First an auditor checks for vulnerabilities of course (this is for
validation not to make that determination based on the auditee's saying or
reports from third party scanners). Then the auditor will determine the
extent and security surrounding those vulns and what the auditee is either
required (policy/procedure) or recommended (best practice) to fix those
vulnerabilities and stay secure.
__________________________________________________
Christopher D. Starford
SAIC Enterprise Security Sulutions
-----Original Message-----
From: Harlan Carvey [mailto:keydet89@yahoo.com]
Sent: Wednesday, April 28, 2004 3:05 PM
To: Starford, Christopher D.
Cc: 'full-disclosure@netsys.com'
Subject: RE: [Full-Disclosure] Top 15 Reasons Why Admins Use
Security Scan ners
And you know something, Chris...that's fine. Really.
I just left a position in the private sector w/ a
company that was audited over a dozen times a year by
various customers. Even their external auditors (ie,
*not* customers) were clueless when it comes to IT or
security. One audit did include a knowledgeable
security professional on staff...but just one.
But there's also another way to look at the original
comment...security is a process. Running a vulnerability
scanner isn't a process...it's a point-in-time check, a
snapshot. A good IT security auditor won't focus on the fact
that certain systems have vulnerabilities...he or she will
focus on *why* they have the vulnerabilities.
I believe many true IT Security Auditors out there
would agree that your wrong on this one.
-How will I ever pass my IT Security Audits?
Don't worry about it...most audits don't seem to
have
an IT background, and even when they do, they
don't
take the time to understand your business
processes or
your network infrastructure.
