Features

THE NEED FOR LAYERED DEFENSE

Published

9 years ago

June 14, 2015

admin

Updated : December 28, 2014 05:30 pm,
By R. Narayan

DDoS attacks are but one of the several threat fronts in the IT landscape and the vendors offering thee solutions have been pushed into the limelight with increased need for such critical solutions

As the IT network has several layers, the threat frontiers are multiple as well. It is no surprise then that IT Networks are under constant siege from ever-increasing, multi-vector attacks. These include the rising volume and complexity of advanced persistent threats (APT); DDoS attacks and other threats; along with the demands of emerging technology trends like Internet-of-Things and biometrics. So companies need to have a layered security architecture in place right from the edge to the core of their networks because one weak spot is good enough for the compromise to happen. Further, with cloud service adoption on the rise, there is a need to secure applications that Businesses may be hosting on the public cloud.

Among the several threat scenarios, DDoS (Distributed denial of Service) attacks are one of the several threat fronts in the IT landscape. Most DDoS attacks focus on targeting the transport and network layers (layer 3 and layer 4 of the OSI model) and are usually comprised of volumetric attacks by botnets that are groups of infected PCs that aim to exhaust the resources of the target machines. Malicious traffic can flood the network and drain its resources temporarily. These attacks disrupt Businesses but once removed, do not leave any permanent damage. The Layer-7 Application-layer DDoS attacks are more complicated. They are difficult attacks to mitigate against because they mimic human behavior as they interact with the user interface.

In a recent report entitled Q3 2014 State of the Internet-Security Report from Akamai Technologies, which features analyses and insights into cyber threats around the world, including DDoS attacks, the volume of DDoS attacks has shot up. There are an increasing number of attacks greater than 100 Gbps (gigabits-per-second) and these large attacks are using multiple DDoS vectors to deliver large bandwidth-consuming packets at an extremely high rate of speed. Further attackers have news methods and have refined the traditional methods. The result is that the average DDoS attack bandwidth is on the rise every quarter.

Security vendors focusing on DDoS Mitigation solutions are now seeing better understanding of the threat scenario by Businesses in the region. These vendors are now seeking to enhance visibility and accelerate deployments of such solutions, through partners and through telcos.

Arbor Networks is a leading vendor in the DDoS space. The vendor believes the region is quite vulnerable to malicious attacks and therefore there is a need for better preparedness against such attacks which may include DDoS attacks. According to the vendor, while DDoS is not a new type of attack experienced by countries, governments and organizations, but is increasingly prevalent and evolving rapidly. In the past, certain verticals would be more susceptible to DDoS threats, with government, finance, gaming and e-commerce being at the top of the list. Today, however, any business or entity can be a target for any real or perceived threats.

“The region is becoming the focal point for hackers. There are many motivations including political and economic. This is helping awareness of Business continuity and how you can avoid the crisis in the first place,” says Mahmoud Samy, Regional Director, Arbor Networks, ME & CIS.

A10 networks is a leading vendor in the Application networking space. The vendor demonstrated its latest innovations in Distributed Denial of service (DDoS) Threat Protection Systems and high-performance, next-generation Application Delivery Controllers (ADCs) at the recently concluded edition of GITEX.

Glen Ogden, Regional Sales Director for the Middle East region at A10 Networks says, “Over the last few years, DDoS attacks have grown dramatically in frequency, size and complexity. Existing security strategies in place are not sufficient enough to address new breeds of DDoS attacks. It is clear that additional solutions are needed to complement existing security infrastructure in a layered defense model.”

According to Symantec Research, DNS based DDoS attacks is on the rise. In this kind of an attack, the attacker spoofs enquiries to domain name system (DNS) servers, hiding the source of the exploit and routing the response to the target. A small DNS query can be turned into a very significant volume of traffic that floods the target.

According to Infoblox, DDoS attacks are targeting DNS as a key vulnerability. Infoblox, the automated network control company, was an exhibitor at GITEX and showcased its latest DNS, DHCP, and IP Address Management (DDI), secure DNS and network automation technologies.

