Network Security Tip of the Week [12]

Now that we’ve begun a new year, it’s a good time to reflect on the past and look to the future. Which brings us to our first network security tip for 2014. This tip comes from a security analyst in Australia, who provides a few best practices/steps to implement regarding your firewalls from a disaster recovery perspective…

“To ensure survivability after a disaster, ensure that backup best practices are implemented:

1. Periodic backup of the firewall, at least on a monthly basis. The best way to achieve this is to use the product’s scheduling function (i.e. Check Point’s backup command) and schedule a command to display the configuration (i.e. Cisco’s show run)
2. Backup the firewall before and after making a change
3. Ensure that the backup config is usable. The backup config should be tested at least once every two years
4. Backup data should not be stored in the same location as the firewall.”

Happy new year and here’s to a more secure and agile network in 2014!