Check Point Software has announced its SmartDefense product, which
will augment its firewall products with enhanced capabilities to
stop worms and other Internet attacks.
SmartDefense is a combination of a software product and a real time
intelligence service that will offer administrators fast access to
information about emerging threats, said Raphael Reich, Check Point
product marketing manager.
The product will go into beta testing next week and will ship in
the third quarter, he said. The enhanced detection and security
components of the product will be incorporated into all Check Point
security products for free, but the intelligence service will be
sold on a subscription basis, he said.
SmartDefense will give administrators a single place from which to
gather information about known and emerging attacks, configure
their firewalls to defend against those attacks, and more, Reich
said.
The SmartDefense application will allow administrators to block
specific attacks and will also offer a window in which updated
information about new attacks will be presented, he said. That
information will be drawn from various public sources online and
will include links to other sites that provide additional
information about the attacks, he said.
The new offering will be "truly complementary to the firewall", as
well as to antivirus software and intrusion detection systems, said
Greg Smith, director of product marketing at Check Point.
In order for Check Point to be able quickly offer detection of new
threats, they will need to employ a staff of researchers, much like
the ones employed by antivirus companies, said Anil Phull, senior
analyst at the Yankee Group.
Antivirus companies employ tens or hundreds of people worldwide to
detect new threats and it is "not clearly defined in [Check
Point's] announcement" that the company has such an organisation in
place, he said.
Check Point's Smith said the company create such a team, but
declined to provide more detail about it.
Despite the unanswered questions, SmartDefense "might be a way to
enhance the product into a really, really intelligent firewall",
Phull said.
The intelligence service aspect of the announcement is perhaps the
most exciting aspect and is likely to be the most well received by
Check Point customers, Phull said. Administrators using Check Point
software are interested in receiving this sort of real time threat
information and Check Point is attempting to meet that demand, he
said.
Subscriptions to the SmartDefense intelligence service will cost
$1,000 (£689) per gateway per year or $10,000 (£6,886) per year for
up to 100 gateways, Reich said.