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It is indisputable that the security market has taken off in the last couple of years as Internet connectivity becomes an essential part of every business and home user�s communications armoury. Unfortunately for the potential purchase of security solutions, the market is simply not mature enough to make purchasing decisions as simple and safe as they should be. For example, with VA products it is important to differentiate between the host-based assessment products � such as Symantec ESM � and the network-based assessment products � such as NetRecon, CyberCop Scanner, SecureScan NX, and so on. Though network scanning tools are maturing, they are fundamentally different from host-based assessment tools. Host-based tools provide a privileged view of security from the inside, whilst network-based tools provide an unprivileged outsider's view of the same systems. Most security experts would agree that there is a place in most organisations for both. It is also apparent from the testing we have carried out for this report that there is an enormous difference in coverage and quality of reporting of VA scanners from product to product. Organisations that are serious about their security assessment practices would be well advised to consider purchasing two different commercial products, as well as supplementing those with some of the more reputable freeware products from the Internet. Finally, it would be remiss of us not to cover the most essential element of your security coverage - the security administrator. Education is the key, and all the wonderful graphical interfaces and slick deployment methods in the world will not make these products simple to use, because they deal with a complex subject. Before any administrator is let loose on a corporate network with a VA scanner or an IDS � in fact, even before such products are purchased - he or she should be thoroughly educated in the basics of security and hacking. What sort of attacks are possible � both from the inside and the outside. Where to go to research the latest vulnerabilities and acquire the most up-to-date patches. How to perform an effective VA scan, and how to deploy a Network IDS in the most efficient manner in both a switched and shared network environment. Without such a basic grounding, they could cause more harm than good. Click here to return to the VA Index Section |
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