Creeva’s World 2.0

Recently I’ve been put forth to design a kiosk solu­tion for our inter­nal envi­ron­ment.   This is the first part of my kiosk series which is going to exam­ine test­ing and deploy­ment of such a system.

Kiosk Options

When dis­cussing kiosk sys­tem we need to dis­cuss the scope, secu­rity issues, and func­tion­al­ity require­ments that we must main­tain to achieve a suc­cess­ful deploy­ment.   There are many types of kiosk sys­tems that we can imple­ment within the Com­pany net­work.   The solu­tions we are going to describe in this doc­u­ment are based on prod­uct lit­er­a­ture that we have received after scope is final­ized actual prod­uct test­ing will be done so we can ver­ify that all the fea­tures work as described and will func­tion within the deployed environment.

For the sake of cat­e­go­riza­tion the fol­low­ing options were iden­ti­fied as pos­si­ble for use within a kiosk envi­ron­ment.   This list is not meant to be all encom­pass­ing but rather a list of desired fea­tures that we feel can be accom­plished from the prod­ucts we are look­ing at.

·    Inter­nal Web­sites – com­pany Des­ig­nated
·    Exter­nal Web­sites – Com­pletely open from a kiosk stand­point
·    SSL VPN – For access to the inter­nal net­work
·    Cit­rix – for ter­mi­nal server capa­bil­i­ties
·    Print­ing – locally attached print
·    Sound – for hear­ing active embed­ded media
·    USB Mount­ing – for USB mem­ory sticks
·    Run Apps Locally (Read Only) – from either the mem­ory stick or kiosk directly
·    Run Apps Locally (Read / Write) – from either the mem­ory stick or kiosk directly
·    Write to USB Mem­ory Stick – from kiosk
·    Access to User Doc­u­ments
·    No Login – com­pletely is designed to start being used with­out login
·    Boiler Plate Web­site – stan­dard start page
·    Full appli­ca­tion list
·    Inter­nal – Authen­ti­ca­tion
·    Exter­nal — No Authen­ti­ca­tion
·    Browser Plug-ins – for enhanced com­pat­i­bil­ity
·    Restricted To Cer­tain Web Sites – Com­pany Designated

Kiosk mode sys­tems come in a vari­ety of shapes, sizes, and func­tions.   To help nar­row the design gap for our needs we have devised eight cat­e­gories in which we can work around design struc­tures for:

·    Full web only access kiosk on the com­pany guest net­work
·    Lim­ited web access on the com­pany guest net­work with a locked down browser
·    Full web only access kiosk on the inter­nal net­work
·    Lim­ited web access on the inter­nal net­work with a locked down browser
·    Lim­ited seat with secu­rity con­trols on the com­pany guest net­work
·    Lim­ited seat with secu­rity con­trols on the inter­nal net­work
·    Full seat with secu­rity con­trols on the com­pany guest net­work
·    Full seat open use office solu­tion — inter­nal net­work
·    Full seat with secu­rity Con­trols open use office on the inter­nal network

Each solu­tion has its own ben­e­fits and con­cerns for deploy­ment.  We will be going over these one by one to ana­lyze and work with com­pany to imple­ment the cor­rect and desired solu­tion.  The analy­sis will include which func­tions iden­ti­fied above can be imple­mented, tar­get place­ment, tar­get users, ben­e­fits and dis­ad­van­tages of each solu­tions, and pos­si­ble secu­rity concerns.

Full web only access kiosk on the com­pany guest network:

Descrip­tion: This would be a fully open web kiosk with an address bar located at the top with the web browser being the only appli­ca­tion avail­able to the end user.  All func­tions must be done within the browser.

