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Migrating to Windows Vista:
Recognize the Security Risks
A MessageLabs White Paper
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Table of Contents
Introduction: A Security Challenge
3
Key Considerations
4
Security Priorities
5
MessageLabs: Providing Effective Protection
6
Make Migration Easy: Take the Next Step!
7
2
Introduction: A Security Challenge
Windows Vista has arrived. To a huge fanfare, Microsoft’s much-anticipated new
operating system was finally launched on January 30 th 2007.
Set to replace Windows XP on most PCs, Vista’s developers claim the system is the
most secure platform ever produced. And there’s absolutely no doubt that Microsoft
has invested an enormous amount of time, effort and money in Vista’s security.
Hackers are
lining up to test
Vista’s defenses
and, if possible,
to collapse it.
Inevitably, though, hackers are lining up to test the new system’s defenses and, if
possible, to collapse it. History shows that they will stop at nothing to probe for
weaknesses and exploit whatever vulnerabilities they can find.
So what does this mean for your organization? With electronic communications
absolutely vital to your operations, exactly what are the messaging and web-related
risks involved in migrating to Microsoft Vista? Above all, can you ensure that you are
comprehensively protected against viruses, trojans, spam, spyware, phishing and
other malicious malware which will try to seize on the slightest chink to disrupt and
damage your business? Remember, malware can bring down networks and steal
confidential information, with serious implications for your business continuity and your
reputation, in addition to the financial cost of cleaning infected systems.
This MessageLabs White Paper looks at the implications of migrating to Vista in terms
of messaging and web security, and summarizes key issues you urgently need to
consider. It also highlights the comprehensive, cost-effective solution that
MessageLabs can provide, a solution that can successfully bypass the problems and
ensure you complete peace of mind during the migration process.
The information presented in this document is based on our hands-on experience of
providing proven messaging and web security management services, via 11 data
centers on four continents, for over 15,000 clients worldwide with around 1.5 billion
emails processed each week on their behalf.
3
Key Considerations
No fewer than 90 million new computers are set to be released with Windows Vista as
their primary operating system, with up to three times as many existing laptops
scheduled for migration in the course of 2007.
This process will take place against a general IT background where concerns about
messaging and web security have never been higher, as malware continues to wreak
havoc on corporate networks worldwide. Indeed, threats are growing more targeted
and sophisticated, combining with browser vulnerabilities, for instance, to make
malware harder to detect and more difficult to remove once a network has been
infected.
Are you sure
your security
solution will be
compatible with
Vista?
When migrating to Microsoft Vista, you should give serious consideration to a wide
range of top-level issues, all of which have important implications for your
organization’s messaging and web security:
• Are you sure your current security solution will be compatible with Vista?
• Will Vista’s new features interfere with your current solution?
• How much network and/or company downtime will be necessary during migration?
• Will you receive security updates, releases and signatures for Vista in a timely
manner?
• Will you have enough bandwidth to support updates and patches from Microsoft and
other vendors?
• Will your current security solution be able to deliver functions such as host-based
intrusion prevention and tamper protection?
• Will migration lead to operating system dependence that limits your choice of
software and hardware?
As well as these broad questions, there are a number of more specific potential
security problems to consider which include:
• Possible browser flaws that could make it feasible for attackers to inject rogue
software into Vista-based computers
• Bugs in the software code that might result in web users becoming infected with
malware simply as a result of visiting malicious websites
• Issues relating to operational plug-ins and laptop battery lifespan
• The possibility that Vista could crash when faced with attacks utilizing infected files
to deliver their payloads
Failure to take effective steps to address such issues and maintain the integrity of your
network could have extremely serious ramifications for your organization.
4
Security Priorities
Summarized below are some of the key security concerns that it is imperative to take
into account when migrating to Vista:
- Kernel Security
The kernel of an operating system is critical to its success. All other programs depend
on it, so a glitch in the kernel can make them crash or perform unexpectedly. However,
Vista’s PatchGuard is a contentious kernel protection technology, with several third-
party security vendors claiming it prevents them from updating their security solution
software. Although many vendors will have a chance to make submissions to the final
version of Microsoft’s APIs (Application Program Interfaces) when they become
available in Vista’s Service Pack 1, they are worried that their software and hardware
may face difficulties until the pack is released in mid-2007 (see next subsection).
In the meantime, vendors may try kernel patching. The aim of such software may be
laudable, but it could cause reliability and performance problems. The greatest risk,
though, is from virus and spyware writers who produce and disseminate kernel
patches that actually contain hidden malware. While Vista includes many brand-new
security features, kernel patch protection isn’t one of them.
- Delayed Service Packs
Serious risks
could result from
the delayed
release of Vista
Service Packs
and product
features
Serious risks could result from the delayed release of Vista Service Packs and product
features. Leaving your system unprotected, such delays could lead to intrusions and
application modifications by viruses, worms, trojans, spyware and adware, for
instance. Depending on how your system accepts and distributes product releases,
you may also need to consider bandwidth implications.
Furthermore, with third-party security vendors and Microsoft releasing new products
and updates at the same time, hackers can be expected to send out “releases” that
actually contain hidden malware. You should be on your guard against anything you
receive from any source that you don’t trust implicitly.
- Rootkit Attacks
Rootkits are a type of malware that costs global business millions of dollars each year.
They often try to gain access to an operating system’s kernel and can actually hide
themselves from the file system and from anti-malware tools, and ultimately from the
PC user’s view. This is crucial, where Vista is concerned, because hackers specifically
search for vulnerabilities in new operating systems that will lead to open doors to the
kernel. Ensuring effective, uninterrupted defense against rootkit attacks is therefore a
priority.
- Remote Command Attacks
Hackers may use remote command attacks to access and elevate privileges, for
example, or even to target Vista's kernel, which may cause a system to shut down
completely. The key weapon used by hackers to unleash this threat is malware hidden
in an email or a web page, so your organization can be vulnerable as a result of your
employees surfing the web, downloading email attachments and disabling pop-up
blockers, unless adequate security measures are in place.
- Undocumented IP protocols
An internet protocol (IP) suite is basically a set of layers, with each layer solving a set
of problems involving the transmission of data. Upper layers rely on lower layers to
translate data into forms that can eventually be transmitted. In Vista, undocumented
protocols with no known purpose in the product and problems with some new protocols
deep within the operating system represent potential areas of vulnerability. Specifically,
the use of Vista’s Internet Protocol Version 6, standard in Windows to support new file-
sharing applications could allow firewall tunneling and other outside attacks because
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