How IT Managers Can Help Prepare the Network in Response to the Coronavirus
 
Andy is working as an Assistant IT manager. While driving to the office last week, he received a call from his boss, informing him that because of COVID-19 (the coronavirus) pandemic, the IT department needed to create an emergency management work plan, which includes preparing the network to accommodate the scenario of all employees working remotely.
 
The company Andy is working in is a medium-size eCommerce organization. The management plan that the IT department was asked to execute is to enable all employees, starting the following next week, to connect to the organizations’ network via VPN from home. In addition, they were tasked with maintaining the customer online services function in the exact the same manner, meaning the customer will not see any change in the service.
 
Strategies for Business Continuity in Times of Uncertainty
 
Radware Support and Professional Service teams have collected a few suggestions for preparing a basic plan, so Andy and other IT managers can prepare for successful. Here are some tips:
 

1. Perform a stress test on the VPN, to make sure all employees can connect to the organizations’ network and enjoy business as usual, using their regular load

2. Prepare and test a secure backdoor, in case the VPN server stops responding

3. Track the events of the BDOS DefensePro module, it might need to temporary increase the quotas for UDP / UDP fragmented in BDoS policy for IPSEC connection. Don’t forget to decrease it back when the employees will stop working from home.

4. Validate that all the certificates that the devices in your network are using to authenticate in front of the server are valid.

5. Make sure to have a reliable tool in place that enables you to connect remotely to employee computers and provide support when requested

6. Make sure that all computers that are connected remotely by VPN are safe with up-to-date anti-virus and security updates. Always prefer remote desktop (RDP) access only  instead of all kind of opening  network firewall port.

7. Alteon, DefensePro and AppWall customers should check the throughput license to make sure it answers your organizations’ demands. It is recommended to increase it slightly more than the usual expected highest threshold

8. For VA products, like Alteon AppWall, DefensePro or Vision, verify the compute resource and license answers the future expected load

9. During times like this, it’s common to see attackers attempting fraud attacks. Be aware of common fraud email types (for example, an email about compensation, or an email from the HR, or with a Coronavirus subject line). Instruct employees not to open such emails or click links in such emails, and ask them to forward a few examples, which will help you get a better understanding

10. Check the WAF configuration of the security filters and examine whether the report mode should be changed to active

11. Contact an expert to check the security configuration of your network to make sure your organization is well prepared for all kinds of attack scenarios, a heavy load that can harm your on-line business, or employee connectivity. Consider to add Radware's ERT Active Attacker Subscription Feed to stop attackers before they target your network

12. Make sure all computing resources services for customers and employees do not suffer from scraping of any kind. Review the Bot Manager, and switch to aggressive mode if possible, to handle these kind of challenges

13. Check the tools you have for monitoring load on your system and ensure that the right alerts for reaching the thresholds are configured

14. If you don’t want to worry about possible damage that an attacker can cause to the network and online services, contact your local provider and check the security managed services available for purchase.

15. Create a detailed backup plan that can be easily implemented during an under-attack situation; one that enables the move from on-premise to cloud

16. If you are hybrid customer, it is recommended to move to ‘always-on’ to ensure you are well protected by cloud services

 
Radware offers a vast amount of online services and by using them you can:
 

• Open a case online and track it

• Generate license on-line

• Generate password on-line

• Download security updates

• Troubleshoot HW

• Search for answers in Knowledgebase or start a discussion using Radware Community

• Enjoy free online training to help manage your device