Former White House CIO Theresa Payton. Photo: Cybercrime Magazine.

2-Minute Video: Former White House CIO On Firewall Safety

Three simple tips for a strong security posture

Steven T. Kroll

Northport, N.Y. – Jun. 21, 2019

Theresa Payton is a globetrotting cybersecurity CEO, author, keynote speaker, and actress. Her company, Fortalice Solutions — a cybersecurity intelligence and operations provider — has been on the front lines of hundreds of incident responses.

This week, Theresa talks about fine-tuning your firewalls, one of the easiest ways to maintain a strong security posture, with some quick and easy do-it-yourself tips.

For starters, take a look at the anti-spoofing rules and make sure you’re following proper procedures. Doing that adds another layer of defense for all the spoofed messages, emails, and domains that are getting through your filter.



If you can’t find the rules, Theresa advises reading the SANS firewall audit checklist and checking it against your system to make sure it is top-notch.  

Sometimes adjustments are made to get products running or to add a new app or vendor. Very often, most people forget to reset the rules in the right way. In this case, using an interim authority agreement will set a date to return to the original policy. But be sure to mark it on your calendar.

Watch Theresa’s 2-minute video for takeaways to strengthen your firewalls. Your networks will be a lot safer with her expert advice.

Stay tuned for more tips from Theresa.

Theresa Payton Archives

Steven T. Kroll is a public relations specialist and staff writer at Cybercrime Magazine.