Looking to offer its customers a single console from which to manage their desktop, server and network security products, not to mention improve their effectiveness, Internet Security Systems Inc. (ISS) Monday announced its RealSecure SiteProtector software.
RealSecure SiteProtector is a single management platform into which all ISS products will eventually be integrated, said Dave Ostrowski, product manager for the RealSecure SiteProtector. The product currently includes support for some of ISS' vulnerability assessment, intrusion detection and server security products, he said. Soon after its release in the fourth quarter 2001, RealSecure SiteProtector will add support for the BlackICE line of desktop security products, acquired when ISS bought Network ICE Corp. in May, he said. Network ICE products will initially be supported through a toolkit, but will later be fully supported, Ostrowski added.
Along with providing a common management structure for ISS security products, RealSecure SiteProtector will also offer threat correlation and customized vulnerability and attack information, said Rich Telljohann, director of enterprise solutions at ISS. These features, offered through the Security Fusion plug-in module, will cross-reference attack data gathered from multiple ISS sensors with a database of vulnerabilties specific to the network and equipment being used on it, he said. This will result in reports and alerts that give administrators information about only the systems that were vulnerable to an attack, rather than all systems, making countermeasures or post-incident work more focused and efficient, he said.
The system also aims to save administrators time by offering automated deployment options to create distributed sensors, Ostrowski said.
RealSecure SiteProtector will increase IT departments' efficiency and capacity as "customers can protect more and more of their servers and desktops with fewer people" using the product, Ostrowski said.
"Very few organizations have infinite security budgets and organizations," said Telljohann. "Once you are comfortable with automating some processes, you can focus on other things."
RealSecure SiteProtector will be priced based on capacity and the configuration of the network to be protected, Ostrowski said. On average, however, that price will run between 5 percent and 10 percent of the cost of the sensors installed in the network (the RealSecure network sensor, for example, is priced at $8,895). Plug-in modules, such as the Security Fusion module, will offered as separate products, he said. RealSecure IDS customers will be given a free upgrade to the SiteProtector product by the end of the year, he added.
On Monday, ISS also announced a new version of the RealSecure Server Sensor server security and management product. The product offers intrusion detection, vulnerability assessment, network monitoring and integrates technology from BlackICE, ISS said. The upgrade, Version 6.0.1, also adds signatures for attacks against Microsoft Corp.'s IIS (Internet Information Server) systems, such as the Code Red and Nimda worms, and is supported under RealSecure SiteProtector. The product is available now, priced at $900 per license, plus an annual maintenance fee of $180.