#infosec #Syspeace for intrusion prevention for #windowsserver instead of specific applications or services such as #FileZilla FTP Server or #WordPress

July 16, 2014/in ids/ips, syspeace /by redcloudit

Syspeace for intrusion prevention for the entire server instead of specific applications or services such as FileZilla Server

If you’re managing a server and host various applications and services all of them are reachable for your users and and customers but most likely, and quite often, they’re also reachable for others to try to log in.

To be cost effective, you could be using using a Terminal Server (or Remote desktop Server) and you’ve also got for instance a FileZilla FTP Server to ease file transfers (or the Microsoft IIS FTP server, my hunch is that these two are the most common ones if you’re running a Windows Server environment) and there’s a web interface for the remote applications and so on . There might also be other services on the same server/servers.

Built in intrusion prevention in applications or Windows Server

Some software actually have brute force prevention built into them, such as the FileZilla FTP Server (although, keep in mind that is it not enabled by default) and there could be other software installed that have intrusion prevention built into them. Not within Windows Server though and there are quite a few articles on this blog explaining how it works such as this one about securing your Exchange OWA

An atacker will first portscan your server, search for open ports and try to figure out what services and applications you’re running on them. Even if you’ve changed the default ports, quite often the application will actually reveal itself in the header what it is and what version it is.

You can for instance simply do a telnet session to the port in question and see what your applications actually reveal about themselves.
Simply start a telnet client and connect to the port you’re interested in such as port 25 for SMTP (email) or port 21 for FTP and you’d probably get at least some information on what is running on the server. To gather more detailed and complex information, you probably be using software like nmap.

After that, tbey’ll simply use automated scripts to try and login. If there is a block in some way on for instance FileZilla FTP Server they’ll simply move on to the next port/service , like the RDWeb interface for Remote Desktop and RemoteAPP services and continue the attack since they’d only been blocked on the FTP level so far (usually port 21) Here’s a >previous article describing parts of the anatomy in a hacking attack written by Juha Jurvanen.

If you’re hosting a multiple software and srevices on a server and each of them have brute force prevention builtin , they’ll only block the attack within their own part of the system.
FileZilla will block the brute force on FTP but nothing else.

Using Syspeace as your HIPS , Host intrusion Prevention System for Windows Servers

A key difference using Syspeace as a HIPS (Host Intrusion Prevention System) is that it will block the attacker entirely on all ports if they trigger any of the detectors, rendering the attacker unable to communicate at all with your server on any port (even ping), thus automatically protecting any other service you have running on it.

To illustrate this with something in the “real” world.
If you’ve got a house with multiple doors, the attacker would first try their keycard/key in one of the doors to try to gain access into the house until an alarm is triggered and they would have to move on, but only for that specific door.
After that they’d keep using the keycard/key on the next door and so on.
With Syspeace, they’d only be able to use the keycard on the first door until the alarm is triggered and after that they would be automatically blocked from even trying to use the keycard on any of the other doors since the doors would have “magically” disappeared for them and would be out of reach for them. It would be as if the actual building itself would have disappeared for them.

Download a fully functional, free Syspeace trial for intrusion prevention or even if you’re under attack of a brute force or dictionary attack

Have a look at the Syspeace website and try the fully functional trial for it and see how it can help you to easily and quickly brute force protect your server. We’ve had users downnloading Syspeace and implementing it in minutes during a dictionary attack to have Syspeace automatically deal with it and to block, trace and report the attack. Since the trial is fully functional and free and it only takes a few minutes to set it up, it can be an easy solution to handle an ongoing attack.

Syspeace supports Windows Server 2003 and on (including the Windows Server Small Business versions), SQL Server, Remote Desktop, Exchange Server, Sharepoint, Exchange OWA, RDWeb , Citrix and more. Out of the box. It actually also support Windows 7 and Windows 8 but please refer to his article on when Syspeace is actually useful for you and when it’s not.

