New features in CentralPol™ Policy Server 7.3 release
i-Security Inc., San Jose, California, 30-October, 2006, proudly announce the new version of CentralPol™, version 7.3, which helps large enterprises, service providers who manage multi-vendor network environment with complicated structure and critical data traffic. Version 7.3 improves a lot of function and feature as well as performance improvements. Other improvements include:
- Opening Management with large maps (over 10000 objects: devices, networks, permissions, etc.) is now about 20 times faster as in the previous version.
- Compilation of Cisco PIX configuration that make heavy use of NAT is up to 10 times faster than previous release.
- Upload Performance on large maps that contain many devices has been highly improved.
Migration Wizard
A new graphical migration wizard permits to make migration from previous version of CentralPol™ Policy Server in an easiest and more granular way. It is now possible to migrate project by project for instance.
CentralPol™ virtualization of security infrastructure allows the migration between vendors CISCO, Checkpoint, Juniper, etc.
CentralPol™ has a proven track record of successfully migrating complexe configurations between vendors.
IPS Signature Management support CentralPol™ provides the ability to edit and upload per device IPS (Intrusion Prevention Systems) Signatures for Cisco ASA/SSM and ISS Proventia M Series.
NAT management enhancement
On Cisco IOS and Pix devices, Solsoft gives more control to the user on the way NAT rules are generated:By default, CentralPol™ only generates the rules that strictly match the security permissions. With the new "pre-provisioning" mode, CentralPol™ generates rules exactly as defined by the user in the Security Designer.
Support for New Device
ISS Proventia M Series is now supported. This support covers Firewall, NAT, IPSEC virtual private network (VPN), anti-spam, and anti-virus configurations. IPS Signature management provides the ability to edit signatures and upload them to the Proventia device.
Device Updates
CISCO VPN 3000 version 4.7 is now supported.
Linux Netfilter Iptables version 1.3 is now supported.
Date: 10-Oct-2006
Microsoft plugs 26 holes with 10 fixes on Patch Tuesday
Source: SC Magazine.
Microsoft today issued 10 patches, plugging 26 holes, including three zero-day vulnerabilities on Windows, Office and Internet Explorer (IE).
This is the highest number of flaws Microsoft has ever addressed on a Patch Tuesday, security experts said today. Several of the vulnerabilities were either publicly exploited or there was proof-of-concept code available prior to today's update.
"What's most interesting to me about this drop is that so many issues were being exploited in the wild before Microsoft had an opportunity to patch them," ISS security researcher Tom Cross, a member of the X-Force team, told SCMagazine.com today. "There are definitely a lot of folks out there interested in installing malware on people's PCs…and using those things to commit crimes."
Of the vulnerabilities, 15 are labeled critical, highlighting a continued trend toward the exploitation of holes in client-side web browsers and applications. Four of the patches address vulnerabilities in Microsoft Office components, including Word, Excel and PowerPoint, which could lead to remote code execution.
Critical patches also remedied an ASP.NET cross-site scripting flaw and a Windows Shell IE bug - which could cause spyware to be downloaded on a user's PC after visiting a malicious website.
"This vulnerability is particularly critical because it allows remote code execution from any infected website," said Minoo Hamilton, senior security researcher for nCircle. "Critical IE vulnerabilities are the norm these days, we expect at least one every month.These are fantastic for the bad guys - many enterprises still rely heavily on IE."
Another patch fixed a vulnerability in IPv6 (internet protocol version 6), which could permit DoS attacks. Cross said administrators should pay particular attention to that flaw, even though it is considered a low threat, because it could be exploited even if companies have IPv6 enabled but not running.
Enterprises should deploy all the patches immediately, experts said.
"The quantity of Microsoft Office vulnerabilities this month illustrates this emerging attacker focus, and users should consider the installation of these patches to be a critical component to a smart security strategy," said Oliver Friedrichs, director of Symantec Security Response.
"Vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows, Internet Explorer and Office may allow an attacker to access your computer, install and run malicious software on your computer or cause it to crash," according to a cybersecurity alert issued today by U.S.-CERT. "An attacker could exploit these vulnerabilities by using specially crafted network traffic, by convincing you to click on a specially crafted URL or by convincing you to open a specially crafted Office document."
Double-digit patches have become the norm in recent months for Microsoft as a trend continues in which hackers post proof-of-concept code shortly after Patch Tuesday, thus buying the malicious community nearly a month before Microsoft issues a fix. Sometimes, however, the problem becomes so widespread that action must be taken.
Late last month, the Redmond, Wash. software giant issued a rare out-of-cycle patch for a much publicized zero-day IE vulnerability caused by an error in the processing of vector markup language (VML).
Microsoft had announced last week it planned to issue 11 patches today but removed one after discovering "an issue in our testing…in one of the Windows Updates," a company spokesman said today. That fix will undergo additional testing and is scheduled to be part of the next release cycle, scheduled for Nov. 14.
