Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Solutions in Government

Transcription

1 > Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Solutions in Government Protecting Critical Data Flow for Uninterrupted Services WHITE PAPER January 2010 J. Asenjo, CISSP

2 Information Systems Security TABLE OF CONTENTS Overview... 3 Challenges... 4 A case in point... 5 Solutions... 7 How Thales can help... 8 Summary About Thales

3 Business Continuity Disaster Recovery Solutions in Government - White Paper OVERVIEW In the context of government operations, business continuity and disaster recovery normally conjure images of floods, hurricanes, and earthquakes not information technology networks. But in today s highly connected world, networked infrastructures are a key part of all government services. From ensuring coordinated assistance to disaster victims to guaranteeing continued benefits to citizens, the uninterrupted availability, reliability, and survivability of networked information systems are critical. While government must address many areas when conducting business continuity and disaster recovery planning, this solution brief focuses strictly on the protection of critical data in transit. It examines a representative government agency scenario that underscores the importance of maintaining critical data flow. The brief addresses the concerns of chief information security officers and network architects about the security of wide area network (WAN) connections supporting critical public services in light of the increased exposure of those networks and regulatory pressures to protect the data they carry. Within the scope of government operations, the overall objective of business continuity and disaster recovery is to reduce the impact of a disruption on the services it provides citizens. Business continuity and disaster recovery planning enables the organization to prepare for worst-case scenarios that might affect operations. Commonly used techniques, designed to build redundancy and resiliency into the business process, include distributed processing and data replication. While these techniques have yielded more robust operations, they have also brought about a more open and exposed environment and introduced vulnerabilities for data traveling across the networked infrastructure. As a result of these vulnerabilities and the threat to data security, encryption has emerged as the technology of choice to protect the confidentiality and integrity of data as it travels across these networks. 3

4 Information Systems Security CHALLENGES Effective business continuity and disaster recovery planning requires the management of a number of challenges brought about by today s complex networked architectures. These challenges include: > Managing the growing volume of data required to conduct business > Protecting a more distributed processing and storage environment > Controlling the exposure of sensitive data in transit across the network > Ensuring the confidentiality and integrity of data at all times > Complying with data security and privacy regulations Because of these challenges, techniques such as data replication, application backup, and failover technologies are increasingly used to ensure the availability and survivability of critical systems. Growing volumes of data require increasing amounts of processing and storage resources. To ensure their resiliency and survivability, processing and storage assets are typically distributed over long distances, requiring high-speed backbone networks to bring them together as a single processing system. Protecting this more distributed processing and storage environment requires an assessment of the vulnerabilities and risks to which it is exposed. Typical vulnerabilities and risks to consider when developing a business continuity and disaster recovery plan include both accidental infrastructure failures and cyber attacks. Deliberate failures may include breaches in data integrity by alteration of content, breaches in data confidentiality through divulging of content, and denial of service, which can impact the ability to provide the organization s most basic functions. These deliberate attacks can be carried out by rogue elements anywhere in the networked environment. To control this exposure and the risk of data loss, encryption provides a mechanism that can ensure the confidentiality and integrity of data traveling across these systems. While many of government s mission-critical networks, such as those addressing national defense, are highly protected, those that support what might be perceived as less critical social welfare applications may not always receive the level of protection they need considering the effects that breaches of sensitive data can cause. Recognizing that these systems are vulnerable to data interception, alteration, and denial of service, legislative bodies have enacted data protection regulations to protect individuals privacy. 4

