Art of Information Security

Time is critical in security systems; specifically, having systems know the time  is very important. Adequate clock synchronization is important for:

• Operational Integrity (things happen when they are supposed to happen – backups, tasks, etc.)
• Reproducibility of events (meaningful logs and records)
• Validation of SSL certificate expiration (or other tokens, etc.)
• Correct application of time restricted controls
• Etc.

So, the big question is, what is “adequate clock synchronization”, and how do we achieve it ?

But First, What Time Is It ?

Time itself is of course a natural phenomenon. Just like distance, volume, and weight, the measurements for time are artificial and man-made.  The dominant time standard (especially from a computer and therefore Information Security perspective) is Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). This could probably have been called Universal Compromise Time, as it turns out that getting the whole world to drop their cultural biases, deployed technology, etc. and move to a single time system has been a long and complicated road (and it isn’t over yet).

One major component of UTC is an agreement on what time it in fact is, and how that is determined. Also, there are  questions surrounding how to adjust leap seconds, leap years,  and other “measurement vs reality” anomalies.  Time (and its measurement) is quite complex in itself, but for the purposes of Information Security (system operation, log correlation, certificate expiration, etc.), the good news is that UTC provides a solid time standard.

Now, all we need to do is synchronize our clocks to UTC !
(and adjust for our local time zone…)

Network Time Protocol (NTP)

Network Time Protocol (NTP) is a well established, but often misconfigured and misunderstood, internet protocol. NTP utilizes Marzullo’s Algorithm to synchronize clocks in spite of the fact that:

• The travel time for information passed between systems via a network is constantly changing
• Remote clocks themselves may contain some error (noise) vs UTC
• Remote clocks may themselves be using NTP to determine the time

In spite of this, a properly configured NTP client can synchronize its clock to within 10 milliseconds (1/100 s) of UTC over the public internet. Servers on the same LAN can synchronize much more closely . For Information Security purposes, clock synchronization among systems and to UTC, within 1/5 or 1/10 of a second, should be sufficient.

Classic Misconfiguration Mistakes (and how to avoid them)

The misconfiguration mistakes that folks make tend to be the result of:

• Overestimating the importance of Stratum 1 servers
• Over-thinking the NTP configuration

NTP Servers are divided into Stratums based on what time source. A Stratum 1 server is directly connected to a device that provides a time reference. Some examples of reference time sources include:

• Atomic Clocks
• GPS
• CDMA
• WWVB, DCF77, MSF60

NTP servers which synchronize with a Stratum 1 time source are Stratum 2 servers, with the Stratum number increasing by one for each level.

Big Mistake – Using a Well Known NTP Reference

The most frequent mistake people make when configuring NTP on a server is assuming that they need (or will get the best time synchronization) by using one of the well known atomic clock sources. This tends (thought not always) to be a bad idea because it overloads a small number of servers. Also, a server with a simpler network access path will generally provide better synchronization than a more remote one.

When configuring the NTP protocol, it is a good idea to specify several servers. The general rule of thumb is 2-4 NTP servers. If everyone specifies the same servers, then those servers become overloaded and their response times become erratic (which doesn’t help things). In some cases, an unintended denial of service attack is caused.

Both Trinity College of Dublin, Ireland and the University of Wisconsin at Madison experienced unintended denial of service attacks caused by misconfigured product deployments. In the case of the University of Wisconsin at Madison, NETGEAR shipped over 700,000 routers which were set-up to all pull time references from the university’s servers. NETGEAR is not the only router or product manufacturer to have made such an error.

Enter the NTP Pool…

“The pool.ntp.org project is a big virtual cluster of timeservers striving to provide reliable easy to use NTP service for millions of clients without putting a strain on the big popular timeservers.” quoted from pool.ntp.org

Basically, the NTP pool is a set of over 1500 time servers, all of which are volunteering to participate in a large load-balanced virtual time service. The quality and availability of the time service provided by each of the NTP servers in the pool is monitored, and servers are removed if they fail to meet certain guidelines.

