Insecurity in Geneva: "We expect to lose tourists'"

The image of Geneva security is deteriorating rapidly. So much so that Chinese tour operators have announced they will abandon the city register in their program. One example among many that worried Philippe Vignon, Director of Geneva Tourism.Philippe Vignon, you receive many complaints from tourists?

Tourists are particularly targeted by petty criminals in Geneva, compared to other cities in the world. Past two years we have concrete feedback from customers who complain directly to tour operators in the Middle East, China, India and even Brazil. However, it is the most promising markets and on which we invest.

The consequences do they feel?The Embassy of Japan in Geneva Switzerland has come last among the riskiest cities in the world. The Chinese embassy in Bern has sent its entire network, 23 April, that Switzerland is not as safe, Geneva is the only city mentioned! A dozen Chinese tour operators to give up now integrate their tour in Geneva in Switzerland. Social networks can also be very painful.

In October 2011, the CEO of Google China, which has 13.5 million "followers" on his Twitter account, has announced that he had been stealing his business here. An English blogger wrote these last days: "Geneva is not a safe place."

These examples only confirm what is perceived for a long time. This is a very clear signal!That is to say?We see that among the actors of the tourism industry abroad there is a sharp deterioration in the perception of security conditions in Geneva. Consequently, Geneva can no longer rely on its image as a haven of tranquility that attracted so many tourists.This is worrisome.

Does Geneva sees tourists flee?Taking the example of the Chinese, who are expected to reach 50,000 visitors in 2012, we expect to lose between 10,000 and 15,000 this year.Prevention could it be enhanced, rather than let visitors leave with a bad memory?The challenge is to strike a balance.

When we sell the assets of Geneva tour operators, it is not possible to speak of insecurity. And other destinations benefit from this course to recover market ... Once in Geneva, our Home Department & Info offers advice to visitors, as security. We distribute flyers about the monte.

We also twenty "tourist angels" that run during the summer to meet tourists and especially warn. There is also a lot of work done by the hotels. But too much prevention would fuel the perception of insecurity in Geneva, it is considered out of control already.Would you support a fixed police presence in tourist areas?

In Paris, we see buses of riot police and it works. A constant and visible police presence at the Cornavin station would have the advantage of reassuring. When the Geneva citizens create a militia against the monte, it is true that there is a ras-le-bol. This is a sign of loss of control.

Do you have any doubts about the safety of social networking?

Warranty on social networks? Not really says 80% of Internet users surveyed by Avira. The fear is based on the use of private information without explicit consent, but also imperfect protection that encourages hackers to steal data for use course tort.

Chief among the defendants, they cite + Google and Facebook. And you suspect you also social networks well enough not to protect your information? Give us your feedback by filling out this survey.

From crime, there are still too fatalistic

"Too many people do not take all reasonable steps to protect themselves against crime. There are still too fatalistic. "Pierre-Olivier Gaudard directs the Crime Prevention Division at the cantonal police, on which the monitoring networks established in partnership with the people.The goal is that every citizen should learn to detect risky situations and adopt some basic reflexes giving it better security. The concept is celebrating its 20th anniversary.

Vaud Canton is still the only one to have established this collaboration system imported from England for burglary prevention. But interest continues to grow elsewhere, particularly in Geneva and Swiss German.Collaborative successPercent Vaud communes have now joined the organization. They indicate to the visitor by panels very explicit. Associated with the word "population", the term "police", understandable in all languages, clearly announces the color.

It took nearly twenty years proves that the only blunder of the formula, purely semantic. The original name of "buddy" in fact contained some ambiguity - it could suggest that spies on his neighbor. It has just been abandoned, to retain only "Police-population" (Popul).

"We want to leave the strict confines of burglaries, the police said. It is inviting people to reflect on a more holistic view of crime. "For example, members of networks set up in collaboration with local authorities are regularly informed of the arrival of a new internet scam .Even in Lausanne?"Police-population" is a concept of proximity that seems destined to local small and medium importance. It resembles, however, more densely populated areas and cities. The issue has even been put on the carpet to the Municipal Council of Lausanne.

Nothing prohibits the establishment of such networks, provided they are granted in the means.What benefit in twenty years of existence? "The practical effects are of course difficult to measure. How do you know if a home has not been broken because he was being watched, or if it is because it happened between the drops ... "Pierre-Olivier Gaudard emphasizes that it is the very long-term results can occur. He believes that Popul brings a sense of community feel stronger. "If people learn to better protect themselves, while their region becomes less attractive to burglars, and they will soon realize it." All indications, however, that we are still far away.

"I am always amazed at how few doors of buildings are protected. Will see in Paris ... "In terms of basic reflexes, the concern I hear most often is the interpretation of self-defense. "This is a false debate, said the policeman. First, because self defense is a highly codified concept. Secondly, because many people have great difficulty if they were to fight with the burglars. "To those who do not want to remain completely passive when they hear something suspicious in their home, police said that he is often sufficient to activate lights or make noise to drive away the thief.

