into question. As a result corporate application portfolios are shifting in their mix under IT leaders from one of total control to partial control to none. In short, IT leaders are finding that the largest application growth in their corporation is coming from outside of their traditional perimeter and with no control knobs. In essence applications and networks are becoming borderless.

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March 9th, 2010

IT leaders are not comfortable with mobile computing security. And they do have a lot to be concerned about as securing a plethora of different devices accessing both corporate and SaaS applications from a vast array of locations and network access methods is a challenge. Traditional VPN methods are too cumbersome for users and don’t factor the huge growth in SaaS application use. A new model for securing remote and mobile access is needed and Cisco has delivered one. Cisco just launched AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client that offers a simple use model for mobile workers that leverages Cisco’s ASA, IronPort Web Security Appliance, ScanSafe, and SIO to wrap a corporate perimeter around its mobile workforce. Kevin Kennedy, Product Marketing Manager at Cisco Systems discusses a new approach to securing mobile computing.

February 1st, 2010

3com offers a global support network for its customers that are staffed around the world. Their hallmark is flexibility in engagement arrangement and customization of support needs. Vendor transition and product support are two key aspects offered by 3Com so that risk of vendor transition is transferred to 3Com and not the customer. Service and support is needed more now then ever as data center and enterprise network design and deployments have become complex thanks to a plethora of new technologies and options. I discuss the Importance of service and support in enterprise networking with Imran Khan Vice President of Global Services at 3Com. Enjoy, Nick

January 25th, 2010

No matter where you look today the structure of IT is fundamentally changing. Applications are being increasingly accessed from mobile devices along with traditional laptop, desktop and even kiosk machines. Applications are downloaded for free or a few dollars on mobile devices, while cloud computing and anything as a service offers a new approach to application delivery. As a result corporate application portfolios are shifting in their mix under IT leaders from one of total control to partial to none. In short, IT leaders are finding that the largest application growth in their corporation is coming from outside of their traditional perimeter and with no control knobs. In essence applications and networks are becoming borderless.

While borderless networks offer productivity improvements allowing work to follow individuals, IT leaders are concerned about its security implications, that being how do I secure corporate assets when applications are being accessed and used within and outside of corporate perimeters? Can IT leaders deliver the ease of use afforded by borderless networks securely? In this Lippis Report Research Note we offer an approach to securing networks without borders.

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January 25th, 2010

By Cisco Systems

The Cisco Annual Security Report provides an overview of the combined security intelligence of the entire Cisco organization. The report encompasses threat information and trends collected between January and December 2009. It also provides a snapshot of the state of security for that period, with special attention paid to key security trends expected for 2010.

January 25th, 2010

How we do IT is fundamentally changing. Applications are increasingly being accessed from mobile devices while cloud computing offers a new approach to application delivery. Case in point, the iPhone adoption rate is 8 times faster than AOL was! As a result corporate application portfolios are shifting in their mix of total IT manager control to partial control to none. IT leaders are finding that the largest application growth in their corporation is coming from outside of their traditional perimeter/firewall with no control knobs. In essence applications and networks are becoming borderless and as a result a new flexible security model is needed to reestablish boundaries. To address this industry concern, I talk with Fred Kost, Director Security Solutions for Cisco Systems about a new approach to securing networks without borders.