Syspeace has blocked more than 3 126 500 brute force and dictionary attackas targetaed agains Windows Servers worldwide.

The Syspeace team has also developed a FileZilla FTP Detector that is in beta and also an Microsoft IIS FTP detector.
We’ve also released a detector for selfhosted WordPress and we’ve released the Syspeace API for .PHP and .NET to enable our users to develop their own intrusion prevention for applications instead of being forced to develop protection into applications themselves from scratch.
The Syspeace API can also be used to protect spcific websites if you’re hostng multiple websites.

#infosec #security About using #Syspeace against #DDoS attacks for #sysadmin

June 11, 2014/in Uncategorized /by Syspeace

Syspeace and DDoS attacks

We had a discussion the other day about Syspeace and if it would help in a DDoS attack.

Essentially a DDoS attack is about overloading a server with massive traffic thus making it unreachable for the services the way it is supposed to be.

This can be accomplished in numerous ways.

If for instance 10 000 computers in a botnet are targeted at downloading a specific image or file from a public website without a login, Syspeace would not be the tool for you. Not at the moment anyway. Syspeace is designed to monitor failed login attempts and handle them by custom rules to protect your Windows servers by completely blocking the attacking address in the local firewall. This will protect your server on all ports soo if you other services running on it, they would also be blocked for the attacker.

DOS/DDoS by using Brute force / dictionary attacks and how Syspeace would react

The two different methods in the brute force/dictioanry attack department would be the following.

Single login attempt method

If the same 10 000 copmuters try to login to your server (an Exchange weblogin, RDS/ Terminal Server, Sharepoint, Citrix and so on ) with a brute force / dictionary attack the server would stop responding due to the overload on CPU/RAM and the network would also be filled.

If each and one of these 10 000 computers only tries once to login , Syspeace wouldn’t react since that would esseantially mean that all logins (or IP addresses essentialy) would be blocked at the first thus disabling anyone to login.

If you’re a hosting provider or outsouring provider and you have a number of customers at static IP addresses you could whitelist the customers IP addresses and set up a Syspeace rule to block at one failed login and in that manner have the attacka partially handled by Syspeace.
However, if you’re a Cloud Service provier this won’t work in reality since your customers could be coming from any IP address anywhere.

Multiple login attempt method

The second method would be to have each and everyone of these 10 000 computers constantly trying to login multiple times and such an attack would be blocked by Syspeace.

Bare in mind though, this would not sort out the network being flooded but it would help you protect your server from crashing due to overloaded CPU/RAM usage and it would buy you time to contact your ISP and see if they can help you mitigate the attack (with specific tools or increasing your bandwidth for instance)

To a certain extent , the Syspeace Global Blacklist would probably also have you preemptively protected against some of the IP addresses attacking you already.

If you don’t have Syspeace at all it’s not unlikely you’ll also be having a lot of user accounts locked out if you you’re trying to use lockout policies. Here’s a previous blogpost on why that is

Future features in Syspeace

One of the things we’ve already released are public APIs for customers with their own applications, webapplications and loginforms so we enable them to use the Syspeace engine to easily handle brute force attacks. For more information on how to implement it on your website or appliaction , please refer to the Syspeace Detector API page

We do have some ideas on how also to have Syspeace help in the first scenario (1 login/computer attack) but we’ll get back to you on that after we’ve implemented quite a few new more features and functions that’s already in our roadmap.

To have your Windows servers protected against malicious login attempts and have it set up in minutes without changing your infrasctructure , please visit the Syspeace download page

By Juha Jurvanen

#infosec #cloudsecurity #Syspeace – Host Intrusion Prevention Software on an external #Windowsserver #VPS in the #Cloud #IaaS #PaaS

June 3, 2014/1 Comment/in brute force, cloud security, ids/ips, syspeace /by Syspeace

Syspeace – Host Intrusion Prevention Software on an external Windows Server VPS in the Cloud

There are many variations of IaaS / PaaS / Cloud services.
Some are public clouds and some are hybrids and some are private.
There’s also the possibility rent an external VPS and use as a server at quite a few providers nowadays.