Security: a hotline to denounce police abuse

114 may be called at any time for free, from all telephone networks operating in the DRC. The number operates 24 hours 24 is made available to the public since May 29, to learn about the abuses committed by certain officers of the order. By launching this service, the General Inspectorate of the Congolese National Police (PNC) has recommended to all who live in the country and who will be victims of abuse from a police officer to call at any time and from any network.

However, the population was also warned against the false denunciations. "We must not falsely accuse the police. Do not use it to tell his life, "warned Gen. Constantin Mudekereza who urged people to make good use of this instrument available to him for his safety. He, cons, announced measures to protect the service against misuse. "The population has time to communicate his complaint and it will not abuse it, because we know when we can cut this communication," he warned.

Vice Minister of the Interior and Security, Aegis Kongoso, has, meanwhile, promised exemplary sanctions against PNC refractory to discipline and the laws of the Republic by this service because they are now under close surveillance.

A partnership with the UN mission

This service is a partnership between the PNC and the UN mission in DRC (Monusco). The latter will continue to help, according to officials of the National Police, in the monitoring of all the corners where the police would have behaved badly.

Monusco, by the head of its police, Wafi Abdallah, reaffirmed the desire to support the PNC in the process of reform of the security sector in the DRC.

Recall that another toll on 081 080 0012, had also been commissioned since 2011 by the National Network of organizations defending human rights in the DRC and the Joint United Nations Office for the right of the man to fight against all violations of human rights.

FireMon provides the first comprehensive solution for managing security posture of the industry

FireMon, a leading provider of solutions in terms of risk analysis and security management, today announced the launch of FireMon Security Manager 6.0. This major upgrade is the first solution for managing security policies and postures of the industry that fully integrates the comprehensive risk analysis to configuration management, application and control of network devices such as firewalls firewall, routers, switches and load balancers. This gives businesses, government agencies and providers of managed security services (FSSG) unparalleled visibility to understand the extent of the vulnerability of businesses and prioritize the proactive defense of critical assets, while being assured that their security infrastructure is devoid of human errors and inconsistencies between policies and protection.

The wave of discussion and excitement on the firewall of the new generation (PFNG) and infrastructure security has overshadowed a shocking lack of visibility regarding the domino effect of change - software patches to changes in access through the deployment of new systems - that can create vulnerabilities silent throughout a network. The staff responsible for daily security operations is challenged to understand the interdependencies in a quagmire of complex old and new hardware and software, and the implications and potential errors they represent. For example, last month, Medicaid and Social Security information of 780 000 citizens of Utah were exposed due to misconfiguration and access control ineffective.

Even for companies that have implemented some level of management policies / configurations, the deluge of data and the ability to trace the paths and assets at risk remains a challenge for many. The solution lies in the ability to identify, assess and address automatically change impact or a misconfiguration on controls and security policies in real time, and combine this with mechanisms that incorporate a comprehensive risk analysis to provide quantifiable and actionable information in order to focus on the most critical issues.

FireMon Security Manager provides policy management and configuration, as well as enforcement and monitoring of network devices including firewalls, routers, switches and load balancers while monitoring and alerting in case of configuration changes. Security Manager also assesses the current configuration settings and controls by comparing them with best practices and compliance standards - and offers extensive options to address configuration problems.

With the addition of a new patented motor Risk Analysis, Security Manager can now analyze the accessibility of any vulnerability to sources of threats, by measuring the impact, depth and the risk of a potential attack . The?? Integration enables Security Manager to evaluate, visualize and simulate attack paths across the network to help security teams to quantify risks and prioritize remediation. In addition to the vulnerabilities detected by traditional scanners Vulnerability Assessment (VA) conventional, Security Manager can also incorporate the results of penetration testing with Metasploit Rapid7 and proven performance to factors in its risk rating. Engine technology risk analysis, obtained through the acquisition in April 2011 the young company MIT Lincoln Labs, Saperix Technologies, is deployed for over a decade, is used in demanding areas of civil and Defense and technology is automated risk analysis fastest and most flexible on the market today.

Change management of firewall

The combination of new applications and new users, network evolution and new threats are a source of many evils for IT staff and security. How these teams should they then work together to eliminate the risk in environments in constant change?

By Mark Henry Guy, Regional Director EMEA AlgoSec.

"Our only security is our ability to change," wrote John Lilly, the American philosopher and physician. But talk to a security manager under pressure or a CIO, and they will tell you they gladly accept much less change if they got more security.

In other areas of IT, such as that of integrated enterprise resource systems, will continue to operate effectively, without major intervention for long periods of time. But security, each new hire, each patch or software upgrade and update each of the network open a security hole and increase the risk exposure of the organization. This situation becomes even more complicated in large organizations, which may have a mixed field of security including firewalls traditional firewall and next generation of virtual firewalls provided by different suppliers, all with hundreds of Thousands of policies and rules.

