Cisco Advances Its Integrated Security Strategy

Business Wire, Feb 18, 2003

Business Editors and High Tech Writers

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 18, 2003

Cisco Systems, Inc. today unveiled an array of new intrusion protection and firewall extensions to its integrated security portfolio. These new platform and software enhancements underscore Cisco's integrated security strategy to tightly link network and security services for dynamic protection of business-critical applications and services.

Advancements in Intrusion Protection

Customers, increasingly challenged by false alarms, recognize the value of intrusion protection technology but have been reticent to adopt it broadly for fear of spending the majority of their time discerning false alarms from real attacks to their networks.

To address this challenge, Cisco(R) is introducing Cisco IDS Software Version 4.0, new Cisco Threat Response (CTR) technology, the Cisco IDS 4250-XL Sensor and Cisco Catalyst(R) 6500 Series Intrusion Detection System (IDSM-2) Services Module, and improved intrusion protection management. Together these products and technologies are designed to deliver:

-- Accurate threat detection and mitigation: Cisco IDS Software Version 4.0 provides extended threat detection and classification capabilities, including stateful pattern recognition as well as protocol and traffic anomaly detection. This delivers advanced protocol monitoring, analysis and automated response capabilities for more accurate threat detection and attack mitigation. A new easy-to-use, flexible policy language gives customers' added customization and tuning.

-- Intelligent and rapid threat response: Through Cisco Threat Response Technology (CTR), customers can reduce false alarms by up to 95 percent, escalate real attacks, and eliminate costly intrusions. CTR's unique intelligent threat investigation techniques conduct detailed, "just-in-time" system investigations, capturing forensic evidence, and automating the traditionally manual process of intrusion investigation for fast and cost-effective results.

-- High-performance intrusion protection: Two new intrusion protection systems raise the performance bar for today's demanding network IDS sensing environments. The Cisco IDS 4250-XL Sensor delivers gigabit performance in a flexible configuration chassis, and the Catalyst 6500 IDSM-2 offers 600 Mbps of high-performance, network-integrated protection.

-- Enhanced intrusion protection efficiency and reliability: Cisco IDS Software Version 4.0 provides a consistent software deployment across all network-based IDS platforms, including specialized appliances and switch security modules. New intrusion protection management capabilities reduce complexity and simplify operations giving customers access to unified security monitoring, including security event correlation and reporting, as well as comprehensive configuration capabilities. Together, this provides customers with network-wide administrative consistency and operational cost reductions.

"As the industry-leading content management and portal solution provider, Vignette appreciates the importance and value of accurate network threat investigation and mitigation to sustain business productivity," said Selim Nart, senior network engineer at Vignette. "Cisco's intrusion protection offerings are part of our ongoing initiatives to maximize network and business up-time."

Extensions to Market-Leading Cisco PIX Firewall Family

New Cisco PIX(R) Firewall software and hardware-based VPN acceleration capabilities extend Cisco's market leadership in offering high-performance, integrated security services for converged data, voice, and video environments.

New extensions include the Cisco PIX Firewall Software Version 6.3, VPN Acceleration Card+ (VAC+), and PIX Device Manager Version 3.0 (PDM), and provide customers the following:

    --  Increased availability, performance, and integration: Cisco
        PIX Firewall Software Version 6.3 incorporates new support for
        Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) routing and virtual LANs
        (VLANs), allowing full participation in load-balancing,
        fast-route convergence, and Layer 2 networking for increased
        availability, performance, and integration.

    --  Enhanced VPN performance and services: The VAC+ improves VPN
        performance by up to 400 percent and adds support for the
        Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) with up to 256-bit keys,
        setting a new price/performance bar for enterprise-class
        firewall solutions.

        New enhancements to the Cisco PIX Easy VPN service provides a
        new level of device and user authentication and enhanced
        scalability with improved VPN resiliency when integrated with
        the Cisco VPN 3000 Series Concentrator. Together these new
        capabilities provide enhanced security, maximize VPN uptime,
        improve productivity and reduce operational costs.

    --  Extending VoIP security leadership: The Cisco PIX Firewall now
        enables secure deployment of voice-over-IP (VoIP) and
        multimedia applications with new or enhanced support for eight
        VoIP protocols and facilitates secure distributed
        call-processing environments typically offered by service
        providers through the new Media Gateway Control Protocol
        (MGCP) standard.

    --  Increased security threat visibility and operational
        efficiency: PIX Device Manager (PDM) Version 3.0 provides
        improved security threat visibility through data gathering on
        tested or triggered security policies and log message
        management. Simplified remote management of Cisco PIX
        firewalls over VPN connections provides added efficiency and
        reduces total cost of ownership.