New security guidelines could help companies with insider threats: Security expert
Bloomberg via Getty Images Security experts say the new guidelines for companies to use proxy servers could help the companies fight insider threats.
In a statement released Tuesday, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said that it is working on an updated list of proxy servers and will be issuing the new guidance “in coming months.”
The FCC’s rules will take effect on January 31, 2020.
The guidelines will include “information on how companies should use proxies, the requirements for using proxy servers, and other elements to protect the information that is stored in the proxy server,” the FCC said.
Companies that use proxy services to access networks could be fined if they violate the new rules.
“If you’re using a proxy server to access a private network or otherwise, your company must make sure that all the traffic to and from that network is secured, including by using a VPN, SSL tunnel, proxy, or other secure means,” the statement said.
The FCC said that the agency would be publishing the new proxy rules “to help businesses and other organizations better manage the use of proxy services.”
“These rules will ensure that companies have the best security protections to protect their business secrets,” the agency said.
Companies must use the proxy service that is listed on the proxy website or service to connect to the network.
When they connect, they must have a VPN connection, an encrypted VPN connection or a secure connection, the FCC statement said, adding that these options “may not always be available to customers.”
The FCC has already begun publishing guidelines for VPNs.
Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and Facebook all recently announced that they would begin using VPNs to connect customers to their networks.
There is no requirement for companies that use VPNs that connect to their corporate networks to have those companies’ servers or servers located within their own corporate network, the agency has said.