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Security Best Practice: Blocking BitTorrent

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Check Point Reference: SBP-2009-27
Date Published:
Severity:
Source: IPS Research Center
Protection Provided by: Security Gateway
  • R70
VPN-1
  • NGX R65
VSX
  • NGX R65
Who is Vulnerable?
BitTorrent users
Vulnerability Description
BitTorrent is a peer to peer file sharing protocol used for distributing large amounts of data. It is one of the most common protocols for transferring large files.

The use of BitTorrent may circumvent the organizational security policy.
Vulnerability Details
Peer to peer Internet traffic, such as BitTorrent, lowers employee productivity as they take time away from their work to download music and videos.

Protection Overview
This protection will detect and block the BitTorrent peer to peer application. The protection is able to detect peer to peer traffic regardless of the TCP port that is being used to initiate the peer to peer session.

To configure the defense, select your product from the list below and follow the related protection steps.

Security Gateway R70

How Can I Protect My Network?
1. In the IPS tab, click Protections > By Protocol > Application Intelligence > Peer to Peer.
2. In the right pane, double-click the BitTorrent protection.
3. In the Protection Details window, click on Edit. Choose the protection's Action (Override IPS Policy with: Prevent/Detect), and apply Additional Settings.
4. Install policy on all modules.

How Do I Know if My Network is Under Attack?
SmartView Tracker will log the following entries:

Attack Name: Peer to Peer
Attack Information:
peer to peer pattern found, application: BitTorrent
BitTorrent protocol detected on connection
BitTorrent/eXeem protocol detected on connection

VPN-1 NGX R65 & VSX NGX R65

How Can I Protect My Network?
1. In the SmartDefense tab, click Application Intelligence > Peer to Peer > BitTorrent.
2. In the configuration pane, under Settings > Mode, check Active.
3. Install policy on all modules.

How Do I Know if My Network is Under Attack?
SmartView Tracker will log the following entries:

Attack Name: Peer to Peer
Attack Information:
peer to peer pattern found, application: BitTorrent
BitTorrent protocol detected on connection
BitTorrent/eXeem protocol detected on connection