Pos­si­ble tar­geted functions:

·    Inter­nal Web­sites – via SSL VPN
·    Exter­nal Web­sites –
·    SSL VPN
·    Cit­rix – via SSL VPN
·    Print­ing – locally attached print
·    Sound – for hear­ing active embed­ded media
·    Access to My Docs – Via SSL VPN
·    No Login – com­pletely is designed to start being used with­out login
·    Boiler Plate Web­site – stan­dard start page
·    Exter­nal — No Authen­ti­ca­tion
·    Browser Plug-ins – for enhanced compatibility

Tar­get placement:

·    Pub­lic areas where guests are most likely

Tar­get users:

·    Vis­i­tors
·    Vis­it­ing Con­trac­tors
·    Local Con­trac­tors
·    Com­pany Employees

Ben­e­fits:

·    Allows users access to infor­ma­tion at place­ment points
·    User will not have access to the local com­puter beyond the web browser

Dis­ad­van­tages:

·    All func­tions must be per­formed must be per­formed within a browser
·    Won’t be able to per­form other appli­ca­tion tasks

Secu­rity concerns:

·    If a user leaves an authen­ti­cated ses­sion up there will be a time delay before the pro­file resets, risk­ing pos­si­ble expo­sure of pri­vate data or com­pany data if the SSL VPN was used.
·    Unsigned Active-X con­trols could cause issues and it would be rec­om­mended deny­ing unsigned Active-X controls.

Lim­ited web access on the com­pany guest net­work with a locked down browser:

Descrip­tion: This solu­tion can be con­fig­ured with or with­out an address bar allow­ing the option to restrict this to cer­tain web sites.   Active X would be disabled.

Pos­si­ble tar­geted functions:

·    Exter­nal Web­sites
·    Print­ing
·    Sound
·    No Login
·    Boiler Plate Web­site Exter­nal — No Authen­ti­ca­tion
·    Restricted To Cer­tain Web Sites

Tar­get placement:

·    Pub­lic areas where guests are most likely

Tar­get users:

·    Vis­i­tors
·    Vis­it­ing Con­trac­tors
·    Local Con­trac­tors
·    Com­pany Employees

Ben­e­fits:

·    Tighter Secu­rity Con­trols
·    Lim­ited Risk Expo­sure
·    Option of con­trol­ling where the users can go via the browser

Dis­ad­van­tages:

·    SSL VPN will not work if active-x con­trols are dis­abled
·    All func­tions must be per­formed must be per­formed within a browser
·    Won’t be able to per­form other appli­ca­tion tasks
·    With no SSL-VPN – no access to inter­nal com­pany data

Secu­rity concerns:

·    If a user leaves an authen­ti­cated ses­sion up there will be a time delay before the pro­file resets, risk­ing pos­si­ble expo­sure of pri­vate data.

Full web only access kiosk on the inter­nal network:

Descrip­tion: While not rec­om­mended this is being offered as an option for choice.  It has the same fea­tures as the Full web only access kiosk on the com­pany guest net­work, but would require user authen­ti­ca­tion due to the net­work access it has.

Pos­si­ble tar­geted functions:

·    Inter­nal Web­sites
·    Exter­nal Web­sites
·    Cit­rix
·    Print­ing
·    Sound
·    Access to My Docs
·    Boiler Plate Web­site
·    Inter­nal
·    Browser Plug-ins

Tar­get placement:

·    Pub­lic sites within com­pany build­ings that are not com­monly vis­ited by the large amounts of vis­i­tors at once.  This would be to limit the amount of time that authen­ti­cated data is avail­able if a user walks away from the kiosk.
·    Would not be rec­om­mended at loca­tion that the gen­eral pub­lic has access to

Tar­get users:

·    Local Con­trac­tors
·    Com­pany Employees

Ben­e­fits:

·    Com­pany employ­ees would be able to access their Web­mail from any­where these are placed
·    Com­pany employ­ees would be able to access a ter­mi­nal server ses­sion from any­where these are placed

Dis­ad­van­tages:

·    All func­tions must be per­formed must be per­formed within a browser
·    Won’t be able to per­form other appli­ca­tion tasks

Secu­rity concerns:

·    Pos­si­ble infor­ma­tion leak­age due to open Web­mail or ter­mi­nal server ses­sion.
·    Unsigned Active-X con­trols could cause issues and it would be rec­om­mended deny­ing unsigned Active-X controls.

