GPUs would make terrific network monitors

The task of monitoring networks requires reading all the data packets as they cross the network, which “requires a lot of data parallelism,” Wenji said.

Wenji has built a prototype at Fermilab to demonstrate the feasibility of a GPU-based network monitor, using a Nvidia M2070 GPU and an off-the-shelf NIC (network interface card) to capture network traffic. The system could easily be expanded with additional GPUs, he said.

via Super Computing 13: GPUs would make terrific network monitors – Network World.

Five Indicators To Watch For On Your Networks

First, companies need to monitor the right logs, including data from firewalls, virtual private networking (VPN) appliances, Web proxies and DNS servers. Next, the security team must collect data on what “normal” looks like inside the company’s network. Third, analysts must identify the indicators of attacks in their log files. Finally, the security group must have a procedure for responding to incidents identified by log analysis.

via Five Indicators To Watch For On Your Networks — Dark Reading.

How Skype & Co. get round firewalls

Network administrators who do not appreciate this sort of hole in their firewall and are worried about abuse, are left with only one option – they have to block outgoing UDP traffic, or limit it to essential individual cases. UDP is not required for normal internet communication anyway – the web, e-mail and suchlike all use TCP. Streaming protocols may, however, encounter problems, as they often use UDP because of the reduced overhead.

via How Skype & Co. get round firewalls – The H Security: News and Features.