Everything Else


So far, this chapter has focused solely on protecting your messaging system against viruses. Because this book is about messaging security, that s perfectly normal. However, there are certainly some other things to consider when planning your antivirus strategy, listed next . Some of them fall under the rubric of security and risk analysis, so you can refer to Chapter 4 for help in figuring out how to assess and quantify risks.

  1. If a new virus was released, how long would it take you to protect yourself from it? If you have operations in multiple time zones, or on different shifts, this might work in your favor; several recent outbreaks have started outside North America, giving administrators based in the United States, Canada, and Mexico a head start in securing their systems.

  2. What protective measures are you willing to take? Some large companies simultaneously shut down all of their Windows-based servers during the CodeRed outbreak a few years ago because that was the only way they could ensure that all of their servers were disinfected. At a minimum, you should consider stopping the flow of unscanned inbound and outbound mail if a mail- borne outbreak catches you. Other measures (like isolating infected servers on their own LAN segments) are worth looking into.

  3. If you actually got a virus infection, how long would it take you to notice? If your vendor offers you a way to get notifications of new viruses, are you taking advantage of it? At what interval are you updating your antivirus signatures?

  4. Are signatures sent using push or pull? Do you have to make any configuration changes to get signature updates to pass through your network?

  5. If stricken by an infection, how would you recover? Remember that the consensus best practice in the antivirus community is to flatten an infected machine and rebuild it, not to try to disinfect affected systems or data. Would you be able to rebuild affected servers in a timely manner? How would losing messages since the last backup affect your business?




Secure Messaging with Microsoft Exchange Server 2003
Secure Messaging with MicrosoftВ® Exchange Server 2003 (Pro-Other)
ISBN: 0735619905
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2004
Pages: 189

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