SonicWALL CSSA Certified
Picked up the SonicWALL CSSA (Certified SonicWALL Security Admin) certification today. Interesting course work (tip: don't skip the pre-reqs) and I found the exam more challenging than expected.
Non-Profit: Backups and Security
Had a few more visits with the local non-profit to wrap up a few images -- we're still working through the road-map that I created as part of the first engagement.
First I spent some time running more nmap scans on their internal network. They thought they had seen signs of "extra" PCs on the network so wanted more assurance that everything was as it should be. I identified all devices by IP and MAC address and then verified that we could match each to a machine in the office. Fortunately, it all matched up as expected.
Next up was putting some backups in place. We're going with MozyPro to start. They don't need a ton of data backed up and the cloud storage model is much preferred over buying tape drives, tapes and arranging for off-site storage. We have MozyPro installed on their main file server and it has been diligently running nightly backups without issue so far.
Non-Profit Firewall changes
One of the things I noticed when doing the local non-profit's overview was an apparent lack of a firewall. However, upon looking closer I found that it was part of their Cbeyond voice/data plan -- and it had issues.
I spent some time going through the firewall rules, exceptions and port forwarding and then locked it all up nice and tight. It would appear that in the past folks had configured things to allow easier remote access. They had also been hosting servers from within the office... Those servers were all gone but the firewall rules lived on. Things just weren't as secure as they should be.
Non-Profit Overview
A local non-profit corporation had recently gone through some staffing and IT support changes. They invited me out to look over their current hardware and network setup to become familiar with it and make some "road map" recommendations for the future.
I went through all their machines, spending extra time on the servers, to determine what each machine was doing and running for services. Found a few anomalies -- like a server with an external IP address -- and turned off a couple extra DNS and Apache web servers that were running on their Apple Macs. I also spent some time tracking down documentation for their phone system and assisting in some reconfigurations.
After a couple visits I presented them with a current network diagram detailing what each machine provided along with a page of items (prioritized) to focus on for the future.
Web Site Audit, Anti-spam Measures
One of the machineLOGIC clients had some concerns about security with their public-facing website. I spent a few hours on this one going through the site's directories and files and ensuring that the permissions were set properly. I then reviewed their forms and made some small adjustments to them to help foil the 'bots that were auto-filling the forms full and generating spam emails to the client. I also went through all files and scripts to ensure there were no hacks and/or additional scripts added (there weren't!).
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