Once we have installed Network agent, we will deploy KICS for Nodes. Before this we must install management plugin on Kaspersky Security Center, which requires a restart after the process is finished. It is recommended to make sure that the plugin has been installed correctly. You can check it by going to Administration server and verify its properties.
The next step will be installing KICS for Nodes software package to control software, virus presence, and many more. Before that, we will import KICS for nodes generic policy and distribute it on target hosts even before KICS for Nodes has been installed. Do not worry, this generic policy excludes any device and whitelist control so the PC will work without any restriction. Later on, we will have to configure it and give specific whitelist and device controls and, of course, other security options such as enabled modules, anti-virus analysis, exclusions, etc.
Keeping in mind that each deployment must be carried out in accordance to engineering and production requirements of automation and industrial systems. So, we will plan and inform each action to take.
As you can see in the picture below, there are two kind of policies. One for Network Agent (KLagent) and other for KICS for Nodes software.
Once it has been imported, we have to activate it. As I said, there is not any direct effect on the target system because KICS for Nodes is not installed yet.
To deploy KICS for Nodes, KSC allows installing software on managed devices groups by setting up a package. First of all, we have to create it by importing a precompiled kics.kud file but you can import a .exe file as well. For more info please visit this link.
In the picture below you can find two files, one imported by an .kud file and the other one with .exe
Once we have created KICS for Nodes packages, we can customize them configuring the components to install before executing the remote installation wizard. During the process we will have to give some additional information such as target hots, admin credentials, among others.
These are the grouped hosts which we are going to install KICS for Nodes. We can select one by one or the folder which includes them all.
Other software is recommended to be installed such as published hotfixes to correct issues, improvements, or bugs.
After this, the next step to follow is to perform an on-demand antivirus scan. Why? Because we must be sure that the host is not infected by any kind of viruses. If this occurs, we could include virus processes in our whitelist and, in consequence, allow its execution. However, we must keep in mind that this analysis can consume CPU, memory and other hardware resources and impact on the host behavior.
Next, we will configure according our needs. KICS for Nodes policy has in the left hand a column named “sections” where you can find the features grouped by functionality. For example, in “Local activity Control” you can configure modules regarding “Application Launch Control”, “Device Control” and “Wi-Fi Control”.
But if you navigate in other section, such as “Real Time computer protection” you can see other features regarding “Real-Time File Protection”, “KSN usage” and “Exploit Prevention”.
And that is all for now. In the next article, we will explore the different options and show how whitelisting technique works to prevent the execution of any non-authorized software.
See you!