The company is working with its ISP customers and their enterprise customers to help them protect their DNS infrastructure and discuss the best ways to address these new DNS-centric DDoS attacks.

Cherif Sleiman, General Manager, Middle East at Infoblox says, “If your DNS infrastructure isn’t designed or configured properly, you could be either a victim or an accomplice to a DNS DDoS attack. In the past 15 years, we have seen attack vectors move from the Desktop to Network and to the Application layer. In the past 18 months, DNS has become the latest target where it has become the second highest attack vector on the Internet slightly behind HTTP attacks. In fact DNS is projected to surpass HTTP to become the number one attack vector within the next 12 months.”

He adds, “With Arbor networks, we have a joint architecture wherein, we can integrate solutions to tackle most of the threats in the DDOS space. We know that Arbor does a great job when it comes to volumetric attacks. Infoblox are the experts when it comes to DNS security. So integrating our solutions together providers a more holistic solution.

The economic damage of DDoS attacks can be quite significant. Arbor Networks’ WISR report found that on average, organizations faced 1-10 attacks per month meaning their ARO (Annual Rate of Occurrence) could be anything between 12 to 120 incidents. An internet services provider could according to the WISR report form Arbor Network face at least 12 DDoS attacks a year. According to industry research, the average cost of a DDoS attack outage is in the neighborhood of $1 million. The ALE (Annual Loss Expectancy) for such an organization therefore is an imposing $12 million.

Arbor offers a range of products and services to counter the DDoS threat scenario. Arbor Cloud-DDos protection service lets you offer best-in-class DDoS defense from the customer premise to the cloud. The on-premise solution provides always-on protection against application layer attacks. The could-based solution protects against large volumetric attacks. Arbor’s cloud signaling intelligently links both environments together. Meanwhile, attack mitigation is provided by Arbor’s experienced attack specialists.

It also has ATLAS, a globally scoped threat analysis network portal that displays host/port scanning activity, zero-day exploits/worm propagation, security events, vulnerability disclosures and dynamic botnet/phishing infrastructures. It provides actionable intelligence to Arbor customers about their network security. Arbor’s ATLAS threat monitoring infrastructure collects data from over 300 service providers as well as other internet operators, totaling an astounding 90 Tbps of global traffic intelligence.

“We have a worldwide network called Atlas. This consists of our response team and installed base of customers worldwide. We have more than 905 of tier 1 and tier 2 companies over the years as our customers. We trace threats worldwide and provides alerts,” says Mahmoud.

He adds, “We work with operators who are our partners to educate their customers so that they are aware before the problems arise. We work with the majority of telcos here- Etisalat, Oredoo, STC etc who are our customers. We would also be working with Etisalat as a managed service to their customers.”

To mitigate DDoS attacks, A10 Network offer the Thunder TPS (threat Protection System) that protects against multiple classes of attack vectors, including volumetric, protocol, resource and advanced application-layer attacks, which are detected and mitigated to prevent a service from becoming unavailable.

“Attacks are not only occurring more frequently, but with greater volumes and increased sophistication. Thunder TPS provides sophisticated, high-performance features to mitigate the largest and most complex DDoS attacks while optimizing rack space and power consumption, ensuring that data center resources are used efficiently and effectively,” says Glen.

A10’s Thunder TPS product line of Threat Protection Systems provides high-performance, network-wide protection against distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, and enables service availability against a variety of volumetric, protocol, resource and other sophisticated application attacks.

With DDoS mitigation capacity ranging from 10 to 155 Gbps, (and up to 1.2 Tbps in a cluster), Thunder TPS ensures that the largest DDoS attacks can be handled effectively.

Glen adds, “What is unique is our ability to deliver smallest form factor platform- such as a 1 rack unit capable of delivering up to 155 Gbps. Because of its scalability, we can deliver a no license model. Everybody else in our line of Business have a licensing model – every functionality to be switched on requires a separate license and a support uplift.”

