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Technology > Marketing Technology

New Security Technology Products Abound In The Age Of Cyberterrorism

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Las Vegas

While news of real or perceived cyberterrorism threats continues to fill the media, technology vendors here were scrambling to market new products designed to help companies reduce or neutralize threats to their businesses.

The insurance and financial services industries, in particular, deal with huge volumes of sensitive data, including personal health and financial information. Data protection standards mandated by federal legislation, along with consumer cries for privacy and security, have made this a hot issue in the technology arena.

The products–including firewalls, intrusion detection software and hardware devices–were introduced at Fall Comdex 2002, the annual technology exposition for the computer industry, held last month.

Westinghouse Electric Company (a business unit of British Nuclear Fuels) announced the release of version 3.05 of its StatePointPlus software suite. According to Monroeville, Pa.-based Westinghouse, the software “provides organizations with a workable, scalable, and continuous protective strategy for pinpointing and rectifying unauthorized alterations in systems and data across the enterprise–before, during and after security breaches.”

Westinghouse said the technology also detects and eradicates “sneaky” threats, such as Trojan horses and worms.

StatePointPlus delivers control over network and security systems, said Westinghouse. “It reduces operational costs and mitigates business risks, while providing security at no additional cost.”

From a central console, systems administrators and security administrators can remotely “control the attributes of every software object in every computer on a network,” the company stated. The software continuously diagnoses systems and enforces baseline parameters set by the administrators. “By managing computers at this level, IT organizations can cut support costs and production losses while simultaneously speeding change to strategically needed technologies,” Westinghouse added.

StatePointPlus 3.05 is currently available for Microsoft Windows 2000, NT and XP environments. The new version also makes these capabilities available for the first time to users on Solaris operating systems, the company said.

Pricing information was not provided. Further details are available at www.StatePointPlus.com.

Zone Labs Inc. announced a major upgrade to Zone Labs Integrity, software designed to protect PCs and data in networked environments.

“Integrity 2.0 hardens organizations defenses against hackers, Trojan horses and targeted attacks with its centrally managed features,” including firewall and application controls, said San Francisco-based Zone Labs. The system integrates transparently with network infrastructure to deliver policy management, enforcement and monitoring, the company added.

“Endpoint security is a mainstream issue for todays enterprise; facing a landscape of evolving risk, customers understand that each vulnerable PC and the important data it contains must be secured,” said Frederick Feldman, vice president of marketing for Zone Labs.

Zone Labs said Integrity 2.0 provides proactive protection from targeted attacks and network infiltration. It also guards against these risks whether one accesses the network from a remote location via a virtual private network or from inside the corporate firewall. “Integrity 2.0 makes it easier for administrators to design and enforce consistent security policies,” the company added.

In addition to preventing Trojan horses, spyware and other malicious programs from stealing data, Integrity 2.0 adds component control to ensure that only authorized and authenticated application components can load, the company continued.

Pricing for Integrity 2.0 varies depending on volume purchased and configuration, said Zone Labs. Pricing begins at $65 for an end-user license, with an Integrity server license included. The Integrity server supports Windows 2000 and Windows 2000 Advanced Server systems, while Integrity clients run on Windows 95, 98, 2000, NT and XP machines.

Further information is available at www.zonelabs.com.

iolo technologies, LLC showed its System Shield utility, which helps prevent identity theft, security attacks, corporate espionage and malicious extraction of private files.

According to Pasadena, Calif.-based iolo, identity theft is becoming the worlds fastest growing crime, affecting an estimated 500,000 to 700,000 people annually. “The FBI is also investigating an increasing number of cases of corporate espionage in which hackers and disgruntled employees have obtained and sold confidential company data and trade secrets, resulting in the loss of millions of dollars,” the company said.

System Shield works on all Windows operating systems (95, 98, ME, NT4, 2000 and XP) and with all types of hard drives and windows formats, said iolo. The software comes in both Personal and Professional editions.

The Personal Edition acts as a shield against any software-based attacks, the company explained. It purges the names of deleted files from directory structures and overwrites deleted file contents. Users can automatically schedule unattended data cleanup operations.

The Professional Edition contains all the features of the Personal Edition, plus additional functions. These include protection from forensic hardware-based recovery and custom data wiping signatures. It is fully compliant with U.S., German and all other published government-level secure data disposal specifications, said iolo.