Unless a system itself is going to be an NTP server, then use of the NTP Pool is your best bet 100% of the time. It is a good idea to use the sub-pool that is associated with your region on the globe. Here is ta sample configuration: (/etc/ntp.conf file)

server 0.us.pool.ntp.org
server 1.us.pool.ntp.org
server 2.us.pool.ntp.org
server 3.us.pool.ntp.org

It may not be necessary for your to run the NTP service itself. Running the ntpdate command at boot and then in a cron job once or twice a day may be sufficient. The command would look like:

ntpdate 0.us.pool.ntp.org 1.us.pool.ntp.org 2.us.pool.ntp.org 3.us.pool.ntp.org

If you do need to install ntp on Ubuntu, the commands are:

sudo apt-get install ntp

and then edit the /etc/ntp.conf file and add the server lines from above. On my OSX workstation, the entire /etc/ntp.conf file is:

driftfile /var/ntp/ntp.drift

server 0.us.pool.ntp.org
server 1.us.pool.ntp.org
server 2.us.pool.ntp.org
server 3.us.pool.ntp.org

Overthinking the Configuration

The “server” parameter in the configuration file has a number of additional directives that can be specified. These are almost never needed, but can generate a lot of extra traffic on the NTP server. Avoid over thinking the server configurations and avoid using prefer, iburst, or burst.

When Should I Run NTP Service Rather Than Use The NTPDate Command ?

There is almost no downside to running the NTP service. It is very low overhead and generates almost no network traffic. That being said, the only downside to running the ntpdate command a few times a day, is that the clock can drift more. If I were performing an audit, and the shop-practice was to use ntpdate on everything except infrastructure service machines (directory servers, syslog concentrators, etc.), I would accept that practice. I would be more concerned about how time synchronization was being managed on HSMs, directory services, NIDS, firewalls, etc.

When Should I Run My Own NTP Server ?

There are two cases when you should consider running your own server:

• You have a large number of machines that need time services
• You wish to participate in NTP Pool

A Stratum 1 time server appliance or a GPS/CDMA card can be purchased for costs similar to a rack mounted server (of course you will need two). If that is just out of the (budgetary) question, then I would look for the time servers to use authenticated time sources. NIST and several other Stratum 1 NTP providers have servers which are only available to folks who have requested access, and are authenticating to the server. If time accuracy is critical to risk management, and GPS/CDMA is not available, then I would push for authenticated NTP.

Option 3 is acceptable in the vast majority of situations, including cases where logs and events are only correlated locally, or where no compelling need exists.

NTP and Network Security

NTP uses UDP on port 123. This traffic should be restricted in DMZ or other secure network zones to only route to authorized NTP servers. Tools like hping can be used to turn any open port into a file transfer gateway or tunnel.

One option is to set-up a transparent proxy on your firewalls and to direct all 123/UDP traffic to your NTP server or to one you trust. (The risk of the open port involves providing a data path out of the organization, not rogue clocks…)

Resources and More Information

• Wikipedia on NTP
• A Brief History of NTP Time: Confessions of an Internet Timekeeper
• Marzullo’s Algorithm

Cheers,

Erik

Welcome to the second part of Art of Information Security’s interview with seasoned Information Security marketer Heather Deem (part 1 link). In the first part Heather discussed the importance of having reasonable time and resource expectations. In this part we will start off by discussing some low cost marketing techniques.

Erik: Are there any ‘free’ (but effective) marketing activities that organizations can pursue?

Heather:  All Marketing activities have some cost in terms of development or execution time, however, the following activities can be considered “free” or low cost:

Webinars: If the company has an internal content expert available to develop and deliver educational presentations (industry or technology focused, not vendor specific content), and if the company has an enterprise-level web conferencing subscription, the marketing team can host webinars for relatively free.  Partnering with channel partners for joint promotions can also help both companies educate and propel their prospects through the sales cycle.

By-lined or contributed articles: Developing industry-relevant articles for trade journals can be another relatively low cost activity to gain credibility and exposure.  Similar to webinars, this requires an internal content expert to develop the article and either internal PR or an agency to pitch stories to the media.

Erik: What have been some of the biggest misconceptions about marketing that you have experienced in your work with start-ups and growth companies?

Heather:  Two misconceptions spring to mind: the value of producing quality marketing materials, and the time and resources required to roll-out a program that has real impact.

I’ve seen companies who don’t hesitate to spend thousands of dollars to attend a tradeshow or who don’t bat an eye at an egregious entertainment bill submitted by sales, yet they balk or refuse to invest in a graphic designer to create a polished looking datasheet or direct mail piece, or refuse to spend time and money on developing the proper marketing materials for moving prospects and customers through the sales cycle.

