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    Yearly Archives: 2022

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    6Nov, 2022
    Wireless Isolation for Guest Networks

    Whenever I am configuring a guest network in a public location, I always have this image in my head of each person having their own private island.  It is peaceful, and quiet… and nobody is trying to snoop on your personal devices, read your email, or access your bank account.  

    Whether you are setting up a home network or a business network, most network gear will allow you to enable wireless isolation.  This feature isolates each device that connects to the network so that it has a direct connection to the Internet, but in such a way that it is not allowed to see other devices on the local network.

    The setup wizards push you in the direction of setting up a wireless password (WPA/WPA2), though for a public guest network, some administrators prefer to disable the logon password and opt for using a click-through usage agreement in conjunction with wireless isolation.  For example, you’ll see these click-through usage agreements used a lot in hotels and coffee shops.

    Personally, I would advise password protecting your networks in most settings, but I have set up guest networks in the past using wireless isolation so that devices can’t see each other on the password-less, open network.

    I recently set up WiFi in an apartment building using a TP-Link ER605 router, TL-SG3428 switch, and EAP245 access points.  The setup is super easy, the access points provide the aforementioned settings for wireless isolation, and as a bonus, the switch also provides port isolation options for those wanting to plug their devices up to the wall in their apartment.  All of these devices work with TP-Link’s Omada platform, which allow for remote management.

    As a rule, I always ask myself (as an admin) if the security I am configuring on the network is good enough for me to do my own mobile banking.  And personally… I want to bank from my own private island.

     

     

    2Nov, 2022
    Use a Password Manager

    It is always interesting to me to see how other people keep track of their passwords.  I’ve seen everything from having passwords written down on sticky notes to being kept in a physical password book to being typed into a clear-text file.  The file may have been stored on a phone, computer desktop, or perhaps on a USB drive.  With today’s password complexity requirements and the sheer number of passwords that any of us need to remember, it feels almost impossible to keep up with how to log in to all of the internet hosted “things” that are so ingrained in our lives.

    Writing a password down is not so bad as long as you have a way to secure it.  Unfortunately, most of the time written passwords are not locked away, and are free game for anyone who happens to stumble upon it.  I worked with a guy who said that he had nothing to hide and that he didn’t care who had his password.  But as the security guy, I’ve seen enough passwords exposed and email accounts (and others) hijacked for nefarious reasons.

    The same could be said for keeping your passwords in a file that is not encrypted.  Anyone else who has access to that system has access to your passwords.  Should your system become infected with Malware, you should just assume that your passwords are compromised.  With storing passwords on a USB flash drive, there are several risks to consider.  First, there is the possibility that the drive could become corrupt or stop working, in which case you could lose your data.  Should the drive become lost or stolen, there is the issue of other people accessing your data.  To prevent this, there are options out there like the Kingston Ironkey or Kanguru Defender drives, which will password-protect and encrypt your data.  There are other methods to encrypt a USB drive yourself, but for many it is worth buying a flash drive that already does it for you.

    My personal recommendation is to use password management software (1Password, Dashlane, LastPass, etc) that encrypts and stores your passwords in the cloud so that you can access them from anywhere.  As a hybrid solution, you can also use KeePass, which is a locally installed password manager and you can save its password database anywhere.  Though if you use this approach, I would definitely recommend keeping a backup copy in case the file becomes corrupt or lost.

    Current generation password managers encrypt your password database, so that even if someone else finds or steals it, your passwords are still secure as long as they don’t have the key.  And many now have more advanced features that incorporate multi-factor authentication, single-sign-on integration, and team or family password sharing.  As a bonus, the more mainstream managers will check your passwords against compromised password lists of the “dark-webs.”

    This is how I personally keep up with my own passwords.  Password managers today are simple, convenient, and secure.  Most are multi-platform and you can take them with you wherever you go, whether it is on your laptop, tablet, or phone.  How are you keeping up with your passwords?

    4Oct, 2022
    Preparing for the Storm

    As the storm approached, my body tensed and I could feel the pressure welling up in my head as I double checked that all of our systems had a good backup.  We had a pretty solid solution in place and leveraged our small campus to automate backups to another building.  That said, there was still a looming fear that a well-placed twister could take out both facilities, and all of our data along with it.  It was a “perfect storm” scenario that we obsessed about until we fixed our vulnerable state.

    A good friend of mine was as close as one could get to having their company data carried away to OZ.  She was in the data center when a tornado hit the building, peeling the roof up around the facility and scattering vehicles around the parking lot outside.  Rain was pouring in the ceiling as she stood ankle deep in water, even on a raised floor, patiently watching the black and white text of a Unix terminal for the verification of a clean shutdown as a good first step in saving their company data.

    It was a wild tale of IT heroics and mettle that bards will sing of until her story becomes legendary.  I love adventure, but even with the trumpet fanfares and accolades that surely follow such acts of bravery and company loyalty, I’m going to take a solid pass.

    What does your backup strategy look like?  Do you have a business continuity plan in place for when technology fails?  Are you prepared for a disaster?  While each of these questions merit their own conversations, the simplest thing to start with is having a rock-solid backup plan in place so that you can, at the very least, rebuild.

    The basic rule of thumb for backing up your systems and preserving data is using the 3-2-1 method.  This involves having 3 copies of your data in 2 different places with 1 of those places being off-site.  I have personally carried tapes and backup drives off-site to store in a vault to accomplish having a sense of “remote” storage.  With today’s storage options, cloud storage has become both easily obtainable and affordable.  Having an on-site backup as well as a mirrored, cloud-based backup is easily configurable and eliminates the burden of manual processes.

    I have had great success using Veeam Backup and Replication as a backup platform of choice.  Not only is it easy to set up and maintain, but it scales really well and has the built-in functionality to integrate with cloud storage like AWS and Azure.  It also allows you to set rules for when data gets stored in the cloud and how long to retain it for.  Each of these vendors will let you pilot their platform for free, so there is zero risk in deciding if the solution is a potential fit.  With newer licensing models, these solutions follow a pay-as-you-grow schema, so it stays affordable for both small and large businesses.  Veeam even has free and paid versions for personal use, so it’s super convenient to give their brand a try before making the investment.

    There are plenty of good solutions out there and most vendors will let you sample their wares to get you hooked on the ease of use and varying features that today’s technology can offer.  Are you confident in your backup strategy?  Will you weather the perfect storm?