Protect critical data and maintain uptime with Cisco ASDM and Cisco Security Agent 

• Understand how attacks can impact your business and the different ways attacks can occur
• Learn about the defense-in-depth model for deploying firewall and host protection
• Examine navigation methods and features of Cisco ASDM
• Set up Cisco ASA, PIX Firewall, and ASDM hardware and software
• Use the Cisco ASDM startup wizard to safely connect your network to the Internet and securely add public devices such as mail and web servers to your network
• Authenticate firewall users and users of public web servers
• Filter traffic and protect your network from perimeter attacks
• Deploy Cisco Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) to provide more granular traffic inspection and proactive threat response
• Stop attacks launched at the desktop by deploying Cisco Security Agent
• Extend the defense-in-depth model to remote users through IPSec virtual private networks (VPN)
• Enhance your security posture through proper security management
• Understand the advanced features available in the Cisco PIX version 7 operating system
• Recover from software failure with Cisco PIX version 7

Many people view security as a "black-box-voodoo" technology that is very sophisticated and intimidating. While that might have been true a few years ago, vendors have been successful in reducing the complexity and bringing security to a point where almost anyone with a good understanding of technology can deploy network security.

Securing Your Business with Cisco ASA and PIX Firewalls is an extension of the work to simplify security deployment. This easy-to-use guide helps you craft and deploy a defense-in-depth solution featuring the newly released Cisco ASA and PIX version 7 as well as Cisco Security Agent host intrusion prevention software. The book simplifies configuration and management of these powerful security devices by discussing how to use Cisco Adaptive Security Device Manager (ASDM), which provides security management and monitoring services through an intuitive GUI with integrated online help and intelligent wizards to simplify setup and ongoing management. In addition, informative, real-time, and historical reports provide critical insight into usage trends, performance baselines, and security events. Complete with real-world security design and implementation advice, this book contains everything you need to know to deploy the latest security technology in your network.

Securing Your Business with Cisco ASA and PIX Firewalls provides you with complete step-by-step processes for using Cisco ASDM in conjunction with Cisco Security Agent to ensure that your security posture is strong enough to stand up against any network or host attack whether sourced from the Internet or from inside your own network.

"Firewalls are a critical part of any integrated network security strategy, and books such as this will help raise awareness of both the threats inherent in today's open, heterogeneous internetworking environments and the solutions that can be applied to make the Internet a safer place."

--Martin E. Hellman, professor emeritus of Electrical Engineering,

Stanford University and co-inventor of public key cryptography

This security book is part of the Cisco Press Networking Technology Series. Security titles from Cisco Press help networking professionals secure critical data and resources, prevent and mitigate network attacks, and build end-to-end self-defending networks. 

Table of Contents

Foreword

Introduction

Part I   Network Security and the ASA/PIX Security Appliance

Chapter 1   Internet Security 101

Network Attacks: A Serious Problem

Rising Security Incidents

Hacking Tools

Assessing Your Vulnerability to Network Attacks

Attack Impact

Tangible Costs

Intangible Costs

Government Network Security Regulations

Attackers

Motivation for Attacks

Anatomy of a Computer Attack

Choosing Victims

Protecting Yourself and Your Business

Developing a Security Policy

Summary

Chapter 2   Principles of Network Defense

Understanding Defense in Depth

Stopping a Computer Attack

Defense-in-Depth Implementation Details

Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting

Perimeter Security

Network Intrusion Prevention

Host Intrusion Prevention

Additional Security Best Practices

Remote-Access Defense

Security Management of the ASA/PIX Security Appliance

Summary

Chapter 3   Getting Started with the ASA/PIX Security Appliance

Cisco ASA/PIX Security Appliance Overview

Denial-of-Service Protection

Traffic Filtering

Interface Isolation (DMZ Deployment)

Stateful Traffic Inspection

Application Inspection

User Authentication

Intrusion Prevention

Secure Management

Event Logging

Models

PIX 515E

PIX 525

PIX 535

Cisco ASA 5510 Security Appliance

Cisco ASA 5520 Security Appliance

Cisco ASA 5540 Security Appliance

Installing the ASA/PIX Security Appliance

Understanding the ASA/PIX Hardware Ports

Installing Power

Booting the ASA/PIX Security Appliance

Troubleshooting