Alice Smith has been in marketing for 15 years. Two years ago, she decided she wanted to spend more time with her two children. She left her high-level corporate marketing job to start a freelance business at home. Now, she has hundreds of clients that pay her to give them marketing advice and create deliverables like marketing plans, product collateral, and launch campaigns. Some of her clients were referred to her, but the vast majority found her through the Internet. Alice is fairly computer literate, so when she started her business, she hired a web designer to make her a really slick web site. The site has attracted lots of clients, and she pays the web designer to update it periodically. The Internet is more than just an advertising tool for Alice. It is the primary way she communicates with her customers. The Internet is an inexpensive and reliable way to exchange ideas, deliver product, and conduct research for her clients. Lately, she's had some trouble with her computer and Internet connection. It's the kids. She lets them use the computer at night because they have educational games they like and they enjoy web surfing. The problem is that the kids accidentally infect her computer with spyware and viruses. The infections are bad enough by themselves, but they are made worse because of the following:
One of the ISP technicians suggested that HIPS might help her avoid viruses and spyware. Limiting FactorsThe only limiting factor for Alice is that she wants to make sure her children can continue to use the computer at night. They really enjoy it. Plus, it's good for them to have lots of experience with computers. Security Policy GoalsAlice doesn't have a security policy because she's a one-person company. She does have a few goals for the IPS:
HIPS ImplementationThe ISP technician that introduced the idea of the HIPS sent Alice a short list of Internet sites related to HIPS. As she read about the capabilities of different products, she kept a running list of her requirements for:
Management ArchitectureAlice has only one computer, so she cannot use a HIPS product that requires a dedicated management server. Also, she doesn't really want to install a big management package on her existing computer. The best option for her is a product that is designed for the home or small business user. It should be easy to use, have a local user interface for configuration changes, and have useful documentation. Agent ConfigurationOnly a handful of HIPS products met Alice's management requirements. Of that handful, only two could do the other things she wanted:
Eventually, Alice found a product that met her needs, bought it, and installed it. After a brief struggle with the user-based configuration, she was able to get it to work the way she wanted. The kids could still use the computer, but it was protected. NIPS ImplementationAlice did not even consider a NIPS because the website that the technician pointed her to focused solely on HIPS. Because of the limited size of the network, however, an NIPS would not be practical anyway. |