The second misconception surrounds the required level of strategy, planning and resources required for successful marketing programs. Some executives underestimate the time required to plan a marketing program or what is required for execution in terms of personnel time, media lead time, engineering contribution to whitepapers, etc.

To develop truly integrated and impactful marketing programs, the marketing team needs to work through and understand the challenges faced by the sales team, the needs of the target market and align these key inputs to develop the appropriate campaigns to support the marketing goals.  Prior to executing these campaigns, companies typically need to develop new or update existing marketing materials to support these campaigns. The entire process can take a month or more.

Erik: So, how can organizations promote marketing and messaging into the culture so that everyone is involved?

Heather:  Establishing clear and effective marketing messaging and materials is the first step.  This includes both internal and external websites, datasheets and presentation content. For example, develop a concise positioning and messaging document for sales, channel partners and other company staff. 

I would also encourage the Marketing team to take advantage of all-hands meetings and either monthly or quarterly internal email updates to educate personnel on the latest marketing activities and messaging development. 

Marketing or corporate executives should also address any marketing challenges that surface and instruct employees on how to respond publically.  For example, if a known competitor is using under-handed sales tactics such as falsifying information about your company or product, executives should clearly indicate how sales and marketing is addressing the issue and reinforce that the corporate communication policy does not condone negative messaging or competitive bashing in retaliation.  Similarly, if a company is dealing with a sensitive press issue, employees should be educated on the appropriate public response. Even if they are not considered company spokespersons, they need to be educated on what or what not to say.

Erik: What do organizations need to do, to determine if their marketing is effective?

Heather:  The two exercises I would recommend are: mapping the marketing programs to the marketing goals for post-program evaluation and soliciting frequent feedback from analysts, customers and channel partners.

Prior to each marketing campaign, map the marketing goals to the campaign or activity and measure the actual results post-program.  This will typically require a pre-defined lead follow-up plan and collaboration between sales and marketing.  Metrics to include may be Cost per Lead, Response Rates, Website Hits, Lead Quality, Opportunities Developed, Opportunities Closed, etc.  Of course these efforts will only be as good as the level of accountability required of both marketing and sales to input and maintain prospect and customer data throughout the sales cycle.

Measuring the effectiveness of messaging and marketing materials can be achieved through feedback from the sales team, prospects/customers, channel partners, and analyst feedback.  It is very important to reach out to all of these audiences to gain a fresh perspective on your messaging and content from time to time.  If possible, try to incorporate feedback from each of these groups, since each group brings a unique perspective.

Erik: Heather, you have worked with a number of start-ups. How early in the genesis of a new organization should a marketing plan be developed? 

Heather:   Even if a start-up doesn’t have a dedicated marketing budget, a marketing strategy and plan should be developed before any customer facing activities are initiated.  If hiring a marketing professional (either employee or consultant) is not an option, then this effort can be lead by one of the executives.  The key is to develop a baseline strategy covering product pricing, positioning, messaging and the go-to-market strategy.  Even a rudimentary go-to-market strategy will serve as a foundation for guiding sales and developing marketing materials.  As the company goes to market and gains additional intelligence on customers and competitors and as product enhancements are rolled out, this strategy should be reassessed and revised.

In addition to the marketing strategy, an initial marketing plan should be developed.  While a marketing budget may not be established, you still need to devise a plan for the development of marketing materials such as the website, collateral (datasheets, solution overviews, technical manuals), presentations, whitepapers, demos, product packaging.  Factoring in public relations efforts, such as the development, the out-reach and the response to media and analyst relations should also be considered, even if the company is not planning a formal PR program.

Thought should also be given to how prospect and customer data will be managed.  Even if the company has yet to deploy a CRM system, it is important to plan an efficient process on how this data is maintained, how leads and customers are managed and how this data can be ported to a CRM solution in the future. If the strategy for  managing customer data is not instituted with the sales team from the get-go, management will never really gain solid data to support the business metrics and marketing will loose invaluable data for establishing and managing marketing programs.

Erik:  What are the first steps for companies, especially resource-strapped start-ups, to take in starting their marketing efforts?

