We are making it too hard to collaborate with others. Our networks are closed forts to anyone outside of the corporation.
Consider this example: A vendor needed access to a device behind a client’s firewall. First, the vendor’s internal contact had to apply to the client’s security administrator and provide information on the person needing access, the company and the equivalent to swearing an oath that the person is a good person. After the application was reviewed and approved, the vendor had to call the security administrator to get a token. The vendor then had to act immediately because the token doesn’t last long; even a short delay would start the process over again.
What is the moral of this story? You better be motivated to let the other person in because it will not be easy, it will take a lot of time and you better have a good case.
What would a solution look like? Each PC or server would need software that allows the owner to specify who can come in and what application or file that person can access. There would be a standard way to specify people, a universal name or number, and the length of time an authorization is good. If the PC accepts them, then the firewall would take no further action. If the PC rejects them, then the firewall would block the connection, maybe even using intelligence to track the person’s connection to see if he is just walking through the corporation knocking on doors. The system then would block his attempt to find an unlocked “house.” The firewall also could monitor the connection to make sure it doesn’t access something it shouldn’t.
The reason we don’t want to think about this approach is that it requires us to do something we aren’t good at – knowing who is behind the connection. Registration and authentication on a global scale is needed to open up the world and help make it safe. We should be working in industry forums or through the government to solve this problem. Acting like it is not our problem doesn’t make it go away and we will have to face it one day. We will all soon have to reach out beyond our walled cities and open up to the world and our customers.
Companies have a large stake in solving this problem but are doing little. It is not enough to hope vendors will step up to the plate; they will not solve the universal registration problem. Users need to speak up and tell vendors and government we need a solution. We need to rethink how we do security and move away from walling ourselves off and instead start opening up the walls. The companies that effectively do this will open up a whole new world.
Layland is president of Layland Consulting, specializing in new technology and its impact on enterprise networks. He can be reached at robin@layland.com.
