Press Release
Amidst Cybersecurity Reforms, Stonesoft Shares Ways Feds Can Immediately Reduce Security Threats
ATLANTA – July 20, 2010 – Stonesoft, an innovative provider of
integrated network security and business continuity solutions, today announced several ways federal
agencies can immediately improve network security. This announcement comes on the heels of the
passing of The Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act of 2010, which urges agencies to focus
on continuous monitoring and risk reduction to improve network security.
While much of the attention surrounding this legislation has been on the controversial “kill-switch” rights granted to the presidential office, the legislation also signals a progressive stance on network security. For the past several years, federal agencies have been bogged down with strenuous reporting requirements set forth in the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA). The new legislation urges agencies to shift their focus and spending from reporting to risk reduction as well as continuous and more robust network monitoring.
“Right now, complexity is as big of a threat as the latest botnet or virus. The recent cybersecurity legislation acknowledges this. Agencies that wish to meet the highest level of security must be able to quickly and easily identify and prevent network threats. The only way to do that is to simplify the way agencies monitor and manage their networks,” said Jeff Hajek, senior vice president of operations for Stonesoft, Inc.
Stonesoft works with more than 60 government agencies across the globe to simplify the monitoring, management and security of their complex networks. Stonesoft suggests the following actions be taken by today’s government agencies to ensure fast compliance with the new cybersecurity reforms, as well as to increase network security:
-
Centralize monitoring.
With a myriad of virtual, physical and different vendor devices across
the network, today’s government agencies are challenged to effectively monitor network security.
Multiple device consoles are often used which impairs network visibility and incident resolution
times, as well as increases the risk of human error. Stonesoft recommends agencies deploy
centralized device monitoring technologies, such as the StoneGate Management Center, that
centralize the monitoring, management and configuration of all network devices – including
physical, virtual and third-party devices.
- Deploy federated ID. The number of government agencies using cloud computing is on the rise...and so are many new security threats. One of these is inadequate user authentication across the network. In a cloud environment, workers must log into multiple applications and services versus a single desktop login process. This presents a formidable security pitfall, as agencies may lose control over their ability to ensure strong authentication at the user level. To mitigate this risk, organizations need “single sign-on” capabilities – such as those provided by the StoneGate SSL VPN – that enable users to access multiple applications and services within the cloud through a single login.
- Invest in IPS. Intrusion prevention systems have traditionally conducted deep traffic inspection of network traffic behind the network perimeter, after traffic passes through the firewall. With more than 80 percent of all network traffic arriving as web traffic (http/https), the deep inspection capabilities of IPS are now required alongside the firewall to secure the network. Waiting to conduct deep packet inspection after traffic passes into the network may be too late. Today, next generation firewalls – such as the StoneGate NextGen Firewall – combine first generation firewall and advanced IPS inspection capabilities as a powerful first line of defense.
For more information on Stonesoft’s network security solutions, please visit www.stonesoft.com.
About Stonesoft
Stonesoft Corporation (NASDAQ OMX: SFT1V) delivers proven,
innovative solutions that simplify network security management for even the most complex network
environments. The StoneGate Platform unifies management of entire networks—including StoneGate and
third-party devices—blending integrated threat management, end-to-end high availability and network
optimization into a centrally controlled system. As a result, Stonesoft provides the highest levels
of proactive control, always-on connectivity and compliance at the lowest total cost of ownership
(TCO) on the market today. Founded in 1990, the company is an established leader in network
security innovation with corporate headquarters in Helsinki, Finland and Americas headquarters in
Atlanta, Georgia. For more information, visit
www.stonesoft.com
and
http://stoneblog.stonesoft.com
.
Media Contact
Hannah Bower
hannah@bower-communications.com
404.371.3989
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
