Tuesday, May 23, 2017

What is New in Microsoft Azure Web Application Firewall?

Microsoft recently made its new Web Application Firewall available for customers. Initially, they announced the centralized WAF service that protected the applications running in the Azure public cloud environment from attacks such as SQL injection and cross-site scripting attacks.

According to Yousef Khalidi, Microsoft corporate vice president for Azure Networking, it is difficult to prevent the 7-layer app-level attacks and requires maintenance, monitoring and patching through the application tiers. With the introduction of Web Application Firewalls, users will not have to make any application changes for protecting against web attacks and simplifying security management. Microsoft assures a better security against threats and intrusions with its application and compliance administrators.

Microsoft’s Azure Application Gateway can host multiple sites as this application delivery controller (ADC) includes SSL termination; URL path based routing, load distribution. The ADC also provides end-to-end SSL encryption and logging as well as SSL policy control. The WAF comes with Open Wen Application Security Project (OWASP) ModSecurity Core Rule Set (3.0 or 2.2.9) that is designed to protect against threats such as command injection, HTTP response splitting, HTTP request smuggling, HTTP protocol violation, crawlers, bots, and general scanners. Microsoft has attended to the issue of denial-of-service attacks that occur against multiple web pages
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Presently, the Azure Application Gateway can host up to 20 sites behind each gateway, all of which are capable of defending against such attacks. The Microsoft team confirmed that they intend to add the new WAF service through the Azure Security Service that recommends ways to re-mediate discovered issues after scanning the cloud based subscriptions for vulnerabilities. Their security service did not include protecting web pages that aren’t scanned by a WAF. However, it offers third party firewalls from a Barracuda Networks.

Net Activity, Inc. is a Microsoft certified partner and has actively been supporting businesses across Ohio for installation of Office 365 and Microsoft Azure. We operate since 2002 and ensure a secured cloud presence while enhancing business productivity cost-effectively. For more details, please visit http://www.netactivity.us/services/cloud-computing-services or get in touch with Harry Bhatia, President, Net Activity, Inc. at 888-545-5346.

Article Source: http://www.netactivity.us/blog/what-is-new-in-microsoft-azure-web-application-firewall/

Wednesday, May 10, 2017

Why Cyber Security Should Be Your No. 1 Business Priority for 2017?


A significant number of CEOs along with their executives and managers have reported that their technology budget will see a considerable increase in 2017 – a recent survey report from Mondo read. According to one of the Business Insider’s reports, it is estimated that nearly $655 billion will be spent on cyber-security initiatives for protecting mobile devices, PCs, and IoTs between 2015 & 2020.


Cyber security is at the top of all the IT spending priorities as companies are more concerned about their network and data due to increasing threats and hackers on the market. President Trump also said (cnet.com) in one of his pre-election speeches that the only way to keep America safe is to make cyber-security a major priority.

Cyber criminals are evolving at a very aggressive pace as they intelligently utilize the opportunity of being anonymous and spontaneous. They are developing new, innovative modes of attack every day. They study an individual’s or an organization’s cyber behavior and intervene instantly wherever they find a loose string. Companies must start being prepared for potential cyber-attack as otherwise they might face heavy data losses, disruption of operations, or loss of customers’ trust.

Despite the efforts put in by the cyber security experts and government agencies, cyber-crime is likely to increase in the coming years. Technical innovation and use of smart phones invite more online dangers. Moreover, the development of Internet of Things has made machines more vulnerable attack points for hackers.

Malware protection must be a key concern rather than just having policies for securing emails, web browsing data, and personal devices. Cyber security can be strengthened with the right measures and by collaborating with the right Managed Service Provider (MSP).

We, the Net Activity, Inc. team have been consistently serving businesses across Ohio by securing their networks and data from any possible discrepancies since 2002. We are also Microsoft partners which strengthens our identity as a reliable Managed Service Provider in Ohio. If you wish to gather more details, please visit http://www.netactivity.us/services/it-managed-services or you can contact Harry Bhatia at 888-545-5346.