In the wake of the 2010 Wikileaks controversy, the United States Congress ordered the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to conduct an audit of all the security clearances granted by the US Government. The results were surprising to some. A total of 4.2 million people – which the Washington Post notes “rivals the population of metropolitan Washington” – have active security clearances to access government-classified data.
Although we’re just learning of this report, the numbers are dated to October 2010, which means this number has most likely grown over the past 11 months. It also dwarfs some experts’ expected numbers, raising some concerns about the security of our nation’s important data.
Others don’t think this number is high – and argue that it is a result of increased Government secrecy in the recent years. Additionally, figuring all military personnel and the entire workforces of the FBI and CIA agencies will have some level of clearance, the number seems much more palatable.
Regardless of the number, the security of our government’s most important and sensitive data should be very closely monitored. As technology has made accessing data exponentially more efficient and immediate, the safety and security of the transfer and storage of this sensitive data should be of top priority.
Read the full article and comments favoring both sides over at the Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/20/security-clearances-government-classified-information_n_972492.html
In our world of file transfer, security and encryption are paramount to properly protecting data. Some unfortunate security news has hit the wire regarding Dropbox, an online file storage and file sharing service.
Similar to FTP, Dropbox files are stored and encrypted with AES-256 and transmission of data occurs over an encrypted channel, like SSL.
The unfortunate part of this story is the major failure to limit access into each user’s account.
Wired.com reported:
“Dropbox did the unthinkable Sunday — it allowed anyone in the world to access
any one of its 25 million customers’ online storage lockers — simply by typing
in any password.”
A brief reminder that the File Transfer Planet Forums are now fixed (had a small issue for those trying to create a new registration profile).
Also, don’t forget to utilize the FTP Guides and share with friends. They include basic information on FTP, how to setup an FTP Server, or simply transfer files from your FTP client to a Server/Host.
Wow. An incredible stat for the security market in 2010.
On many levels of FTP or file transfer, this is a staggering number of instances. What file transfer processes are being used to avoid a security breach in your small, medium or large business environment?
Check out the Knowledge Transfer blog on Ipswitch File Transfer’s corporate site for more on security breaches in 2010.
Malicious attacks still account for more breaches than human error, with hacking at 17% and insider theft at 15%
39% of listed breaches did not identify the cause — Indicating a clear lack of transparency and full reporting to the public
49% of breaches did not list number of potentially exposed records — A clear sign of inaccuracy and incompleteness of reporting
62% of breaches reported exposure of Social Security Numbers
FTP has been around a long time, but many do not know FTP technology can be used in a very secure way.
SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) can be used in conjunction with FTP to provide increased
security over standard FTP. The WS_FTP Professional Security Guide  provides an overview of the SSL protocol and
describes how SSL works within WS_FTP. Skip to chapter 2 of the guide.
SSL is a protocol for encrypting and decrypting data sent across direct internet
connections. When a client makes an SSL connection with a server, all data sent to and
from that server is encoded with a complex mathematical algorithm that makes it
difficult to decode anything that is intercepted.Â
An important note: You cannot use SSL unless the FTP server supports it and has been configured
to accept SSL connections. If you would like to use SSL, but your server does not
support it, contact your server administrator.Â
Do you use the WS_FTP Professional client? One nice feature in the product is the ability to setup advanced synchronized tasks for files in a specific location. Check out this quick video for a step-by-step tutorial from the Ipswitch File Transfer Technical Support team:
E-mail attachments really don’t cut it. With e-mail, you have little control of how long it takes for someone to get your file. There are limits on file size and you’re unable to resume downloads that cut-out before they are complete.
Running an FTP server on your computer can virtually guarantee that your friends, co-workers, and vendors can get all your files in a timely, secure manner. Running an FTP server is safe. FTP servers allow you full control over who can login to your computer, which files they can access, and whether or not they’re able to upload.”
Yes, we’re talking about a space laboratory and WS_FTP.
The European Columbus laboratory, located on the International Space Station (ISS), has selected Ipswitch’s file transfer solutions. This is really exciting for WS_FTP. The European Columbus laboratory will be using
WS_FTP to securely transfer scientific data from the space laboratory to Earth. The scale of the processes the laboratory will be using is also amazing. Each experimental cycle is anticipated to generate hundreds of megabytes of data for which WS_FTP Professional will be used to securely transfer in and from space.
NovaStor has partnered with Ipswitch by bringing you world class backup/data protection,
and secure file transfer hosting for your Windows Server, together… all at a great savings.
NovaBackup Server provides automatic backup and protection for your important Windows Server Files, with full support for Windows 2008 R2 and Windows 2003 systems.
WS_FTP Server delivers secure file transfer software on the server side with unrivalled security, encryption and powerful administrator control.
Formerly FTPplanet.com, we have redesigned and relaunched as FileTransferPlanet.com, a community site for discussions about file transfer, web design, software deals, and other cool topics! Registration is free -- Post a question in the Discussion Forums or comment on any blog posts.
Monday, September 26, 2011
2