Heather:  Refer to my answers regarding the top marketing activities and “nearly free” marketing activities.  Development of even a baseline marketing strategy, marketing plan and marketing materials assessment will go a long way in laying the foundation to drive effective yet budget conscious marketing programs. 

I will also offer a free one-hour “Ask the Expert-Marketing Consultation” to the readers of Art of Information Security blog.   During this session companies can jump start their marketing by gaining free marketing advice specific to their website or marketing plan and bounce ideas off a marketing expert who specializes in the IT Security industry.  Schedule your free session through the contact page at www.candescomarketing.com

Many Thanks to Heather !

Thanks for taking the time for the interview, and for the offer to Art of Information Security’s readers. I hope that it will help provide a more rounded perspective to folks we are struggeling with organizing or understanidng their marketing needs. 

Heather can be contacted through Candesco Marketing.

Cheers, Erik

In the final part of our interview series with Lee Kushner (part 1), Information Security recruiter and career coach, we will jump right in with a discussion of Lee’s ”7 Habits of Highly Effective Career Managers”.

Erik: I noticed from your web page that you recently delivered a presentation called “7 Habits of Highly Effective Career Managers”. Can you give us a flavor for what those habits are?

Lee:

1. Talent or Great Skills
2. Excellent Communication
3. An effective network
   • Your network is only good if you can call on it and get a result
   • What are some effective giving strategies?
4. A Professional Development Plan
5. They Invest in Themselves
6. Develop Their Own Personal Brand
7. Possess Necessary Intangibles (perspective, patience, passion)

Erik: Ok, so how can someone reality check themselves about “having great skills”, or about the kinds of positions they “have great skills” for?

Lee: Talent is the one thing that is critical to being great at what you do, whatever that may be. Without talent, it is tough to achieve greatness. However, one talent could be something as simple as being the “hardest worker” or “never quitting until you figure it out”. The truth is that we are all talented at something – it is important to recognize what that talent is, cultivate it, develop it, and leverage it.

The questions I normally ask people is:

• Tell me one thing that you do better than most people
• Tell me the accomplishments that you are most proud of
• If I asked your peers about your skills, what would they say was your best one

When you answer those questions, you usually come close to discovering your best skills or true talent.

Erik: Communication is one of those elusive soft skills. Many people think they are great communicators, but are so-so. Do you have any concrete advice?

Lee: Most people are lousy communicators because they do not believe that it is a skill. There are classes and courses on how to increase your vocabulary, to communicate with executives, to speak to subordinates, etc.

Ask people around you in your personal life, or anyone who can provide you with an honest answer (without repercussions) about your communication skills – that may be a good guide to see where you really stand.

Erik: “Effective Network” – I suspect that you mean something very specific…

Lee: I define an effective network as one that can be called upon on short notice and one that will provide you with a meaningful response to your query. Your network can be made up of co-workers, industry peers, specialists, mentors, and educators. An effective network also has to be willing to offer “candid” communication – be able to freely tell you when you are both heading down the correct path and the wrong one.

Erik: So, having a Linked In account isn’t enough?

Lee: No. Like anything, you get out of it what you put into it. Just clicking on a “Linked Invitation”  does not equal a trusted, meaningful relationship. It is quite the opposite.

Erik: I am very bad with names and faces, however I try to use conferences and large meetings as networking opportunities. One habit I have developed is to write clues to myself on the back of every business card I accept. I write things like, “met Jim at RSA 2008 on Expo floor”, ”Great network threat guy”, etc. Do you have any specific networking habits that you use?

Lee: What works for me is that I like to remember something that is unique about the person that is not necessarily job related: such as an outside interest, a college or university, or something personal. To me,  this allows a connection to be developed that is outside of how you would traditionally think of them, and then you can effectively remember other things about them. However, just because it works for me, does not mean it will work for all.

Erik: What does a Professional Development Plan look like, and whom should I share it with?

Lee:  My thought is that a Professional Development Plan has two parts. The first part represents your current career and the skills that you currently possess. The second part is your long term career goal, and the skills and experiences necessary to qualify for that particular role.

Really what you are doing is performing a “career gap assessment”.

Other components of a career plan should include research on how to attain these necessary skills, a timetable of sorts to actually acquire the skills, and an understanding of the sacrifices necessary to achieve them.

