How 'quadplay' convergence can improve network security

But how will this phenomenon affect the information security field? From a long-term perspective, it can benefit security professionals the same way it benefits networkers -- it provides a single place to look for vulnerabilities, control gaps and security opportunities. However, in the short term, there are a number of security issues to tackle, some of which are outlined below.

The first issue is inherent to the technology's benefit -- it consolidates communications onto a single media. Think of it as the proverbial putting all of your eggs in one basket. While it's a grand idea to conserve bandwidth and consolidate equipment by converging disparate media, the confidentiality, integrity and availability risks inherent in this convergence must be examined. Consider what would happen to your organization's current business continuity plan. Do you currently pick up the phone and notify the on-call engineer to handle a "network down" emergency in the middle of the night? If so, this would have to be revised, since the telephone, and possibly the engineer's mobile phone, all depend upon the very network that's down. Therefore, with convergence, extra attention must be paid to the available options for "out-of-band" communication in the event of an emergency.

Quadplay also brings a wide array of new technology devices. There are networked VoIP telephones, streaming media to mobile dev

To continue reading for free, register below or login

Requires Membership to View

To gain access to this and all member only content, please provide the following information (all fields required):

First Name:
Last Name:
Country: Select... Afghanistan Aland Islands Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antarctica Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Bouvet Island Brazil British Indian Ocean Territory British Virgin Islands Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia Comoros Congo Congo, Democratic Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica Cote D'Ivoire Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Falkland Islands Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon Gambia, The Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guernsey Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Heard and McDonald Islands Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jersey Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Korea, North Korea, South Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macau Macedonia Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Man, Isle of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands Netherlands Antilles New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Palestine Panama Panama Canal Zone Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Pitcairn Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Reunion Romania Russia Rwanda Saint Helena Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Svalbard Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syria Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Tokelau Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu U.S. Minor Outlying Islands Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Vatican City Venezuela Vietnam Virgin Islands Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe
Email Address:

Do you manage, evaluate, recommend, implement, support or purchase security products, software or services?
YesNo

Please estimate the yearly security budget for your entire organization including all security products and services.
Please select... Over $10 Million $5 Million-$10 Million $1 Million-$4.9 Million $500,000-$999,999 $100,000-$499,999 $50,000-$99,999 $25,000-$49,999 $10,000-$24,999 Less than $10,000 None

What is your role in purchasing IT related products and services? (Check all that apply)
Technical decision maker
Financial decision maker
Recommend/Specify
Evaluate products
Implement Products/Services
Determine Needs
Create Security Strategy
None

By joining SearchSecurity.com you agree to receive email updates from the TechTarget network of sites, including updates on new content, magazine or event notifications, new site launches and market research surveys. Please verify all information and selections above. You may unsubscribe at any time from one or more of the services you have selected by editing your profile or unsubscribing via email.

TechTarget cares about your privacy. Read our Privacy Policy

Finally, moving toward quadplay will move away from some well-trusted technology, specifically, the plain old telephone service (POTS) network, which has worked well for decades. While POTS may be reaching the end of its useful life, don't underestimate the value of years of institutional knowledge. Engineers and technicians understand this network inside-out. Comparatively speaking, it's simple and gets the job done. If your organization decides to embrace quadplay, it would be wise to leave some substantial POTS infrastructure in place for at least a few years, just in case.

What's the bottom line? Quadplay is definitely a good thing. Convergence can only benefit security professionals as it reduces the overall complexity of systems and enables the ability to focus on confidentiality, integrity and availability efforts. Though security professionals must be prudent and move toward this digital convergence with an open mind, there's no reason to avoid quadplay.

About the author:
Mike Chapple, CISA, CISSP is an IT Security Professional with the University of Notre Dame. He previously served as an information security researcher with the National Security Agency and the U.S. Air Force. Mike is a frequent contributor to SearchSecurity, a technical editor for Information Security magazine, and the author of several information security titles, including the CISSP Prep Guide and Information Security Illuminated.

Rate this Tip To rate tips, you must be a member of SearchSecurity.com. Register now to start rating these tips. Log in if you are already a member. BROWSE BY TAG Network Security Tactics,   VIEW ALL TAGS Digg This!     StumbleUpon     Del.icio.us    RELATED CONTENT Network Security Tactics Screencast: Samurai offers pen-testing nirvana Firewall rule management best practices Chained Exploits: How to prevent phishing attacks from corporate spies Rootkit Hunter demo: Detect and remove Linux rootkits Enterprise UTM security: The best threat management solution? Making the case for network security configuration management An inside look at security log management forensics investigations How to find sensitive information on the endpoint How to perform Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA) scans How to spot attacks through Apache Web server log analysis RELATED RESOURCES 2020software.com, trial software downloads for accounting software, ERP software, CRM software and business software systems Search Bitpipe.com for the latest white papers and business webcasts Whatis.com, the online computer dictionary DISCLAIMER: Our Tips Exchange is a forum for you to share technical advice and expertise with your peers and to learn from other enterprise IT professionals. TechTarget provides the infrastructure to facilitate this sharing of information. However, we cannot guarantee the accuracy or validity of the material submitted. You agree that your use of the Ask The Expert services and your reliance on any questions, answers, information or other materials received through this Web site is at your own risk.