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For corporate users:
- Deploy HTTP-scanning methods: Due to the prevalence of web threats,
it is highly recommended to implement web-scanning systems in mid to large-size
networks. Not only is it advisable to deploy these, but also to make sure that
users cannot bypass them. The most secure way to implement such a system is to
force users to forward all web requests to the scanning device and deny them
otherwise. Closing this gap is key in the fight against malware and spyware,
since the web has become the number one point of entry in the corporate network.
- Do not allow unneeded protocols to enter the corporate network: The
most dangerous of them are P2P communication protocols and IRC (chat). These two
are part of the bot arsenal of weapons to propagate and communicate with their
botmaster and should be disallowed in the corporate firewall.
- Deploy vulnerability scanning software in the network: Having the
operating systems constantly up-to-date can minimize the impact of any new
network vulnerability and diminish the risk of being infected by these kinds of
worms. It is highly recommended to keep all other applications patched as well.
This includes especially office productivity applications and all other software
that users utilize.
- Restrict user privileges of all network users: Kernel-level rootkits
are implemented as device drivers and therefore, denying users the right to
"load and unload device drivers" will largely stop them. Windows Vista
already provides a protection feature to prevent this by default. Other malware
use administrator-level capabilities to perform other malicious actions. It is
wise to limit what a rogue program can do by limiting its user privileges. This
is accomplished by depriving normal users of administrator rights.
- Deploy corporate anti-spyware scanning: As they are becoming
prevalent threats for corporate businesses, the administrators need to deploy
specific software to detect and stop them.
- Support User Awareness campaigns: Most of the attacks utilized
nowadays by malware try to fool the user. This is called social engineering and
is especially important to take it into account, as it is key in almost every
infection. Most of the malware detected in 2006 would not have done any damage
had the user not clicked on the malware. We can minimize the effect of malware
in our networks by showing our users how attackers try to fool them. We must
teach users basic security measures and how to react to typical attack
scenarios. This goes a long way towards preventing internal outbreaks in the
company. It is important to keep the users up-to-date with new attacking
strategies, as well as bring new users up to speed with company security
policies and recommendations.
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