Lim­ited web access on the inter­nal net­work with a locked down browser:

Descrip­tion: While not rec­om­mended this is being offered as an option for choice.  It has the same fea­tures as the lim­ited access kiosk on the com­pany guest net­work, but would require user authen­ti­ca­tion due to the net­work access it has.

Pos­si­ble tar­geted functions:

·    Exter­nal Web­sites
·    Print­ing
·    Sound
·    No Login
·    Boiler Plate Web­site Exter­nal — No Authen­ti­ca­tion
·    Restricted To Cer­tain Web Sites

Tar­get placement:

·    Pub­lic sites within com­pany build­ings that are not com­monly vis­ited by the large amounts of vis­i­tors at once.  This would be to limit the amount of time that authen­ti­cated data is avail­able if a user walks away from the kiosk.
·    Would not be rec­om­mended at loca­tion that the gen­eral pub­lic has access to

Tar­get users:

·    Local Con­trac­tors
·    Com­pany Employees

Ben­e­fits:

·    Com­pany employ­ees would be able to access their Web­mail from any­where these are placed
·    Com­pany employ­ees would be able to access a ter­mi­nal server ses­sion from any­where these are placed
·    Tighter Secu­rity Con­trols
·    Lim­ited Risk Expo­sure
·    Option of con­trol­ling where the users can go via the browser

Dis­ad­van­tages:

·    All func­tions must be per­formed must be per­formed within a browser
·    Won’t be able to per­form other appli­ca­tion tasks
·    Some sites won’t work due to Active-X being disabled

Secu­rity concerns:

·    Pos­si­ble infor­ma­tion leak­age due to open Web­mail or ter­mi­nal server session.

Lim­ited seat with secu­rity con­trols on the com­pany guest network:

Descrip­tion: This would be a sce­nario where we would have an open stan­dard win­dows desk­top for the user to access.  It would allow only cer­tain appli­ca­tions to run but will give the user access to a portable mem­ory stick for use.

Pos­si­ble tar­geted functions:

·    Inter­nal Web­sites – via SSL VPN
·    Exter­nal Web­sites
·    SSL VPN
·    Cit­rix – via SSL VPN
·    Print­ing
·    Sound
·    Access to My Docs – Via SSL VPN
·    No Login
·    Boiler Plate Web­site
·    Exter­nal
·    Browser Plug-ins
·    USB Mount­ing
·    Write to USB Mem­ory Stick
·    No Login
·    Boiler Plate Web­site
·    Browser Plug-ins
·    Restricted To Cer­tain Web Sites – com­pany Designated

Tar­get placement:

·    Pub­lic open use office space

Tar­get users:

·    Vis­it­ing Con­trac­tors
·    Local Con­trac­tors
·    Com­pany Employees

Ben­e­fits:

·    Allows users access to infor­ma­tion at place­ment points
·    Access to cer­tain des­ig­nated appli­ca­tions
·    Con­trolled environment

Dis­ad­van­tages:

·    Won’t be able to per­form non des­ig­nated appli­ca­tion tasks

Secu­rity concerns:

·    Pos­si­ble infor­ma­tion leak­age due to open Web­mail or SSL VPN ses­sion.
·    Unsigned Active-X con­trols could cause issues and it would be rec­om­mended deny­ing unsigned Active-X con­trols.
·    Pos­si­ble appli­ca­tion vul­ner­a­bil­i­ties could com­pro­mise the unit

Lim­ited seat with secu­rity con­trols on the inter­nal network:

Descrip­tion: Same as the lim­ited seat on the com­pany guest net­work but designed for inter­nal GRC employ­ees.   Smart card access would be rec­om­mended and roam­ing pro­files blocked.

