InfosecMag Article: The Maginot Network

M. W. Meyer and Eric Sager write in the April 2006 issue of Information Securtiy Magazine (free subscription required) about the Maginot Network. Making a comparison to the Maginot Line of defense built by the French. There is a comparison with our current network firewall defenses. Sure its fortified, but you can just drive around it and attack the soft inside.

The authors advise hardening the endpoints first and using perimeter security as as secondary tactic. Instead of a self-defending network, we need self defending clients. They argue that the primary means of protection should be HIPS, client firewalls, encryption, forensic agents and client hardening. There is a need for communication between your devices in case of attack.