Allow List, Permit List

18th December 2019 | Cybrary

An Allow list, also known as a Permit List or (deprecated: White List), is a list of entities that are considered trustworthy and are granted access or privileges. Allow lists may be used to authenticate users managing Firewalls as these IP addresses are allowed to manage this firewall. Other times, allow lists are users to permit certain software to run on a computer system while all others are blocked. Finally, some web filtering software works by permitting access to named websites through an allow List.

An allow list is based on a strict policy set and is managed by an IT administrator. When the administrator is confident about access permissions, using an allow list does not require an additional understanding of elements that aren’t allowed since they are denied by default.

What Does This Mean For Your SMB or MSP?

Allow lists can provide a cheap and easy way to provide a second factor of protection for managing certain administrative interfaces in your organization. Using allow lists to grant access to websites online or the software one can run inside your organization is not advisable according to CyberHoot in all but the most security-minded, government-protected entities. If you need this level of security, you may want to use a 3rd party tool like carbon black or similar software.

Additional Cybersecurity Recommendations

Additionally, these recommendations below will help you and your business stay secure with the various threats you may face on a day-to-day basis. All of the suggestions listed below can be gained by hiring CyberHoot’s vCISO Program development services.

Govern employees with policies and procedures. You need a password policy, an acceptable use policy, an information handling policy, and a written information security program (WISP) at a minimum.
Train employees on how to spot and avoid phishing attacks. Adopt a Learning Management system like CyberHoot to teach employees the skills they need to be more confident, productive, and secure.
Test employees with Phishing attacks to practice. CyberHoot’s Phish testing allows businesses to test employees with believable phishing attacks and put those that fail into remedial phish training.
Deploy critical cybersecurity technology including two-factor authentication on all critical accounts. Enable email SPAM filtering, validate backups, deploy DNS protection, antivirus, and anti-malware on all your endpoints.
In the modern Work-from-Home era, make sure you’re managing personal devices connecting to your network by validating their security (patching, antivirus, DNS protections, etc) or prohibiting their use entirely.
If you haven’t had a risk assessment by a 3rd party in the last 2 years, you should have one now. Establishing a risk management framework in your organization is critical to addressing your most egregious risks with your finite time and money.
Buy Cyber-Insurance to protect you in a catastrophic failure situation. Cyber-Insurance is no different than Car, Fire, Flood, or Life insurance. It’s there when you need it most.

All of these recommendations are built into CyberHoot the product or CyberHoot’s vCISO Services. With CyberHoot you can govern, train, assess, and test your employees. Visit CyberHoot.com and sign up for our services today. At the very least continue to learn by enrolling in our monthly Cybersecurity newsletters to stay on top of current cybersecurity updates.