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Getting Beyond M&M SANsBy Drew RobbDecember 22, 2003
This observation on Storage Area Network (SAN) design is from Clement Kent, the Chief Technical Officer of security firm Kasten Chase, Inc. He makes a vital point. Companies spend precious resources hardening the outer network shell with firewalls, passwords, certificates and keys, but the center, the actual data, is as insecure as ever. Let's take a look at what it takes to secure a SAN all the way from the edge to the core. Keep the Shell Hard Opening the enterprise data farm to company users in far-flung offices makes data more usable and more valuable, but far more vulnerable. Hackers and crackers continue to probe industrial defenses using new attack technology. Clearly, then, it is essential to deploy the latest developments in intrusion detection, firewalls, hardened switches and routers, and management systems. Storage administrators must not make the mistake of leaving everything to network personnel. At the very least, they must stay current with perimeter defense technology and wage a constant funding campaign for new tools and upgrades. Harden the Core Imagine the consequences if a criminal walked off with the daily backup tapes. Blackmail, class-action lawsuits and corporate train wrecks are real possibilities. Storage personnel must take the viewpoint that the bad guys will succeed sometime, so steps must be taken to minimize the value of what they obtain. This viewpoint is the first step toward real SAN security. If the data on the stolen backup tapes is encrypted, the criminal gains nothing and the company is safeguarded. Storage encryption technology is not absolutely perfect, however, and SAN architects should not delude themselves by thinking otherwise. Given time and teraflops, a criminal can even beat 128-bit encryption. But storage encryption wraps the data in yet another protective layer and hardens the core of any SAN. Storage encryption appliances such as the Decru Data Fort, Kasten Chase Assurency SecureData and NeoScale Systems CryptoStor provide security without a costly performance hit. Using separate keys for data compartments can create an access control layer on top of the hardware zoning and LUN masking underneath. Centralize Command Security is everyone's responsibility, but unless one person is given the responsibility and authority to oversee all areas of corporate security, the company will have gaps in the coverage. A single appointed security manager can bridge the gap between network security and storage security specialists. Make the security manager the security policy approver, so that all conflicting procedures can be resolved and gaps between boundaries can be covered. Solicit input from Human Resources, so security policies have real teeth and unpleasant consequences for employees who slide off the straight and narrow. Obtain corporate buy-in to spread security awareness and responsibility to all parts of the company. This is vital as end-to-end SAN security does not come cheap. Page 2: Audit Often
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