The IaaS/PaaS (Infrastracture as a Service/ Platform as a Service) provider gives you acces to a virtual server designed as to your needs when it comes to RAM and storage. Basically, it’s usually an empty server with an operating system.

Running IT solutions on an external VPS decreases the need for hardware investements but there are still things you need to consider and you need to manage your server the same way you would with any physical server i terms of monitoring security and tha availability of services and applications.

Logically, the server is reachable from the Internet which will make it a target.
Anything that is reachable will be targeted for intrusion attempts. The responsibility for Iaas/PaaS provider is simply to provide you with the Hypervisor needed to host you operating system and the rest is up to you. You install the applications, webservers and everything just as you would with a normal physical server.

Some aware Iaas/PaaS/Cloud service provders do have some kind of Appshop/Control panel where you can get preconfigured software such as an antivirus or even Syspeace for intrusion prevention but it’s not that common.

Remember that your VPS shares “IP-space” with other customers when it comes to the network at your provider and you have absolutely no idea of what your “neighbors” are doing and if they’re the slightest security aware.
They may hve been hacked without you knowing it (or them either for that matter) and they could have the IP address right next to you and their server could be used for instance for portscanning or hacking attempts against your VPS (if seen this quite a few times now).

Your IaaS/PaaS provider usually wouldn’t know since it’s not their responsibility. Their role is simply to provide you and their other customers with a VPS. Nothing more. No security monitoring, no antivirus, no application / services monitoring
In case of a larger DDoS attack, they probobaly have ways to handle them if it concerns their entire network and affects a lot of their customers but when it comes to attacks speciafically targetet at your VPS and your users on it, it’s a bit trickier.

Imagine the scenario you’ve set up a server, you got your users set up, installed your applications and services and it’s up and running. Now, rermember that there’s no connection nbetween you userdatabase and login mechanisms locally on the VPS and your IaaS/PaaS systems so they’ll actually never even get any alarms if some is trying to brute force your server or your webapplication. They will be alerted in case of a large DDoS attack against their entire netowrk but they will not be alerted in cases of a bruteforce attack targetetd against your VPS.
So, in short, it’s all up to you. There’s no differnce apart from your not running the server in your own datacenter or at a hosting company.

Protecting your Windows Server, Exchange, Terminal Server / RDS, Sharepoint, SQL Server, Citrix and more from intrusion attempts

If your running a Windows server as a VPS you need to set up Syspeace to automatically handle intrusion attempts and have them blocked, tracked and reported againts the Syspeace Global Blacklist.
You also need to secure the server in other ways such as an antivirus, have your services monitored, you webapplication login form secured both from malicios code and from brute force logins (this is also wher Syspeace comes into play since there are plugins available for various webplatforms to use against bruteforce attacks)

Syspeace is an automated Host Intrusion Prevention System (also called a HIPS) and is targeted to protect Windows servers, Exchange and OWA , Sharepoint, Terminal Server / RDS and the RDWEB login, Citrix , SQL Server and more from bruteforce / dictionary attacks. . It is easy to install, and easy to manage and you’ll set it up in a couple of minutes and you’re protected. Instantly.

As I’m writing this, Syspeace has succesfully blocked, tracked and reported over 2 921 200 (2.9 Million) brute force and dictionary attacks against Windows servers worldwide.

Have a look the Syspeace website for a free trial download or keep reading some of the previous articles I’ve written on various securiy aspects on server managagement such as Using various brute force and dictionary attack prevention methods to prevent hackers – and why they don’t work and Securing your #WinServ and #MSExchange with an acceptable baseline security

By Juha Jurvanen @ JufCorp

#infosec #cloudsecurity #Syspeace – Host Intrusion Prevention Software on an external #Windowsserver #VPS in the #Cloud #IaaS #PaaS

June 3, 2014/1 Comment/in brute force, cloud security, ids/ips, syspeace /by redcloudit