Date: 4-Oct-2006
Check Point Achieves Prominent EAL 4 U.S. Government Certification
Source: Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: CHKP)
The NGX version of VPN-1 Power and UTM, has been certified against the Common Criteria EAL 4 certification for VPN and IDS/IPS by the National Information Assuance Partnership (NIAP), a United States government initiative of the National Institute of Standards and Technologies and the National Security Agency after testing by the U.S.-based SAIC Common Criteria Testing Laboratory.Check Point, a sponsor of the seventh annual ICCC conference, has certified all four critical network security categories - firewall, VPN, IDS/IPS, and remote management – which provide agencies for governments worldwide with an integrated, proven security solution.
The Internet has enabled a transformation in the way governments function and communicate. Remote offices and mobile personnel are now able to connect to the distributed information resources they need. Although more convenient, the emergence of the Internet has spawned the growth of increasingly sophisticated cyber attacks, which now spread faster, do more damage, and are more difficult to contain.Check Point's solutions, such as VPN-1, Provider-1 and SmartCenter, better enable government organizations to ensure network resources are available, while providing protection from those with malicious intent.
"Check Point's unified security architecture provides greater flexibility for decision-making and can enhance the range and effectiveness of possible responses to an attack," said Dean Pace, federal sales manager,Check Point Software Technologies."This most recent certification validates that our solutions meet and exceed the stringent requirements established by internationally-recognized government standards, government approval processes and security industry tests and protect at all levels."
Governments around the world are looking to streamline processes and their IT networks for better communication while staying secure.By helping governments across the globe, as well as enterprises large and small, standardize on technology and reduce security sprawl,Check Point enhances the value of implementing an integrated solution that changes the economics of security in the short and long term.
Date: 25-Sep-2006
Check Point Breaks Price-Performance Barrier for Most Demanding Security Installations Using Dual-Core Processors from Intel Source: Check Point® Software Technologies Ltd. (Nasdaq: CHKP)
REDWOOD CITY, Calif., September 25, 2006 – Check Point® Software Technologies Ltd. (Nasdaq: CHKP), the worldwide leader in securing the Internet today announced a performance breakthrough for security software in demanding network security environments.By utilizing Dual-Core Intel® Xeon® Processor 5100 products, Check Point VPN-1® Power™ now offers the best-in-class performance of any integrated firewall, VPN and intrusion prevention software available in the security market by delivering 10 Gigabits per second (Gbps) of throughput – a security industry first delivered on an open-server platform. This combined technology surpasses the speed of expensive specialized hardware while offering customers the flexibility to take advantage of the most recent high performance hardware developments.
"The Dual-Core Intel® Xeon® Processors 5100 Series provides better power management, reliability, speed, and can boost server performance by as much as two and a half times compared to our previous single-core offering," said Ton Steenman, general manager of the Infrastructure Processor Division, Intel. "Check Point is reaping the benefits of Dual-Core to offer the market a product that ensures high performance software security for organizations of all sizes."
The adoption of advanced, bandwidth-intensive applications such as VoIP, streaming video and real-time collaborative solutions have created a demand for high performance security solutions able to keep networks secure from Internet attacks and application vulnerabilities without performance degradation. Deep packet inspection of traffic with intrusion prevention enabled on a network firewall can significantly slow packet processing, causing an organization-wide bottleneck. Many organizations have turned to ASIC-based hardware to address performance needs but these appliances are expensive, difficult to upgrade and encounter depreciating performance as they deal with new threats.
Check Point VPN-1® Power™ is the industry's first integrated firewall, VPN and intrusion prevention solution that delivers the high performance needed to protect large enterprise, high-traffic networks. Through BIOS enhancements and the combination of Check Point SecureXL™ software acceleration technology with Dual-Core Intel Xeon processors 5100 innovations, the optimized open server platform used by Check Point VPN-1 Power enables customers to gain the pre-emptive, deep packet inspection protection of SmartDefense intrusion prevention while future-proofing their investment in network security software with a solution that achieves up to 10 Gbps of throughput. Check Point's open server approach delivers the promise, flexibility and affordability of software and allows customers to take advantage of complementary technology breakthroughs without protracted waiting due to firmware upgrades or hardware refresh-cycles. By utilizing this solution, companies can secure advanced, media-rich applications while protecting against the latest worms and application-level threats using general purpose hardware – saving time and money.
"High performance security solutions are necessary to protect enterprises from Internet threats and attacks as the adoption of bandwidth intensive, media rich applications proliferate in the workplace," said Dave Burton, director of product marketing, Check Point Software Technologies. "Through the Dual-Core Intel® Xeon® Processor 5100 Series, we achieved an industry-first 10 Gbps using an open server approach - a speed unmatched by any other software security vendor. Now customers can enjoy the flexibility of software with the high-performance of hardware at an unbeatable price-performance ratio."
