White Paper Library

Top 10 Threats to SME Data Security

(and what to do about them)

For a seasoned and no-nonsense perspective on what types of data compromises most often occur in the real world, read this white paper by long-time WatchGuard security analyst Scott Pinzon, CISSP. It lists the ten most common vectors of data compromise, with practical techniques and defenses to counter each vector.

In a Hurry?

Download a three page summary of Scott's white paper to get a high-level overview of the top threats to SMEs with one practical step you can take immediately to mitigate each threat. For a more in-depth list of measures to ensure your network’s safety, download the full white paper.

Understanding and Blocking the New Botnets

Botnets are widely regarded as the top threat to network security. This paper explains how botnets have traditionally worked, then contrasts the established model with startling botnet innovations that emerged in 2007 and are continuing to evolve. Examples describe botnets known as Zunker, Gozi, Storm, MayDay, and a kit known as Mpack that helps botmasters easily create malicious web sites. After explaining why the latest innovations make bots a more serious threat than ever, the paper concludes by suggesting defensive countermeasures.

In a Hurry?

Download the two page summary of best practices for keeping botnets out of your network. When you have more time, come back for the full white paper. It's an excellent resource for anyone who wants to understand how botnets work and what makes your network vulnerable.

Meeting PCI DSS Merchant Requirements with a WatchGuard® Firebox®

In seeking PCI DSS compliance, it is critical to design a network with appropriate physical and logical boundaries to segregate the PCI-compliant operating environment. The PCI DSS monitoring scope must also be made manageable. Download this white paper to find out how the strong segregation capability available with the application proxy technology of the WatchGuard® Firebox® X family of UTM appliances is ideally suited to meeting these standards. Use the handy tables included at the end of the white paper to track the specific PCI DSS requirements met with a Firebox X deployment.

In a Hurry?

Download the two page summary of our PCI compliance white paper. You’ll have a handy checklist of PCI requirements, each mapping to the specific Firebox capabilities that ensure your network meets the standards. For more detailed analysis of PCI compliance, download the full white paper.

When Corporate Network Safety Starts at Employees' Homes

Protecting Your Network from Home Wireless Hackers

With the increasing sophistication and ease with which hackers attack, IT managers must train their end users on wireless security, specifying wireless router hardware and configuration settings, and in some cases, providing firewall/VPN endpoint appliances (managed from the data center) for key employees' in-home use. This white paper covers eight essential tips for nailing down security for off-site wireless users. Share it with your remote users today to help them work from home safely.

Extensible Threat Management from WatchGuard

An Overview of XTM

Unified threat management (UTM) spawned a new era of IT security. The promise of these integrated security appliances proved to be an exceptional and efficient way of securing commercial networks. Businesses today face an inflection point, with changing market trends and new technologies that demand more of today’s UTM. Hence the need is for eXtensible threat management (XTM) solutions, the next generation of UTM appliances. This paper provides an overview of these issues and the WatchGuard® perspective on "extensibility" and XTM.

Trusted Identities, Managed Access

Implementing an Identity and Access Management Strategy for the Mobile Enterprise

In the past, most organizations have taken a piecemeal approach to deploying mobile identity and access management through VPNs, authentication, or single sign-on products. WatchGuard SSL solutions bring it all together by providing a central administration console that manages all aspects of identity and access control, including endpoint and mid-point integrity, clientless VPN, single sign-on and federated identities, authentication, policy management, and auditing. Read how this adds up to powerful protection and reduced administration costs for your business.

Secure Remote Access

Give users "in office" remote access—anytime, anywhere

Increasing productivity is essential in the global race for innovation and market share. Connecting users to the resources they need when they're out of the office, securely, is essential to driving productivity while protecting the corporate network. WatchGuard® SSL solutions provide secure access to more network resources from more types of mobile devices than any other product in its class. It delivers an "in-office" experience from any location to ensure maximum productivity for your workers on the go.

True Zero Day Protection: The Only Defense Against Evolving Security Threats

Zero day attacks can pass undetected through conventional signature-based network defenses. The actual number of infections is staggering, and dealing with them burdens IT departments and impacts corporate bottom lines. This white paper explains the mechanisms behind zero day threats and shows how the WatchGuard approach of combining application proxy firewall and intelligent layered security offers protection from zero day attacks, providing strong protection for critical business networks.

Producing Your Network Security Policy

This paper lays out a common-sense approach to writing corporate security policies that makes them easier to draft, maintain, and enforce. Our "question and answer" approach requires no outside consultants. Instead, you can use your in-house knowledge and resources to yield a brief, usable, and — most importantly — understandable policy document, in a reasonable amount of time.

Security for the Wireless Network

From businesses and homes to public spaces, it's easier than ever to work using Wi-Fi connections. Wi-Fi is convenient and cost-effective, but wireless networks' security implications can quickly nullify any benefits that they may offer: a business working with sensitive or private information and operating on an insecure network can open itself up to serious litigation in the event of a security breach. This white paper examines common wireless security controls, current hacker tricks, and recent legislative responses to Internet crime. And so you're not left up the wireless security creek, we give you specific steps you can take to avoid the risks.

Unified Threat Management: How to Stop Spyware, Spam, Viruses, and Other Malicious Attacks

Keeping corporate networks safe is more challenging every year, and network security has become one of the most critical issues facing businesses today. New and ever-changing threats appear with alarming regularity, and no organization is immune from risk. So what's a network to do? The answer lies in Unified Threat Management (UTM), in which multi-layered security works in conjunction with signature-based solutions and other capabilities to provide solid, comprehensive protection against complex threats.