Government

Conduct a vulnerability assessment to re-evaluate information security practices. Government networks must be protected against constantly emerging cyber threats and the potential for cyber terrorism. It is imperative to provide a security infrastructure that can quickly react and scale to future conditions. This is essential in protecting any government or military organization's assets and a critical part of the strategic planning and implementation process.

A perimeter firewall is not enough for government organizations with several agencies and multiple network security centers. Firewalls should be placed at several locations to provide protection from attacks. Segmenting critical systems, such those within the energy and transportation sectors, with additional firewalls, will protect the privacy and confidentiality of these critical assets and sensitive data.

Centrally define a consistent security policy and distribute to organizational agencies. Given the challenges of IT staffing with qualified network security professionals, centralized management enables organizations to leverage the talents of a small set of security experts on a global scale. The ability to protect an entire organization through centralized management also allows a rapid and uniform response to any level of threat or malicious attack.

Put contingency plans in place to ensure no single point of failure. A resilient network security infrastructure can mitigate potentially critical losses. Redundancy can be applied at multiple levels within the security architecture, including security at enforcement points and at the management level. Redundancy at the enforcement point ensures government divisions remain connected in the event that one fails. At the management level, back up security operations center can assume management control if the operations centers goes off-line for any reason. Additionally, organizations can use a secondary operations center for 24 x 7 helpdesk support.

Connecting telecommuters or field personnel to a government or military network via an Internet-based virtual private network (VPN) effectively extends the network's security perimeter to that individual's laptop or desktop machine. Using tools such as, VPN's and personal firewalls, maintains the integrity and security infrastructure of the remote user's machine, at all times, so it cannot be used to infiltrate the government or military network. Check Point Endpoint Security is the only endpoint security solution from a major security vendor to achieve Common Criteria EAL 4 certification, validating it as the most trustworthy and certified protection against threats to mission critical government networks.

Make security an enabler to improve government business practices and provide better services to the public. Leveraging secure technology to streamline operations across government improves efficiency and customer service, whether customers are citizens, businesses or government entities.

Choose government certified solutions. In order for government IT officials to make sound, risk-based decisions, an objective security evaluation of the IT product is needed. Government sponsored partnerships, such as Common Criteria and FIPS, have established standard evaluations to validate the effectiveness of information assurance products. Certified solutions ensure that the technology on which the security of national critical information depends, meets the highest standards of confidentiality, integrity and availability. Check Point offers proven and certified solutions that meet and exceed the stringent requirements established by government standards, approval processes and security industry tests.