At Razorpoint Security, we always stress that gadgets are not always the answer to finding holes in network security. But when it's the devices themselves that are allowing this breach, the network could at times be more complex to monitor. Such is the case with Cisco Systems, who recently found out their equipment has vulnerabilities they've been trying to patch up since 2010.
According to PC World's Business Center,
"The findings hint at two apparently contradictory themes, that of uniformity and complexity.
"The uniformity derives from the commoditization of IT equipment over the last decade, which has left companies of all sizes, in all countries and in all business sectors using similar families of products which are therefore open to the same vulnerabilities, including PSIRT 109444.
"As networks have become more uniform around standards and more commoditized, vendors have responded by competing in terms of features and development, which has created more complexity within the product families of dominant vendors such as Cisco. As complexity rises, so do the problems associated with management. Dimension also found that many network devices looked at in its assessments suffered from a range of configuration and policy violation issues in ways connected to this theme."