Your career plan should be shared with people who respect and care about you, both personally and professionally. Your professional network can consist of your mentors, your supervisor, your peers, and trusted outsiders. Those can include career counselors, career coaches, executive recruiters, etc.

On a personal level, you need to share this with the people that will share the benefits and suffer from the sacrifices. This is usually your immediate family. Sacrifices can inlcude travel, longer work hours, relocation, and the finances needed for career investments.

Erik: Is personal brand synonomous with reputation?

Lee: In many cases it is, however I think that a personal brand is much more difficult to come by. I mean, everyone has a reputation: some are good and some are bad. However, you traditionally have to work very hard to establish a well respected professional brand.

In today’s culture, professional branding means that you not only have to establish a respected reputation, but you also have to be known for something that makes you unique and your opinions and knowledge “sought after” and relevant.

Erik: Developing a brand is a long term investment. How do you do this so it is not viewed as a “job campaign”?

Lee: You are correct; developing a professional brand will not happen overnight. I believe that many people who have respected professional brands have an inner drive and passion for excellence. It is this passion that usually drives them on a daily basis, and they know of no other way to conduct themselves. My feeling is that if this behavior is viewed as routine and standard, it appears natural, and is only viewed as a job campaign by people who do not share the same level of professional drive or who feel threatened.

Erik: Necessary Intangibles?

Lee: Passion to me is number one. All successful professionals, regardless of field, have a passion for their careers and are driven by an inner quest for excellence.

Patience is another one. Too many people get caught up in the concept of how quickly they can advance, without realizing that they will miss out on the opportunity to learn more and develop their skills.

I think that someone’s work ethic is also a big differentiator. One of my favorite expressions is that the worst thing to be in life is lazy. Someone who is willing to put in the time, effort, and energy to achieve usually finds themselves in positions where they are given extra opportunities to demonstrate their skills.

Erik: Lee, what advice do you have for folks who are currently out of work and looking?

Lee: Two pieces of advice: The first is to “keep your head up” and do not get discouraged. The second is to take this time to reflect as to why you are currently in this situation, and begin to plan accordingly so that it does not happen to you again.

Erik: And for those who are worried about being displaced?

Lee: My best advice would be to be visible when it is time to be visible. This is the time where you have to outshine the people around you, take on additional responsibility, and demonstrate that you are not immune to the current economic conditions.

This is not the time to ask for additional compensation, additional training, or take extra vacation. This is the time to show that you are a team player, hard worker, and are loyal to your current employer.

If you feel that your displacement is imminent, then you should get your resume prepared and begin reaching out to your network to see if they know of good opportunities for someone with your skill set.

Erik: Are there any Career Management resources you could point folks to?

Lee: I will be frank in saying that unfortunately there are not many Career Management resources specifically targeted toward Information Security professionals. Mike Murray and I are hoping to change that at www.infosecleaders.com. We are planning to produce regular career-driven content specifically geared toward the Information Security community. The initial podcast series ”Career Incident Response” will be posted soon.

In addition, we should also be publishing and releasing the results of our Information Security Career Management series around the time of Black Hat and Def Con this summer. The survey is still open and can be found at www.infosecleaders.com/survey.

Erik: Lee, thank you for taking the time to participate in this interview. I know based on the response to Part 1 that this information is getting a lot of attention and that the Art of Information Security community has really appreciated it.

Lee: Our profession is growing and increasing in popularity. In the future, there is going to be increased competition for the best positions. It will not be enough to only be good; you will have to be better than your competition. It will be imperative to plan accordingly and make regular investments in your professional development to differentiate from your peers.

Many Thanks to Lee Kushner

If you have found this interview helpful, please consider participation in Lee’s professional development survey at www.infosecleaders.com/survey. He has a tremendous passion for helping Information Security professionals develop their careers, and for aiding employers in understanding how to attract, develop, and retain top talent. The survey is Lee’s way of reality checking the advice and council that he gives, and will be shared through his upcoming podcasts and speaking engagements.

Cheers, Erik

The Art of Information Security has the great pleasure of interviewing Heather Deem. Heather  is the driving force behind Candesco Marketing, and has extensive experience developing and executing marketing programs for Information Security firms. Given the current economy, Art of Information Security felt that there might be broad interest in Heather’s ideas and insights in marketing Information Security products and services.

