Monday, November 28, 2005
Check Point Simplifies Internet Security for Small Businesses with New Safe@Office 500 Unified Threat Management (UTM) Appliances
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – November 28, 2005 – Check Point® Software Technologies Ltd. (Nasdaq: CHKP) today announced the new Check Point Safe@Office® 500 and Safe@Office® 500W Unified Threat Management (UTM) security appliances, offering small businesses unsurpassed network protection against dynamic zero-hour Internet attacks in a single, easy-to-deploy and affordable solution.
“Now, Check Point’s industry-leading enterprise network security is truly within reach for small businesses,” said Laura Yecies, vice president at Check Point.
The Check Point Safe@Office 500 and 500W, powered by advanced technology developed by Check Point subsidiary SofaWare® Technologies Ltd., are all-in-one network security appliances featuring a firewall, VPN, antivirus, intrusion prevention, traffic shaping and Web filtering. The Safe@Office 500W integrates a 108Mbps extended range wireless access point with powerful wireless security and guest hotspot capabilities.
The Safe@Office 500 series supports a rich set of additional online services such as antivirus, security and firmware updates, providing zero-hour protection against rapidly propagating threats without any user intervention. It also has built-in interfaces that allow outsourcing security management to a trusted 3rd party.
“The new Safe@Office 500 series solves the security dilemma for small businesses,” said Liran Eshel, chief executive officer of SofaWare Technologies. “Today’s sophisticated hackers don’t discriminate based upon the size of the target, yet true enterprise-level security has been elusive for these customers. Our new product line was designed to meet the specific needs and limited budgets of small offices without compromising the level of protection and without requiring complex set up and management.”
Check Point Embedded NGX 6.0
Safe@Office 500 is based on the new Check Point Embedded NGX 6.0, the latest security software platform based on Check Point’s market-leading Firewall-1® and VPN-1®, adapted by SofaWare Technologies to fit embedded devices. UTM security appliances are layered network security hardware solutions integrating multiple features – including a network firewall, network intrusion prevention, and gateway anti-virus within one box.
Check Point Embedded NGX 6.0 offers the following new benefits:
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- Intrusion Prevention - Proactive network and application layer protection based on Check Point’s award winning Application Intelligence technology protects the network against worms and denial of service attacks and allows fine control over instant messaging and peer-to-peer applications.
- Secured Hotspots – Facilitates the creation of managed guest access networks with configurable Web-based authentication, temporary user accounts and RADIUS integration.
- Advanced Network Monitoring and Troubleshooting Tools - Built-in traffic monitoring and packet capture tools control and monitor incoming and outgoing traffic to ensure efficient utilization of the office broadband connection.
Additional security and networking features include:
- Cost-effective Secure Remote Access – Extensive VPN capabilities allowing small businesses to increase productivity by providing remote access to teleworkers and employees on the road as well as securely interconnect remote branches over low-cost broadband connections.
- Reliability and Efficiency – Dual WAN, dialup backup and automatic failover between appliances assure that networks are up at all times. TrafficShaper (QoS) assists in optimizing traffic flow and allows allocated guaranteed bandwidth for critical applications.
“Many security appliances are difficult to set up and maintain, draining hours, if not days, from a busy, small business environment,” said Don Fuller, program manager at 123SECURE.NET, a small business managed-service partner. “Our customers need an all-in-one solution with as little overhead in terms of time and money as possible. Safe@Office simplifies Internet security for our customers, making the entire process truly plug-and-play while offering the best security available today.”
Pricing and Availability
The Safe@Office 500 series appliances are scheduled to be available in December. Pricing starts at $299 US for the appliance, and as low as $10 US annually per user for the firewall and antivirus subscriptions. The Check Point SecuRemote VPN Client is bundled with the product. For more information on Safe@Office appliances, visit: http://www.checkpoint.com/smallbusiness.
About SofaWare Technologies Ltd.
SofaWare Technologies Ltd. (www.sofaware.com), a Check Point company, makes secure Internet access simple and affordable for small businesses, consumers, and service providers seeking to deliver security services. Leveraging Check Point's market-leading VPN-1®/FireWall-1® technology, SofaWare embedded products allow commercial and residential broadband users to experience the same advanced security protection enjoyed by 97% of the Fortune 500. Through SofaWare's Security Management Portal (SMP™), service providers and value-added resellers can deliver to their customers comprehensive security services, such as hands-free security updates, antivirus, antispam, content filtering, dynamic DNS, and remote monitoring for any device integrating SofaWare technology. SofaWare's solutions cover a range of devices from leading vendors, including Check Point VPN-1® Edge™, Check Point Safe@Office®, Nokia IP40 and NEC SecureBlade.
About Check Point Software Technologies Ltd.
