What about Geoblocking?

A few years ago, my firm worked with a large prime contractor on an Information Security project. It was during this project I learned how to "Look Around" my companies digital footprint to see if there was any interest in my company by undesired “fans.” I found in one case on the company Facebook page that persons from a risky country (take your pick, I don't want to say) were interested in what we are doing. But what to do if anything? I thought to myself, these are probably fake accounts and if I block them others will just appear. Then I discovered that Facebook allows me to bock entire countries. Other apps may have the same ability and it is worthwhile to look into. At your enterprise you may have your network administrators look at router settings.

While traveling abroad I learned that service providers like Netflix, Hulu and others use geoblocking to control which region may access content based on license agreements with the content providers. I was sadly unable to watch my favorite show for a while. It is not illegal to bypass geoblocking but in some cases may violate terms of service from your provider.

Is geoblocking foolproof? Not at all. I am actually surprised that our supposed “fans” did not use one of these methods found on a simple google search:

Bypassing geoblocking:

·      VPN’s

·      Tor browser

·      Using Proxy sites.

If it's easily bypassed why use it at all?

It may seem to be an almost lame defense against expert intruders but remember you are building security in as many layers as possible. Geoblocking can add one more level of difficulty for an intruder.

The other thought is that with all this telecomuting and working from home in many cases with personal computers, you might want to tighten up the defenses on your personal side.