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How much security do we need?

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by jonathanv_00

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We have a main office and two branch offices in two states. Ten employees each for about thirty all told. We have two or three people who sometimes work from home using a VPN. Getting a fractional T1 line in the next couple of weeks, so I'm looking for advice on security.

We currently have a DSL-based WAN connecting the three offices, largely for file sharing. (We have grand plans for an intranet someday.) Currently using Netopia routers to handle the WAN and VPN duties.

Questions:1) Knowing that the answer is probably "You can never have too much," how much security do we need? We do not have ultra-sensitive, proprietary information (we're a consulting firm for the water industry). I guess the question I'm getting at is if NAT and VPN on the Netopia routers is sufficient for us, or if we need to go to a higher-end solution. We use ATMP for the WAN on the Netopias.

2) If you think we need a hardware firewall solution, any recommendations? I'm currently evaluating products from Netscreen, Watchguard, SonicWall, and Cisco. The Netscreen is what Netopia's security product was based on (now discontinued). It's also reasonably priced, from our perspective, and seems to offer good performance. But there are yearly charges for hardware and software support that I'm not particularly thrilled about.

Thanks in advance for your help.

3 replies

by stillatit

While you can never have too much security, you have to look at how much risk you are willing to tolerate, and what it is worth to reduce the risk. If your vpn's encrypt the data, and if you have no information that would be worth anyone's time to crack, you may have enough on that front.

If you will be using NAT on your new T1, your only problem may be in protecting mail server and web server (if any). I personally like the Sonicwall for a low-cost firewall, and I would recommend that for your T1 if you feel that just NAT is not enough.

Remember that NAT or a firewall protects you ONLY from someone trying to attach directly to one of your computers. If you have a mail or web server that outsiders are allowed to connect to, and if those programs have security vulnerabilities, you are still subject to attack. Keep abreast of security issues and apply patches as they come out. You are also still subject to virus attacks via email (you do have scanners on all boxes, I hope), and from denial-of-service attacks.

"Even paranoids have enemies."
"It is not paranoia if they really ARE out to get you."

Good luck.

by jonathanv_00

Thanks, Stillatit. Right now I'm contemplating three Netscreen 5's (about $500 each); the debate I'm having with myself is whether or not the NAT provided by something like Netopia's Ethernet router (R9100) would be sufficient. This does help me think about the issue.

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