5 Business Continuity Disaster Recovery Solutions in Government - White Paper A CASE IN POINT A government tax revenue collection process can illustrate the issues facing government IT executives. Various forms of government organizations at the city, municipal, state/province, and national/federal levels depend on tax collecting entities to pull together the e-revenues required to fund programs and services offered to the public. Databases with private and sensitive information are kept by government entities in order to operate assessment and collection. Corporate, business, and individual information is thus maintained across a complex network. Because of volume and requirements for sustainability, data processing, transit, and storage are normally carried out across a distributed environment, as illustrated in Figure 1. This architecture increases the threat of data exposure and the risk of compromising its confidentiality and integrity, which are critical for accurate processing and overall operation. Figure 1.Representative illustration of distributed, networked databases employed in a typical government system. Treasury Auditing and Enforcement Threat Distributed Network Threat Data Center/ Backup Sites Government Threat Threat Corporate, Business and Individual Taxes Business Continuity Plans and Disaster Recovery Procedures Redundant connections improve resiliency but can also introduce vulnerabilities. Encrypted data secures confidentiality and integrity. Public Services A closer look at the information systems employed reveals an infrastructure that uses multiple datacenters to store information on citizens and businesses tax records that is needed to sustain the collection process in an auditable and enforceable manner. Because different departments normally have access to this critical data, processing and backup functions take place over the distributed environment, thus providing additional reliability and resiliency. Datacenters are generally connected over high-speed shared public networks, as illustrated in Figure 2. 5

6 Information Systems Security Headquarters Satellite Office Public Networks Data Centers Figure 2. Schematic representation of typical datacenter connectivity over high-speed distributed networks. Given that these networks are open and carry vast amounts of sensitive and private information, they are prime targets for attack and represent a point of vulnerability in the systems. While many of these high-speed connections are now carried over optical fiber, the common misperception that optical connections cannot be intercepted unnoticed without breaking the fiber has been disproved by simple, inexpensive attacks that can be easily mounted. Fiber optic links are not inherently secure; optical connections are just as vulnerable to interception as copper network infrastructures and cannot be protected against interception unless encryption is employed. Protecting the confidentiality and integrity of data on these networks is critically important and can be easily achieved through encryption. When sensitive data traveling through a copper or fiber optic medium is encrypted, the transmission becomes unreadable even if the copper or fiber is tapped and the data extracted and analyzed. Given this prevailing threat, encryption has become the preferred security solution to address the vulnerabilities of public and private leased-line copper and optical systems. 6

7 Business Continuity Disaster Recovery Solutions in Government - White Paper SOLUTIONS Stand-alone network encryption at the data layer provides an efficient, convenient, and cost-effective way of protecting data connections. Operating at Layer 2 of the Open System Interconnect (OSI) model for data networking, encryption at this layer provides virtually no added overheads or latencies that can affect operational performance. Encryptors operating at this layer also require no additional network configuration, so they are easily installed as bump-in-the-wire devices. With a non-invasive encryption solution that is independent of network configuration, the complete separation of security management and network administration can be maintained. This separation one of the fundamental concepts in network security further reduces insider threats and enhances the overall security of the systems. As government operations deal with ever-increasing volumes of data, distributed processing and data replication capabilities will continue to be employed not only to guarantee continuous operation but also to manage cost. The associated exposure of data will continue to increase threats to the confidentiality and integrity of data in transit across these systems. High-speed, stand-alone network encryptors are ideally suited to the challenges of this environment, enabling secure use of resilient and costeffective data transport as well as compliance with legislation requiring proper management of these risks. 7

