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But as we’ve seen with high-profile attacks in the past, the humble password is a weak form of
protection on its own.
So, supplementing all login attempts with contextual information about where geographically the
login is taking place, what device, and what time, you can set parameters that grant or deny
access based on those factors.
So if your financial director works either from his/her office workstation or laptop around the
building, and someone from HR attempts to log in to the network using your FD’s legitimate
login, they won’t be able to gain access thanks to the fact that you’ve restricted logins to John’s
own machine and devices only.
Likewise when your FD’s logins are compromised and access is attempted from any external
location, if it’s not on John’s machine, they’re not getting access.
The benefits of these kinds of technologies are incredibly far reaching. They have the potential
to stop ransomware in its tracks, for example, because admins will get an alert when files are
being locked en masse so you can quickly mitigate the damage.
So, if there’s one lesson to be learned from all the high-profile attacks that have come from
compromised credentials, it’s that the more you know about what’s happening on your network,
the better position you’ll be in to protect yourself.
Compromised credentials can happen to anyone — don’t let it be you.
About the Author
François Amigorena is the founder and CEO of IS Decisions, and an expert
commentator on insider threat issues.
IS Decisions is a provider of infrastructure and security management
software solutions for Microsoft Windows and Active Directory.
The company offers solutions for user-access control, file auditing, server
and desktop reporting, and remote installations.
Its customers include the FBI, the US Air Force, the United Nations and Barclays — each of
which rely on IS Decisions to prevent security breaches; ensure compliance with major
regulations; such as SOX and FISMA; quickly respond to IT emergencies; and save time and
money for the IT department.
62 Cyber Warnings E-Magazine February 2017 Edition
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