Re: secure sharepoint 2010 design

[Paul Johnston <paul.johnston () pentest co uk>]

Hi,

> I mean no disrespect to you personally, Paul, but I see this type of
> logic pop up from time to time and it really bothers me.  It seems to
> break down to: "I or someone else has done something wrong with the
> network, therefore why try to do anything right?"

Well, I feel strongly that your logic is a bad approach and I will try
to persuade you of this. I have a feeling we won't end up agreeing. No
hard feelings on my part; I hope none on yours either.

I do not think it's seriously wrong to have a sharepoint infrastructure
unfirewalled on an internal network. Sure, it's more secure to have it
firewalled, but unfirewalled is quite justifiable.

To make a physical analogy, many offices do not have a 24-hour guard.
Sure, having a guard on site 24/7 is more secure. But for many
businesses that cost is not justified.

> What if the DC's aren't under his control?  What if they are, but
> weren't when they were set up?
>
> What if this is a starting point for improving things on the network?

So why start with Sharepoint? Why start with some project that happens
to be going on at the time that someone decides they want to increase
the level of security in the company? From the project's point of view
it seems completely arbitrary.

If you want a starting point for improving things, pick a high-risk
system, based on a risk assessment, rather than one that happens to be
in progress at the time. And be clear this is a specific security
initiative, rather than just upping the requirements for a general IT
change.

> Why aim low?  Aim high, and if you fall short you're still likely to be
> better off than aiming low.
>
> As IT professionals we should seek to implement best practices, improve
> our craft, strive for excellence, use our powers for good, etc., etc.

Why aim high either? Aim for an appropriate level of security. Going
back to the physical analogy, there's no point arguing the guards should
be armed with machine guns, just because you want to aim high. I think
it's really important to assess what levels of security are appropriate,
not just what levels it's possible to achieve.

Paul

-- 
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