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (www.checkpoint.com) is the worldwide leader in securing the Internet. It is the market leader in the worldwide enterprise firewall, personal firewall and VPN markets. Through its NGX platform, the company delivers a unified security architecture for a broad range of perimeter, internal and Web security solutions that protect business communications and resources for corporate networks and applications, remote employees, branch offices and partner extranets. The company's ZoneAlarm product line is one of the most trusted brands in Internet security, creating award-winning endpoint security solutions that protect millions of PCs from hackers, spyware and data theft. Extending the power of the Check Point solution is its Open Platform for Security (OPSEC), the industry's framework and alliance for integration and interoperability with "best-of-breed" solutions from over 350 leading companies. Check Point solutions are sold, integrated and serviced by a network of more than 2,200 Check Point partners in 88 countries.
Check Point and SofaWare Unveil SMP 6.0, Upgraded Security Management Platform, for Service Providers
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – November 28, 2005 – Check Point® Software Technologies Ltd. (Nasdaq: CHKP), the worldwide leader in securing the Internet, and SofaWare® Technologies Ltd., a Check Point company, today announced the release of version 6.0 of the Security Management Portal (SMP), a comprehensive network security management system designed specifically for service providers.
“We are seeing a growing demand from small businesses seeking outside expertise to help them with their network security issues,” said Zohar Kaufman, vice president of research and development at SofaWare Technologies Ltd. “The SMP is a unique solution in that it is the only management product to also include a fully integrated subscriber management system.”
SMP 6.0 empowers Managed Security Service Providers (MSSPs) to develop packages for small businesses wishing to outsource their network security management needs. It provides a scalable method of managing, configuring and controlling anywhere from ten to tens of thousands of Safe@Office gateways, and is capable of delivering add-on subscription security services including software and antivirus updates, dynamic VPN, dynamic DNS, security reporting, Web filtering, antispam and vulnerability scanning.
“Combined with the new Safe@Office 500 series appliances also announced today, SMP 6.0 enables us to deliver industry leading, comprehensive and cost effective Internet security solutions to the Canadian Small and Medium Business market place” said Peter Cresswell, national practice manager, security at Bell Business Solutions. “The intuitive web-based interfaces allow us to significantly increase our efficiency and reduce training costs.”
Some of the new benefits of the new SMP 6.0 include:
- Vulnerability Scanning Service (VSS) – An integrated vulnerability scanner providing service providers with the ability to regularly scan subscriber networks for security vulnerabilities and firewall configuration errors. The vulnerability scanner is integrated with the SMP reporting module and allows automatic dispatching of graphic reports and alerts.
- Gateway Antivirus and Intrusion Prevention Management Service – Control over signature updates and scanning policy. Real-time alerts of viruses, worms, phishing and denial of services attacks. Based on the new Embedded NGX 6.0 gateway antivirus and Application Intelligence technologies.
- Secured Hotspots Management Service - Scalable, central management of large hotspot deployments, such as hotels or point of sales. Based on the new Embedded NGX 6.0 Secured Hotspots technology.
- SOAP/XML based API – Standard interfaces that allows seamless integration with billing systems, customer care applications, or self provisioning websites.
- Enhanced Graphical Monitoring and Reporting - Allows a service provider to be in full control of the status of all security gateways and servers
Pricing and Availability
SMP 6.0 is scheduled to be available in December. Pricing ranges from $10 to $200 per gateway depending on the deployment size. For more information on SMP 6.0 and the Safe@Office appliances visit: http://www.checkpoint.com/products/smp/ and http://www.checkpoint.com/smallbusiness.
About SofaWare Technologies Ltd.
SofaWare Technologies Ltd. (www.sofaware.com), a Check Point company, makes secure Internet access simple and affordable for small businesses, consumers, and service providers seeking to deliver security services. Leveraging Check Point's market-leading VPN-1®/FireWall-1® technology, SofaWare embedded products allow commercial and residential broadband users to experience the same advanced security protection enjoyed by 97% of the Fortune 500. Through SofaWare's Security Management Portal (SMP™), service providers and value-added resellers can deliver to their customers comprehensive security services, such as hands-free security updates, antivirus, antispam, content filtering, dynamic DNS, and remote monitoring for any device integrating SofaWare technology. SofaWare's solutions cover a range of devices from leading vendors, including Check Point VPN-1® Edge™, Check Point Safe@Office®, Nokia IP40 and NEC SecureBlade.
About Check Point Software Technologies Ltd.
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (www.checkpoint.com) is the worldwide leader in securing the Internet. It is the market leader in the worldwide enterprise firewall, personal firewall and VPN markets. Through its NGX platform, the company delivers a unified security architecture for a broad range of perimeter, internal and Web security solutions that protect business communications and resources for corporate networks and applications, remote employees, branch offices and partner extranets. The company's ZoneAlarm product line is one of the most trusted brands in Internet security, creating award-winning endpoint security solutions that protect millions of PCs from hackers, spyware and data theft. Extending the power of the Check Point solution is its Open Platform for Security (OPSEC), the industry's framework and alliance for integration and interoperability with "best-of-breed" solutions from over 350 leading companies. Check Point solutions are sold, integrated and serviced by a network of more than 2,200 Check Point partners in 88 countries.
