An organization routes all of its traffic through a VPN.
Most users are remote and connect into a corporate datacenter that houses confidential information.
There is a firewall at the Internet border, followed by a DLP appliance, the VPN server, and the datacenter itself.
Which of the following is the WEAKEST design element?
A.
The DLP appliance should be integrated into a NGFW B.
Split-tunnel connections can negatively impact the DLP appliance's performance C.
Encrypted VPN traffic will not be inspected when entering or leaving the network D.
Adding two hops in the VPN tunnel may slow down remote connections.
C.
An organization routes all of its traffic through a VPN.
Most users are remote and connect into a corporate datacenter that houses confidential information.
There is a firewall at the Internet border, followed by a DLP appliance, the VPN server, and the datacenter itself.
Which of the following is the WEAKEST design element?
A.
The DLP appliance should be integrated into a NGFW
B.
Split-tunnel connections can negatively impact the DLP appliance's performance
C.
Encrypted VPN traffic will not be inspected when entering or leaving the network
D.
Adding two hops in the VPN tunnel may slow down remote connections.
C.
The weakest design element in this scenario is option C: Encrypted VPN traffic will not be inspected when entering or leaving the network.
The VPN is designed to encrypt all traffic that passes through it, including any sensitive data that needs to be protected from eavesdropping and interception. While encryption is essential for protecting sensitive data, it can also be a weakness if it prevents security devices from inspecting the traffic for potential threats.
In this case, the DLP (Data Loss Prevention) appliance is designed to detect and prevent the leakage of sensitive data from the corporate network. However, because the VPN encrypts all traffic, the DLP appliance will not be able to inspect the traffic passing through the VPN. This means that any potential data leakage or exfiltration via the VPN will not be detected, which weakens the overall security of the system.
Option A, "The DLP appliance should be integrated into a NGFW," is a good design element because it suggests integrating the DLP appliance into a next-generation firewall (NGFW), which can inspect encrypted traffic. This would ensure that the DLP appliance is able to detect any potential data leakage or exfiltration via the VPN.
Option B, "Split-tunnel connections can negatively impact the DLP appliance's performance," is also a valid design element because split-tunnel connections allow users to access both local and remote resources simultaneously, potentially bypassing the DLP appliance. This can weaken the effectiveness of the DLP appliance and lead to potential data leakage or exfiltration.
Option D, "Adding two hops in the VPN tunnel may slow down remote connections," is not a significant design weakness as it may be necessary to route traffic through additional hops for security or performance reasons. However, it is important to ensure that the added hops do not introduce additional vulnerabilities or weaken the security of the system.