For more than ten years, Heather has supported marketing efforts, from framing the strategy to executing on the fine details, for a wide range of technology companies including Websense, Finjan, MarkMonitor, F-Secure, and others. I met her at last year’s RSA conference at one of the networking events, and really appreciate her taking the time for the interview. Let’s jump right in…

Erik: How much of a corporation’s resources and energy (capital, time, etc.) should be reserved for marketing?

Heather:  Many companies underestimate the hours and timelines required for campaigns and programs.  Timelines of course vary depending on a company’s goals, budget, the team’s availability, and turn-around times, but in general, it is advisable to allow the following timelines:

Collateral Development: 3-4 weeks to develop a new datasheet, 1-2 weeks for datasheet revision, 4 weeks to develop a new presentation, and 2-3 months to gain customer approval and develop a case study.

Tradeshows: Reserve booth space about a year in advance in order to acquire the best booth location.  Begin planning 4-6 months prior to the event date.  Start development of booth messaging, collateral, and demonstrations at least 3-4 months prior to the show.  Direct mail campaigns, exhibitor service orders, logo’d giveaways, and advanced shipments should be completed about one month prior to the event.

Online Demand Generation Programs: The first step in planning your demand generation program is to define the target market and the offer.  Is the call to action going to be a whitepaper, webinar, podcast or other?  Creation of a new whitepaper can take 2-4 months; 2 months if outsourcing, 4 or more if using internal sources to develop.  For a webinar, you need lead time to engage and schedule your guest speaker, usually an analyst or customer.  Once the target market has been determined and the development of the offer has started, you need to identify the right media company for promotions. Most media sites typically require insertion orders to be placed 2-3 months out.  While some advertising sites have availability 1-3 weeks out, sites with reputable performance typically sell out key promotional categories or banner spots several months out.

Direct Mail Campaigns: Similar to the online programs above, you need to identify your target audience and offer, but will also need to determine the direct mail list for your campaign.  You may have a solid customer and prospect database for your targeted mailing or you may opt to rent or purchase a 3rd party mailing list.  In both cases, you should take the time to segment the list to the specific contact titles, verticals, or geographic areas which are most relevant to your targeted audience.  It is also worthwhile, especially if utilizing a 3rd party list, to confirm the contact information and the mailing address of each recipient.  Depending on the size and quality of your list, the process of scrubbing the list may take days or several weeks. This step is less necessary if you are mailing an inexpensive post-card, but quite necessary if you have developed a higher quality mail piece or offer.

Depending on your offer and the complexity of your direct mail piece, it may take 2 weeks to 1 month to develop content, design the graphical layout, and print the direct mail piece. You will need to allocate another 2-3 weeks for mailing house services and delivery.

The above examples illustrate very rough timelines, but hopefully provide a baseline for planning typical marketing projects. While I’ve worked on and successfully delivered similar projects within shorter timeframes, it is advisable to integrate ample timelines into your project planning to avoid rush fees, team pressure, and depletion of resources which may be needed for other team projects/goals.

Erik: What are the top marketing activities that every organization should make happen?

Heather:  Development of a Marketing Strategy & Plan, and Development of Marketing Materials & Tools.

While this advice sounds almost too simplistic to relay, I cannot tell you how many companies tend to overlook or half-bake their marketing strategy or plan, yet have high expectations of marketing activities which have been based on undefined goals and limited budgets.

Strategy: Identify your target market and develop your positioning, messaging, go-to-market plan, and marketing goals as these elements will serve as a tool for making informed decisions and will be the foundation for your marketing plan and materials.  Ensure that key decision-makers from executives to sales are aligned on these areas.  For example, based on the revenue goals, how many raw leads does marketing need to produce each quarter to support sales, and conversely, does sales have enough resources to appropriately handle follow-up for this volume of leads?

Plan: Based off the marketing strategy and goals, develop the tactical plan to meet the marketing objectives. This plan should include an estimated timeline and campaign results.  Identify if the allocated budget and resources will sufficiently meet the marketing goals.  If not, additional investments in marketing may be required, or the marketing goals may need to be readjusted.

Some companies may feel overwhelmed, not know where to start, or feel that their limited marketing funds don’t justify a full-blown marketing strategy or plan; however, in start-ups, where ever dollar and hour counts, planning is even more crucial as there is less margin for error or waste. Advance planning will strengthen the management of marketing by helping you stay goal-focused, adequately allocate resources, avoid spikes and dips in lead generation, and reduce gaps in your marketing materials.