8 Information Systems Security HOW THALES CAN HELP As a world leader in security, a trusted supplier of cryptographic solutions to world governments, and a longtime provider of transaction security technologies to the banking and financial sector, Thales Information Systems Security is uniquely positioned to address the data security challenges of government institutions with a state-of-theart line of information assurance products developed specifically to secure missioncritical applications. Thales Datacryptor line of high-speed encryption products provides robust cryptography for Synchronous Optical Network/Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SONET/SDH) and Ethernet Layer 2 backbone circuits. Specific models include OC-3c, OC-12c, OC-48c, and OC-192c SONET/SDH and 100 Mbps, 1 Gbps, and 10 Gbps Ethernet Layer 2 units all built in the three platforms shown in figure 3. > Stand-alone cryptography > Strongest cryptographic algorithm available commercially: Advanced Encryption Standard (AES 256-bit) > Minimum overhead and low latency > FIPS and Common Criteria Figure 3. Datacryptor SONET/SDH and Ethernet Layer 2 high-speed encryptors. The Datacryptor SONET/SDH and Gigabit Ethernet Layer 2 products have been designed to protect time-sensitive, high-volume connections without service degradation. Transparent to SONET/SDH switches and regenerators, and simply deployed in the Layer 2 topology, the Datacryptor requires no human intervention once commissioned for operation. Approved to internationally recognized cryptographic standards including the Federal Information Protection Standard (FIPS) in the United States and Canada and Common Criteria worldwide, the units offer the strongest commercially available encryption algorithm: the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) with 256-bit key lengths. These validations give customers the assurance that sensitive and critical information is completely unreadable to unauthorized parties even if data is lost or stolen. The units also employ standards-based X.509 certificates and the Secure Hash Algorithm (SHA-1), as well as the Diffie-Hellman protocols, to perform authentication and automatic exchange of key material. This provides safe and simplified management of key material, further reducing training and operational costs. 8

9 Business Continuity Disaster Recovery Solutions in Government - White Paper As stand-alone encryption units, Datacryptor devices have a seamless management mechanism and can be controlled locally or remotely at a central location. The secure management capability offered facilitates the important separation between network administration and security management, providing customers with vital protection against insider threats. Compatible with Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), the security solution also can integrate with the enterprise management system for centralized monitoring. Typical application scenarios for the product include protection of sensitive information over high-speed backbones, business continuity and disaster recovery, data backup applications, and storage area network interconnections. 9

10 Information Systems Security SUMMARY Encryption of data in transit offers the most effective means of protecting the confidentiality and integrity of sensitive and personal information traveling across government institutions distributed networked infrastructures. Thales robust cryptographic solutions provide governments with the ability to design business continuity and disaster recovery plans including resilient data transport networks that capitalize on the economic benefits of distributed operational environments, fulfill compliance requirements, and protect the confidentiality and integrity of sensitive information in the event of a data breach. Thales provides FIPS and Common Criteria certified data encryption that enables maximum operational performance and reduced costs. With over 20 years in the data encryption industry, serving government and enterprises around the world, Thales certified, secure, and cost-effective solutions enable easy bump-in-the-wire installation and integration into existing architecture. Thales can help reduce governments operational data transport costs by allowing secure use of more cost-effective shared data transport resources. As a premier developer and supplier of cryptographic network security technologies, Thales is uniquely positioned to help government institutions protect the security of critical data exchanged between primary and secondary sites with innovative and cost-effective solutions that ensure the confidentiality and integrity of critical information assets. About Thales Thales is a leading international electronics and systems group serving the aerospace and space, defense, and security markets worldwide. The group s civil and military businesses develop in parallel to serve a single objective: the security of people, property, and nations. The group employs over 68,000 people in 50 countries and generated revenues of 12.7 billion in Operating in three main markets covering e-security, card payment, and network security, Thales Information Systems Security activities addresses the business, government, and finance industries needs for cryptographic security products and solutions. Over half of the world s banks, together with the majority of the busiest exchanges, currently use Thales technology. Visit the Thales e-security site at 10

11 Thales Information Systems Security Europe, Middle East, Africa Meadow View House Long Crendon Aylesbury Buckinghamshire HP18 9EQ. UK T: +44 (0) F: +44 (0) E: Americas 2200 North Commerce Parkway Suite 200 Weston Florida USA T: or F: E: DISCLAIMER Thales reserves the right at any time, without notice and at its sole discretion to revise, update, enhance, modify, change or discontinue the information provided herein. THALES MAKES NO REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY AS TO THE ADEQUACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE INFORMATION PROVIDED HEREUNDER. Asia Pacific Units /F Vicwood Plaza 199 Des Voeux Road Central Hong Kong PRC T: F: E: Thales January 2010 MGD0850