Pos­si­ble tar­geted functions:

·    Inter­nal Web­sites
·    Exter­nal Web­sites
·    Cit­rix
·    Print­ing
·    Sound
·    Access to My Docs
·    Boiler Plate Web­site
·    Browser Plug-ins
·    USB Mount­ing
·    Write to USB Mem­ory Stick
·    Boiler Plate Web­site
·    Inter­nal – Authen­ti­ca­tion
·    Browser Plug-ins
·    Restricted To Cer­tain Web Sites – com­pany Designated

Tar­get placement:

·    Pub­lic open use office space

Tar­get users:

·    Local Con­trac­tors
·    Com­pany Employees

Ben­e­fits:

·    Allows users access to infor­ma­tion at place­ment points
·    Access to cer­tain des­ig­nated appli­ca­tions
·    Con­trolled environment

Dis­ad­van­tages:

·    Won’t be able to per­form non des­ig­nated appli­ca­tion tasks
·    Large threat to data being exposed

Secu­rity concerns:

·    Unsigned Active-X con­trols could cause issues and it would be rec­om­mended deny­ing unsigned Active-X con­trols.
·    Pos­si­ble infor­ma­tion leak­age due to be on the open inter­nal net­work
·    Large data expo­sure foot­print
·    Pos­si­ble appli­ca­tion vul­ner­a­bil­i­ties could com­pro­mise the unit

Full seat with secu­rity con­trols on the com­pany guest network:

Descrip­tion: This option would give users to the same stan­dard appli­ca­tions as their nor­mal desk­top.   The hard drive would not be writ­ten to for data stor­age.  Roam­ing pro­files would be blocked.  These seat would also have full secu­rity con­trols applied to it.

Pos­si­ble tar­geted functions:

·    Inter­nal Web­sites
·    Exter­nal Web­sites
·    SSL VPN
·    Cit­rix
·    Print­ing
·    Sound
·    USB Mount­ing
·    Run Apps Locally (Read Only)
·    Run Apps Locally (Read / Write)
·    Write to USB Mem­ory Stick
·    Access to My Docs
·    No Login – com­pletely is designed to start being used with­out login
·    Boiler Plate Web­site
·    Full Appli­ca­tion Suite
·    Exter­nal — No Authen­ti­ca­tion
·    Browser Plug-ins
·    Restricted To Cer­tain Web Sites – com­pany Designated

Tar­get placement:

·    Pub­lic open use office space

Tar­get users:

·    Local Con­trac­tors
·    com­pany Employees

Ben­e­fits:

·    Users are able to func­tion as they would at their desks
·    Allows users access to infor­ma­tion at place­ment points

Dis­ad­van­tages:

·    No login require­ments
·    Pos­si­ble data exposure

Secu­rity concerns:

·    Unsigned Active-X con­trols could cause issues and it would be rec­om­mended deny­ing unsigned Active-X con­trols.
·    Pos­si­ble infor­ma­tion leak­age due to open Web­mail or SSL VPN session.

Full seat open use office solu­tion on the inter­nal network:

Descrip­tion: Stan­dard full seat for user to use on the inter­nal net­work located at open access points for any user to access.  Secu­rity set­tinga would be applied and user pro­file data removed upon log out.   It is rec­om­mended to require smart card access to these units.

Pos­si­ble tar­geted functions:

·    Inter­nal Web­sites
·    Exter­nal Web­sites
·    Cit­rix
·    Print­ing
·    Sound
·    USB Mount­ing
·    Run Apps Locally (Read Only)
·    Run Apps Locally (Read / Write)
·    Write to USB Mem­ory Stick
·    Access to My Docs
·    Boiler Plate Web­site
·    Full Appli­ca­tion Suite
·    Inter­nal Authen­ti­ca­tion
·    Browser Plug-ins

Tar­get placement:

·    Pub­lic open use office space

Tar­get users:

·    Local Con­trac­tors
·    Com­pany Employees

Ben­e­fits:

·    Users are able to func­tion as they would at their desks
·    Allows users access to infor­ma­tion at place­ment points

Dis­ad­van­tages:

·    Requires smart card
·    No access to local profiles

Secu­rity concerns:

·    Pos­si­ble infor­ma­tion leak­age due to open sessions.