The Trinzic Network Services and Management family of products from Infoblox enables companies to manage, control, and optimize DNS, DHCP, and other services. End of last year, Infoblox also launched Advanced DNS Protection solution, the first Domain Name System (DNS) appliance with integrated defenses against Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks, cache poisoning, malformed queries, tunneling and other DNS security threats. By building defense directly into a fortified DNS server, the Infoblox solution can deliver protection that is stronger, more intelligent and more comprehensive than what is possible today with separate external security solutions.

“Security of DNS infrastructure should be a top priority for organizations in the Middle East, but unfortunately statistics show that DNS servers and zone data are often neglected, which leave enterprises vulnerable to attacks. These attacks go well beyond DNS DDoS. There are multitudes of different attack vectors, which most DNS servers cannot detect or protect against. The Advanced DNS Protection solution from Infoblox offers intelligent defense against the widest variety of attack types—not just volumetric attacks—to ensure secure, resilient, and trustworthy DNS services,” says Sleiman.

These are some of the companies that are trailblazers in their domains, niches in the past but now very much in the foreground as the awareness of the need for multi-layered network security drives customer demand. And since DDoS and DNS attacks should be dealt with as part of an overall security strategy, the partners of these companies in the channel have a key role to play as well in educating and consulting their customer in deployments of the right solutions.

Features

Establishing data sovereignty in a ‘datafied’ world

Published

6 days ago

July 2, 2024

Integrator Web-Editor

By: Omar Akar, Regional Vice President for Middle East & Emerging Africa, Pure Storage

Data is the currency of the digital domain, and with every passing day, the world is getting increasingly ‘datafied’. Billions of gigabytes of digital data pertaining to citizens, businesses, governments, and institutions are generated, collected, and processed every day. Understandably, there are concerns about how we can protect personal data, business data, as well as sensitive data that has implications for national security.

Challenges associated with data sovereignty

It is possible that a company based in a certain country uses cloud infrastructure from a provider abroad, and that cloud provider also has customers in other countries and regions. If data collection, data storage, and data processing happen in different countries, it will be subject to the data sovereignty rules of all those countries. Many of the concerns surrounding data sovereignty pertain to ensuring data privacy and preventing data that’s stored abroad from violating the laws of that country. Many countries have therefore introduced new laws, or modified the existing ones, so that data is kept within the boundaries of the country where the individual or entity is based. However, verifying that data indeed exists only at permitted locations can be very difficult.

On the other hand, storing huge amounts of data at only a few locations can increase the risk of data loss and data theft through cyberattacks, which can have huge ramifications on the financial health and reputation of businesses.

Moreover, data sovereignty makes it complex to share data across international borders. This can increase cost and inefficiencies for any business that operates across multiple countries and requires flow of data between its offices. Such businesses must now establish infrastructure in local data centers to comply with data protection regulations in each country. Companies also need to keep in view the data sovereignty requirements of each country and international data sharing agreements while wanting to share data which can impact business operations.

Ways to ensure data sovereignty and elevate data performance

Although establishing data sovereignty is undoubtedly challenging, there are some best practices and approaches that can help in achieving it and elevating data performance. Organizations should conduct a comprehensive audit of their data, including where it is stored, processed, and shared. This is the first step in identifying potential data sovereignty risks and ensuring compliance with the relevant laws and regulations of the concerned countries. It is also necessary to adopt data protection measures — such as encryption, access controls, and monitoring — to prevent unauthorized access and use of data, whether it is in transit or at rest.

The company’s data protection policy should define protocols for handling and storing data as well as measures for protecting it. This policy should be regularly reviewed and updated to keep up with any changes in data protection laws and regulations. If an organization has a footprint spanning multiple regions, it is a good idea to take the strongest data sovereignty laws among them and implement it across all regions. Cloud providers can be of assistance in this regard.

Benefits of working with cloud service providers

Most cloud providers have data centers in multiple countries. Organizations should go for a provider whose data residency provisions are aligned with their own data sovereignty requirements. Today, leading cloud providers also offer other features, including data encryption, that can help in achieving data sovereignty. To take it one step further, companies must introduce strict data governance processes in the cloud. This will ensure regulatory compliance, risk assessment, and risk mitigation at all times.