Then there is the rapid and unexpected, often requested by members of the Executive Committee to access resources or specific functions. In some cases, these changes are made in haste (after all, who can refuse a request for a supervisor because he wants to access, immediately, to the network with its new Tablet PC?), Without sufficient analysis of whether the change is authorized under the existing security policies, or creates a new source of exposure to risk.

If we add to these concerns the internal growing number of external threats, malware, social engineering exploits and hackers, it is not surprising that IT and security teams believe the change, although that inevitable, their launches many more challenges than they would like.
So how IT and security teams should they work together to manage change and better control the security issues associated with it? How should they deal with updating their infrastructure and their complex security policies to ensure simultaneously a better system availability and better security?

In the same boat

The first step is to ensure that IT teams and those of security work in harmony with each other. In many large companies, operational and administrative tasks can be performed routinely by different teams of those who deal with security risks and tasks. Although both teams generally tend towards the same objectives, the decisions of one can cause problems for the other - as in the previous example, the executive who wants to add its new Tablet PC to the network. Sometimes these situations can be handled in a hurry to get rid of them, with the intention to treat security issues later. But if the latter is crucial, it can be neglected.

It is therefore useful to recognize that these potential pitfalls exist and to implement measures to improve coordination between different teams. If you can not always predict exactly when users request to add new devices to the network, you can certainly prepare a routine process to meet these requests as and when they occur. Gather the two teams to prepare roadmaps for dealing with such situations - as well as other situations "listed" such as updates to the network, the gels changes, and audits - helps reduce the risk of These changes open up security vulnerabilities.

A clearer

To establish these roadmaps, it is essential to understand the topology of your network, which can be extremely complex enterprise environments in multi-site. Where are the main channels and choke points for traffic flow computer? Where are the potential vulnerabilities? How are configured firewalls on the network, and what policies and safety rules, operating on these devices?

The answers to these questions will help you identify and target areas with potential security holes. However, the pace of infrastructure changes under way - not to mention the speed at which external threats are evolving - means that manual assessments and periodic risk and network are simply more frequent enough to allow staff to arrive to follow.

In addition to being able to visualize your network, you must be able, in near real time, to respond to network problems and quick access to all types of firewalls and to apply changes in a way that is both consistent with security policies and fully verifiable. This requires the automation of these critical tasks consuming labor.

Automation for IT staff

Why automate these tasks? Simply put, organizations can not afford not to automate. In 2011, leaders of the IT and security were interviewed about their * management problems of firewalls. 66% said that human error was the main cause of failure of network security - in other words, simple errors made when evaluating the application or "manual" rules of firewalls or policies.

Respondents also said that it is the management of firewalls that asked the biggest investment of time while causing as many disruptions in the networks. 73% cited a large number of changes as the main reason for their investment of time in the management of security gateways. The survey clearly identified several needs: an overview, dashboards, security issues, information on availability issues and compliance, reduced human error, and prioritized actions for reduce critical risks.

The automation allows teams to take control and not simply fighting fires being tossed between incidents. The right solution can help teams to track traffic or potential connectivity problems. It highlights areas of risk, the current state of compliance with the policies in mixed environments including traditional firewalls, those of the next generation and virtual. It can also automatically identify precisely the features that require changes, and show how to design and implement this change, the safest way.

An automated solution enables easier management and more predictable change firewalls in large environments with multiple teams. Because it is the solution itself that does the most work, it also frees up time to manage security tasks more strategic as well as compliance. An additional advantage comes from optimizing the performance of firewalls and gateways. Remember that firewalls generally treat their sets of rules sequentially until they find one that matches the traffic. How many rules have been added to your firewall during these years? Extending the number of sets of rules degrades performance. By cleaning up unused rules of your firewall, and prioritizing rules that are most frequently used, you reduce the amount of processing that the device should do.

Thus, the constant changes should not be a nightmare for IT staff and for those of security. The ability to better manage change afforded by automation can make a real difference to the security of a company.

Certificate in Cyber ​​networks at the Polytechnic

Increase in attacks against government sites and industrial intrusions, hacking, viruses, Trojan horses ... more and more threats on computer networks today.

Identify, prevent these hazards, provide knowledge and develop skills to handle these events are the objectives ducertificat cybersecurity computer networks that the Centre for Continuing Education will offer Polytechnique Montreal in the fall of 2012.

Advanced investigative techniques to the legal aspects through specific risks related to telecommunications, smart phones and prototypes of the future, training will cover a broad spectrum of this emerging field.

The program is open to stakeholders from the private and public who wish to preserve network security of their organization.

Courses will be offered online, which will serve clients located outside of Montreal.

More details here.