A single user license for System Shield Personal Edition is priced at $39.95, while the Professional Edition is $129.95, the company noted. Volume pricing is available. A 30-day evaluation copy of System Shield can be found at http://www.iolo.com/ss.

Intego Inc., makers of firewalls for Mac users, announced it is entering the Windows market with Intego NetBarrier 2003, “a robust collection of firewall, anti-vandal, privacy and monitoring tools designed to protect PC users from Internet threats.

According to Miami, Fla.-based Intego, NetBarrier 2003 combines a set of anti-hacker safeguards with both pre-defined security rules for mainstream users and the ability to customize rules for power users and network administrators. Other features include Web site and keyword-based filtering to prevent users from accessing or exporting selected content, and incoming call blocking for modems.

NetBarrier 2003 operates with Windows 98, ME, NT, 2000 and XP, said Intego. It can be downloaded from www.intego.com, or purchased at major computer chain outlets at an MSRP of $49.95.

Griffin Technologies, LLC announced SecuriKey Personal Edition, which controls access to laptop or desktop PCs.

Designed for use in portable computing environments, the new product combines a key-like token with software security technology to ensure “professional strength protection against unwanted PC use,” said Lawrence, Kan.-based Griffin.

Even if a laptop is stolen, the computers important data remains safeguarded against unauthorized use, the company explained. A variety of access options and security protocols are available for SecuriKey, including two-factor (token and password) user authentication. The product also enables partial access without user authentication where this is needed.

SecuriKeys USB (universal serial bus) token attaches to any key ring and plugs into a computers USB port, the company noted. Each kit includes two tokens.

Utilizing SecuriKey Personal Edition, users can safeguard sensitive, valuable or proprietary information such as personal financial data, said Griffin. Users can also restrict access to files and folders, the Internet, or specific applications, while allowing the rest of the PC to be used normally.

MSRP for SecuriKey Personal Edition is $149.00, the company said. More information is available at www.securikey.com.

Access Denied Systems also unveiled a combination of a key-like USB device and security software–the CyberKey Security System.

The product uses a USB memory device manufactured by CyberKey and software from Access Denied to control access to PCs and computer networks using the Windows 2000 or XP operating systems, said St. Louis-based Access Denied.

When users insert the CyberKey device into a computers USB port, the system checks to see whether or not the inserted key is authorized for use in that computer, the company explained. In multi-user, multi-workstation environments, the system allows authorization of unlimited users for a workstation, or a user can be authorized for an unlimited number of workstations.

The CyberKey Security System is available with encrypted memory ranging from 16MB to 2GB. Users can install software and store files on the device when it is attached to the computer. When the user removes the device from the USB port, the computer screen is blanked out and both the mouse and keyboard are locked, said Access Denied.

Pricing information was not provided. Further details are available at www.accessdeniedsystems.com.

SentryBay Corporation introduced ViraLock, which it said is the first software to prevent the spread of computer viruses via e-mail.

According to Newport Beach, Calif.-based SentryBay, the new product takes the approach of “trapping viruses instead of trying to identify and block them.” ViraLock encrypts e-mail addresses in Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express. As a result, “invading viruses cannot find and use e-mail addresses to send themselves out,” said SentryBay.

The company added that ViraLock stops mass-mailing viruses such as Klez and Bugbear, “as well as new, unidentified viruses.”

“The software is compatible with and complimentary to major antivirus software products and does not require regular updating to be effective,” the company noted. “Anyone who has ever been hit by a mass-mailing virus has experienced the embarrassment, cost and damage to reputation from passing a virus to business contacts, family and friends,” added Marcus Whittington, vice president of marketing for SentryBay. “Also at risk is the potential spreading of confidential information with the virus.”

The product works with Windows 98, ME, NT, 2000 and XP, the company said.

ViraLock is priced at $19.95 for a single-user license, with discounts available for volume orders, said SentryBay. It can be purchased and downloaded at www.viralock.com. A free 30-day trial version can also be downloaded from the site.


Reproduced from National Underwriter Life & Health/Financial Services Edition, December 30, 2002. Copyright 2002 by The National Underwriter Company in the serial publication. All rights reserved.Copyright in this article as an independent work may be held by the author.



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