Data sovereignty laws apply not only to data but also to data backups. It is therefore important to understand how your organization backs up information — whether it is done on-premises or using dedicated cloud services or public cloud services. Adopting cloud-ready solutions and leveraging the benefits of all-flash storage is one of the ways to future-proof your organization’s data storage infrastructure. Uncomplicating storage will help in reimagining data experiences and powering the digital future of the business.

Finally, it is important to view data sovereignty holistically, and not as the exclusive responsibility of any one individual or team. The need to comply with data regulations extends across the board, from businesses to suppliers to the end-users. From a business perspective, ensuring data sovereignty calls for robust governance, holistic risk management, and concerted efforts on the part of the IT security, legal department, procurement, risk managers, and auditors — under the guidance and supervision of the company’s Chief Information Officer. It is a good way to build digital trust in today’s business environment.

Features

HOW FSI INCUMBENTS CAN STAY RELEVANT THROUGH THE GCC’S PAYMENTS EVOLUTION

Published

1 week ago

June 28, 2024

Integrator Web-Editor

By Luka Celic, Head of Payments Architecture – MENA, Endava

Banks and payment services providers (PSPs) have been the region’s engines of economic growth for as long as anyone can remember. It is therefore jarring to imagine that this dominance is now under threat. After all, venerable banks and credit card companies have elegantly embraced the Internet, mobile banking, and the cloud to deliver self service banking to millions of customers. But consumers, especially digital natives, have never been known for congratulating an industry for a job well done. Instead, with each convenience, their expectations only grow. The siege reality of the pandemic accelerated a shift in consumer behaviour, and Middle East banks and PSPs now face challenges on three fronts.

The first is FinTechs. from Saudi Arabia’s BNPL (buy now, pay later) pioneer Tamara and Qatar’s unbanked oriented platform cwallet, to online financial services, Klarna, tech startups have been able to tap into rapidly changing consumer markets. New companies find it easier to pivot. And like speed boats racing against aircraft carriers, they weaved effortlessly to fulfil a range of desires amid high smartphone connectivity rates and a range of other favourable market conditions. By one estimate from 2022, BNPL alone accounted for US$1.5 billion (or 4%) of the Middle East and Africa’s online retail market.

The second threat is open banking, which comes in many forms, but one example is the instant-payments platforms being introduced by central banks such as those in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. To get a sense of how this could play out, we need only look to Europe, where players who once relied on payments through card schemes are now pivoting towards open banking enabled payments. Closer to home, Al Ansari Exchange recently announced its customers can now transfer money and settle bills via the recipient’s mobile number, enabled by the UAE’s Aani IPP.

And finally, comes big tech. To augment its e-wallet service, Apple has signed up to an open banking service in the UK. The open banking framework which banks enabled through their investments is being exploited by a Big Tech firm that has access to 34% of UK smartphone users. Unsurprisingly, this sparked a fierce antitrust complaint by UK’s banks. Other big names will surely follow as they continue to craft ways of offering the digital experiences that garnered them user loyalty in the first place.

THE BALANCE

Apple Wallet is aimed at blending payment methods, loyalty cards, and other services into a single experience. But such moves have raised regulators’ eyebrows regarding a lack of interoperability and the preservation of competitive markets. Hence, Apple’s open banking foray — a gesture to calm the nerves of a finance market that fears having to compete with a company armed with countless millions of user transactions from which to draw insights. The massive user bases of tech giants will give any FSI CEO goosebumps. How does a traditional bank lure an Apple user? Open banking initiatives open the door to greater competition and innovation, both of which are good for consumers. But the only way to ensure both is by building an ecosystem that balances innovation with regulatory oversight.

FROM INCUMBENT TO INNOVATOR

Yes, smaller businesses have freedom of movement that larger incumbents do not. But that does not mean that there are no paths for banks and PSPs. There are, in fact, several strategies that larger FSI companies can employ to capitalise on the open banking revolution.