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
FBI is not sending you viruses. Other people are.
Dear Sir/Madam,Attached was not a list of question, but rather a copy of Sober-U, a variant of the Sober email worm. So the FBI may not be after you, but the worm viruses are.
we have logged your IP-address on more than 30 illegal Websites.
Important:
Please answer our questions!
The list of questions are attached.
Yours faithfully,
Steven Allison
*** Federal Bureau of Investigation -FBI-
*** 935 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Room 3220
*** Washington, DC 20535
*** phone: (202) 324-3000
Thursday, November 10, 2005
New Phishing Threat: Google Giving Away 400$
From Websense Security Labs:
Websense® Security Labs™ has received reports of a new phishing attack that targets users of Google's search engine. Users are redirected to a spoofed copy of Google's front page with a large message claiming "You WON $400.00 !!!". Users are presented with instructions for collecting their prize money. These instructions direct users to enter their credit card number and shipping address. Once the information has been collected, users are directed to Google's legitimate website.
This phishing site is hosted in the United States and was up at the time of this alert.
From Astalavista.com:
Phishing attacks remain a major threat, even though their number has fallen off for two months straight. In mid-October, the Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG) reported that the number of attacks had decreased by three percent in August, the last month for which data was collected.
The slip in the number of attacks, said the APWG, may have been due to the use of more sophisticated phishing tactics that don't rely on e-mails, but instead turn to "drive-by downloads" of malicious code, including keyloggers, when people surf to specific Web sites.
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
Information Security Awareness on the Rise
The first article is about a law proposal in New York County, New York that would require businesses that collect customer information to apply basic security measures, such as firewalls, when offering wireless access to consumers. This means that open wireless networks would still be open to the public, but they would be separated from the corporate network, where sensitive information is stored, in order to protect the corporate LAN from potentially hazardous activity in the public WLAN.
This law is not meant to protect open wireless network users from each other or from Internet hazards, but to enforce customer data security on the corporate side.
You can read more about this law on eWeek
The second article is about the increasing pressure placed on retailers regarding customer information security. The most curious part of this particular article is a quote from an anonymous IT security director who states that the problem is executive sponsorship for the investments needed to bolster security.
You can find the article on Computer World - Security Topics
According to these two articles, the security awareness is there, especially when it comes to IT personnel. However, the executive level still lacks assurance in the need to invest in information and network security, without a visible ROI.
Perhaps it is a matter of time before rules and regulations force businesses, large and small, to keep their customer data secure, or it could be that storage and networking standards will eventually force an organic migration to more secure solutions.
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
Small Business Network Security 101 (Part 1) - The Real Small Businesses Network Security Issue
40% is a lot. It seems no small business owner would think of leaving the door of their office open at night, but so many of them leave their office network open for unwanted visitors.
This makes one wonder why this is. Lack of information? Hardly. There are hundreds of advisories (such as "Small Business Network Security 101", published by SofaWare) and thousands of Web sites and blogs dealing with network security (such as this one). Shortage of easily managed solutions? Not that either. So what is it that keeps small business networks unsecure? It seems that there are three main reasons why small business owners do not secure their network.
The first is lack of technical knowledge and proficiency. It's easier to ignore an unknown threat than to learn about it and then look for a solution. Many small businesses do not have a dedicated IT department, much less a network security expert on staff. Since there's no one within the company who can alert the decision makers and provide them with a solution, they either remain unaware until they sustain damage from an Internet attack, or simply choose to bury their heads in the sand.
Secondly, small businesses often tend to regard themselves as "small". Of course someone would want to hack Google or steal documents from NASA, but why would someone come looking for the accounting information of a small real estate office? Simple. It's easy. Large enterprises employ whole
departments whose purpose is to keep the corporate data safe. Small businesses, in some cases, don't even use firewalls or regularly update their operating systems.
The last reason small businesses do not protect their network is simply that no one told them to do so. To make network management simpler and cheaper, small businesses often turn to outsourcing for network connectivity solutions. The solution providers, however, have a hard time "selling" security, because it's simply too complicated to explain and very often regarded as an unnecessary commodity.
Businesses become more dependent on the Internet and use it to expand and extend their business reach, but they don't always think of the potential cost of the profitable opportunities the Internet has to offer.
Is there a solution? Perhaps. Regulatory requirements such as Sarabnes-Oxley, GLB, and HIPAA require businesses to give some thought to network and data security in order to meet industry standards. Awareness is on the rise, with the ever-growing array of viruses, worms, phishing scams, and other on-line nasties becoming more of a threat with each passing day.
Next Time (Part 2):
"So What's Out There?"