Marketing Materials: This is one area that deserves more scrutiny. Organizations tend to focus more on lead generation and creating awareness, overlooking or undervaluing the necessity of creating and maintaining a proper marketing library of collateral and tools.  Frequent development and updating of marketing materials is vital to supporting the sales team and channel partners, and for propelling your prospects and customers through the sales cycle.

Almost every company has a datasheet, sales presentation ,and whitepaper, but many overlook other essential marketing materials like positioning briefs for the sales and channel team, ROI calculators, customer case studies, flash demos, and frequent development of new industry whitepapers or webcasts. These tools are like the oil that keeps the sales and marketing engines running smoothly and helps transport prospects through the sales cycle.

Look for Part 2

The second part of this interview with Heather will be posted in a few days. Stay tuned…

Cheers, Erik

Kerckhoffs’ Principle is one of the keys to solid cryptographic security. Here is the definition I found on the Wikipedia:

“A Cryptosystem should be secure even if everything about the system, except the key, is public knowledge.”

Kerckhoffs’ Principle does not require that we publish or disclose how things work. It does require that the security of the system must not be negatively impacted by such a disclosure. A sub-theme of this principle, is that if the system is not negativly impacted by disclosure, it may be enhanced. 

In the history of cryptographic systems, peer reviewed systems/algorithms/techniques have outperformed closed/proprietary ones. This has its roots in basic human nature and is demonstrated every day in basic quality controls used for software in general.

A coworker once pointed out, “I am very confident that I can build a system that I cannot break. I am not so confident that I can build a system that no one else can break.” Getting many “someone else” resources to look at things is the core of Kerckhoffs’ Principle in practice, even if not in original intent. An example of using Kerckhoffs’ Principle is the current effort by NIST to sponsor the development and adoption of the next generation of hash algorithms through their hash contest (wiki, NIST). 

If You Need to Keep the “How” Secret…

If you need to keep the “how” secret, then odds are it isn’t a very good approach to the problem (and you may know that). I am often shocked when probing people on password protection, at how often their not wanting to disclose this information (because it is a “secret” itself) correlates to a very poor practice. 

BTW: the most frequent bad practice that I encounter over and over again is that “Base64 Encoding” is being used to “protect” the password. If I built a system that did that, I too would want to keep it a secret…

(In this case, I think the reluctance to disclose the information aligns more with “cover up” than “system design secret”.)

It often seems odd to people that there are no secrets about how modern cryptographic algorithms are designed, operate, and are selected for broad usage.  Of course, I think many of these people don’t understand that this is no different from most security controls. Anyone can purchase a high-security lock, and then reverse engineer the lock. Take it apart, put it back together again, take it apart and examine (or replicate) each part, and so on. People’s trust in locks often greatly exceeds the actual “security” provided by the lock, but that has nothing to do with the fact that people have examined them. Most frequently it has more to do with people just purchasing cheap locks. 

Kerckhoffs’ Second Benefit: You Can Stand on The Shoulders of Giants

Back to passwords… Let’s say you are writing an application, and you need to store user account passwords. You are in luck – you can examine a broad body of work documenting the failures and redesigns of a number of password systems – and you can emulate what is working today without repeating old mistakes. The same can be said for a great number of security functions. 

It often amazes me how often people start with the blank page and reinvent the wheel. Personally, I don’t ever want to re-invent the wheel. If I do that, I will be lucky if I develop the wheel for a Roman ox cart, or bicycle. I would rather take what I can find out about the wheel and take it to the next level (maybe Formula 1 Ferrari Team Wheels…), or be done with that part of the system design quickly and focus on something more challenging. 

Kerckhoffs’ Third Benefit: Standards

Any time you are developing a solution to a problem and you can leverage a standards approach you are gaining numerous benefits. First, you are leveraging the “Standing on the Shoulders of Giants” concept by inheriting a body of work that has been tested, reviewed, etc. Second, it is easier to communicate it to others.

In the cryptographic world, there are a number of very helpful standards bodies. These include:

• NIST Computer Security Division 
• NSA Suite B
• OASIS
• ANSI and ISO

More soon…

Cheers, Erik