Network security threats for 2011 - By Mark Underwood

Below mentioned list summarizes a modest list of security threats that are likely to be overlooked in the coming year. The list thus adds to the mélange of worry-mongering, but at least the scenarios are plainly labeled as worst case scenarios.

1. Insider threat
Millions of dollars can be spent on perimeter defenses, but a single employee or contractor with sufficient motivation can easily defeat those defenses. With sufficient guile, such an employee could cover his tracks for months or years. Firms such as Symantec Vontu have taken a further step and characterized the insider threat issue as "Data Loss Prevention" (DLP). Also in this category are attacks on intellectual property, which tend to be overlooked in favor of more publicized losses.

2. Tool bloat backlash
Recent TSA changes to airport security demonstrate that the public's appetite for security measures has limits. The same is true for network security. As demands for more and more tools taking an increasingly larger percent of the IT budget mount, backlash is inevitable. Many tools contribute to a flood of false positives and may never resist an actual attack. There is a network security equivalent of being overinsured.

3. Mobile device security
There's lots of talk about mobile device security, but despite prominent breaches employing wireless vectors, many enterprises haven't taken necessary precautions.

4. Low-tech threats
Addressing exotic threats is glamorous and challenging. Meeting ordinary, well-understood threats, no matter how widespread, is less interesting and is thus more likely to be overlooked. Sandboxes, "test subnets," and "test databases" all receive second class attention where security is concerned. Files synchronized to mobile devices, copied to USB sticks, theft of stored credentials, and simple bonehead user behaviors ("Don't click on that!") all fit comfortably into this category. Network administrators are unlikely to address low tech threats because more challenging tasks compete for their attention.

5. Risk management
Put backup and disaster recovery in this category, but for many, having servers with only one NIC card or relying upon aging, unmonitored switches and exposed cable routing are equally good use cases. Sadly, most organizations are not prepared to align risks with other business initiatives. To see where your organization stands in this area, consider techniques such as Forrester's Lean Business Technology maturity for Business Process Management governance matrix.

6. SLA Litigation
Expectations for service levels are on the rise, and competitive pressures will lead some firms to promise service levels that may not be attainable. Meanwhile, expectations for service levels by the public continue to rise.

7. Treacheries of scale
There will be the network management version of the Quantas QF32 near-disaster. Consequences of failure, especially unanticipated failure, increase as network automation is more centralized. Failure points and cascading dependencies are easily overlooked. For instance, do network management tools identify SPOF? A corollary is that economies of scale (read network scalability) lead directly to high efficiency threats - that is, risks of infrequent but much larger scale outages.