Dual Core Intel Xeon Processors
Intel Xeon processors are the most-widely deployed server processors in the world and are ideal for a broad range of business solutions, from application servers to e-mail servers to Internet servers. Based on the new Intel® Core™ Microarchitecture and designed for volume 2-way configurations, the new Dual-Core processor based servers deliver additional levels of performance, power-efficiency and reliability to help you improve the efficiency and responsiveness of your server infrastructure.
Check Point VPN-1 Power
Check Point VPN-1 Power delivers comprehensive, accelerated security
for today's demanding environments,with tightly integrated firewall, VPN, and intrusion prevention technologies that provide comprehensive security and remote connectivity for corporate applications and network resources. Using SecureXL security acceleration, it accelerates the industry's most intelligent security inspection technologies, Stateful Inspection and Application Intelligence™ , providing pre-emptive attack prevention against network and application-layer attacks for high-performance networks. VPN-1 Power is available on the industry's broadest range of open platforms and security appliances—meeting the price-performance requirements of any size organization.
Check Point SecureXL
Check Point SecureXL is a software interface that enables Check Point to leverage technologies from multiple silicon, appliance and computer system partners to accelerate the performance of firewall and VPN gateways by off-loading simple, though computationally intensive functions to third-party packet processors. Devices utilizing the SecureXL technology meet customer needs by delivering multi-gigabit performance in multiple form factors and dramatically improving performance in real-world traffic conditions.
Performance Benefits
Check Point VPN-1 Power achieves performance metrics unmatched by any security vendor in the market at the same price-for-performance measurement.Some key statistics include:
- 10 Gigabits per second security inspection on a reference server – providing the best price-for-performance in the security industry
- Delivers 430 Mbps of throughput with firewall and intrusion prevention enabled for deep packet inspection
- 2,000,000 packets per second throughput to secure next generation communications such as VoIP and streaming video without performance degradation
- Up to 3.17 Gbps of encrypted traffic throughput for IPSec VPN realized on a reference platform
Date: 8-August-2006
SurfControl First to Detect Malicious Application on Fake Skype Web Site
Source: SurfControl (LSE: SRF)
SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif. (August 8, 2006) - SurfControl (LSE: SRF), the global leader in Internet protection, is currently tracking a new spyware threat that comes to users via an email written in Turkish and claiming to be from Skype, the popular voice over Internet protocol application. The body of the email encourages users to download the Skype application by clicking on an enclosed link. Upon clicking the link, users are taken to a site that appears to be the Turkish version of the Skype Web site to download the application.
The fake Skype Web site contains a malicious file, skypekur.exe, which when executed, installs multiple password recovery tools that extract passwords from IM applications, email clients, and FTP programs on an infected user's machine. Passwords, once extracted, are then sent back to the email's originator, thus compromising users' privacy.
SurfControl has added malcode protection for this attack into databases for all products. SurfControl also advises users to update any anti-virus software.
SurfControl's Threat Analysis and Research department is uniquely positioned to provide protection through its Adaptive Threat Intelligence service that spans the globe. Around-the-clock exchange of information on new threats allows SurfControl's Threat Experts to be at the forefront of Internet protection. SurfControl adds any new signatures and/or URLs to all three of the products in the SurfControl Enterprise Protection Suite.
Date: 6-March-2006
Check Point Connectra Delivers the Most Comprehensive SSL VPN with New Security, Application, and Performance Features
Check Point Recognized as One of the Premier SSL VPN Providers in the Industry
REDWOOD CITY,Calif., Mar. 6, 2006 – Check PointR Software Technologies Ltd. (Nasdaq: CHKP), the worldwide leader in securing the Internet, today announced that Check Point Connectra™, the company's complete Web security gateway with integrated endpoint security and intrusion prevention, now offers new security, application, and performance features that exceed customer demands for an SSL VPN solution. With the enhancements, enterprise customers across all vertical markets benefit from the most secure, comprehensive SSL VPN solution on the market that integrates with Check Point's unified security architecture.
New features included with Connectra are as follows:
Deeper Security Protection – With new on-demand secure workspace, Connectra enables the strongest confidentiality protection when sharing information with third party PCs.
Broader Application Support – Adds clientless on-demand support for remote desktop, terminal emulation and other new applications through browser applets.
Stronger Performance – Delivers stateful load balancing and failover through Check Point's integrated ClusterXL™, the same cluster technology relied upon by thousands of Check Point VPN-1R customers.
With the increased requirement to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of business communications, Connectra delivers a comprehensive solution that enables businesses to deploy SSL VPNs with the security and scalability that they need to maximize overall efficiency.
Connectra is a part of Check Point's NGX platform. The NGX platform delivers a unified security architecture that enables enterprises to reduce the cost and complexity of security management and ensure that their defenses can easily adapt to new and evolving threats. For more information on Connectra, please visit http://www.checkpoint.com/products/connectra/index.html.
About Check Point Software Technologies Ltd.
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (www.checkpoint.com) is a leader in securing the Internet. It is a 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, Web, and endpoint 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 the highest rated personal computer security suite, comprised of 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 and its customers include 100% of Fortune 100 companies and tens of thousands of businesses and organizations of all sizes.
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