The first of these is collaborating to create ecosystems that provide users with frictionless experiences. Established FSIs already have access to a wealth of information about their customers and must now consider how to integrate data sources to create highly streamlined and frictionless workflows. A customer applying for a loan could then see their details auto populated, and credit history already accounted — all without the hassle of lengthy phone calls, application forms, or submission requests. In an age when instant is everything, it’s easy to see why the former approach could foster loyalty, while the latter would only serve to drive customers towards more capable competitors.

Card companies and issuer banks could also work with acquirers to smooth out the rough landscape that has arisen from the advent of digital payments. Acquirers traditionally acted on behalf of the merchants that accepted payment methods to recoup funds from the PSP through the issuing bank. This system has served the industry well, but with more payment methods emerging, acquirers have branched out into mobile wallets, QR codes, and gateway services. Gradually the relevance of established players has dwindled as their lack of representation at the critical checkpoint has diminished their significance. Incumbents must work to turn back the tide by recognising that acceptance and acceptance ownership are becoming increasingly important for maintaining market relevance.

Another strategy is diversification. Veteran FSIs may feel like they’ve lost ground to nimble start-ups and Neo Banks, but history shows value in patience — established FSI players now benefit from the investments of early innovators, and double down on payments innovations which have already shown the most promise. Moreover, if they diversify their portfolios through acquisitions, innovations, and partnerships, they can secure their future. Mastercard presents an excellent example with their US$200m investment into MTM payments. This single move has given the company access to MTM’s 290 million strong subscriber base, allowing these customers to become familiar with Mastercard products before getting entrenched with mobile wallet alternatives.

WHO’S ON TOP?

If we look at the rise of BNPL services, we see an origin story with — at least — major supporting roles for large card providers. But open banking has sidelined them in just a few years. BlackBerry was a stock market darling just five years before it sought a buyer. Traditional FSI players must innovate; they must collaborate with emerging disruptors; they must diversify. They can survive and thrive if they do these things — after all, they already have much of the infrastructure, and experience required for success. Middle East banks and PSPs have the existing user bases, so they have the scale to get out in front in the era of open banking. All they lack is the kind of compelling use cases that will entice the banking public. PSPs and their issuers could offer embedded payments, for example. The right services at the right time will be warmly received by consumers, no matter the scale of the offering institution, so there is every reason to believe that incumbents will come out on top against FinTech and Big Tech.

Features

SEC paves way to approve spot ethereum ETFs

Published

2 weeks ago

June 27, 2024

Integrator Web-Editor

By Simon Peters, Crypto Analyst at eToro

Ethereum spot ETFs took a significant step forward to being available to US investors last week with approval of the 19b-4 applications, allowing US exchanges (namely Cboe BZX, NYSE Arca and Nasdaq) to list and trade ethereum spot ETFs.

On the back of this, ethereum has been one of the best performing cryptoassets this week, gaining 19%.

According to a recent survey by eToro with retail investors in the UAE, over 74% respondents agreed that the prospect of an ethereum ETF will significantly influence their decision to increase, decrease or maintain their current ethereum allocation.
Focus now turns to the S-1 registration statements from the ETF issuers, as these still need to be approved by the SEC before the ethereum spot ETFs can actually launch and investors can buy them.

As to when the S-1s will be approved we have to wait and see. It could be weeks or months unfortunately.

Nevertheless, with the 19b-4s out of the way, it could be an opportunity now for savvy crypto investors to buy ethereum in anticipation of the S-1s being approved, frontrunning the ETFs going live and the billions of dollars potentially flowing into these.

We’ve seen what happened when the bitcoin spot ETFs went live, with the bitcoin price going to a new all-time high in the months after. Could the same happen with ethereum? The all-time high for ethereum is $4870, set back in 2021. We’re currently at $3650, about 35% away.

We’re also going into a macroeconomic climate with potentially looser financial conditions, i.e. interest rate cuts and a slowdown of quantitative tightening, conditions where risk assets such as crypto tend to perform well price-wise.