Fidelis Adds Botnet Visibility And Control To Enterprise Security Software

PRESS RELEASE

WALTHAM, MA & BETHESDA, MD – December 8, 2010 – Fidelis Security Systems, the market leader in network security solutions for the prevention of cyber attacks and data breaches, today announced that their award-winning network security solution, Fidelis XPS™, provides an Anti-Botnet threat intelligence feed powered by Umbra Data. Building upon the Anti-Malware and Anti-Phishing threat intelligence feeds already available in Fidelis XPS, customers now can strengthen their security posture by including the ability to detect and disrupt communications with botnet command and control (C&C) systems. The Fidelis XPS Threat Intelligence Feeds provide dynamic, actionable threat intelligence that enables organizations to automatically detect, contain and prevent cyber attacks from known malicious threat actors.

Botnets are collections of computers which are under the control of software agents that were installed covertly and usually for malicious purposes. These infections turn the host computers into work units for the controlling entity and typically steal personal information or intellectual property, send SPAM, and execute automated, remotely controlled attacks on networked computers. Estimates indicate that between 70% and 90% of all spam messages are sent from bot-controlled computers.

"Up-to-date information on external threats can help an organization recognize abnormal activity. For example, a small amount of outbound activity to an external IP address might look normal and would be easily overlooked. Everything changes if there is threat intelligence that indicates that the destination is associated with botnet control,” as stated in the report by Mark Nicolett, VP Distinguished Analyst, Gartner.*

The Fidelis XPS Anti-Botnet Feed, powered by Umbra Data, enables organizations to break the link between the cybercriminal and their unwitting victims through the use of the most comprehensive dynamic list of C&C systems, with more than 100,000 suspect C&C systems under surveillance. Through sophisticated data correlation techniques, rigorous vetting, consistent validation and updating, the Anti-Botnet Feed identifies and publishes lists of active botnet C&C systems to proactively manage “zombies” (compromised endpoints) without disturbing the normal course of business for the end-user.

"Botnets are clearly an issue. Now well beyond a spam platform, adaptive persistent adversaries (state and criminal actors) leverage botnet covert command and control (C&C) channels to exfiltrate intellectual property and other value,” Josh Corman, Research Director of Enterprise Security Practice, The 451 Group.

After an initial complementary three month subscription, Fidelis XPS customers can purchase the Fidelis XPS Anti-Botnet Feed, powered by Umbra Data, directly from Fidelis Security Systems as an annual subscription service.

“With the addition of the Anti-Botnet threat intelligence feed, Fidelis XPS strengthens its position as an invaluable tool in an organization’s cyber security workbench, protecting their most sensitive and classified information from exfiltration and attack,” said Peter George, CEO of Fidelis Security Systems. “Providing deeper real-time reputational knowledge for all ports, along with the unprecedented visibility and control of network traffic, allows our global enterprise and government customers to detect and prevent today’s advanced and persistent cyber threats.”

Upcoming Webinar

Learn more about botnets and the realities of the risks they pose to your network by attending the upcoming webinar, “Shake Those Zombies Loose: Get Botnet Visibility & Control” Webinar at 1:00 p.m. EST on January 19, 2011. Please visit www.fidelissecurity.com/webinars to register.

*Gartner, Inc. Effective Security Monitoring Requires Context, Mark Nicolett, July 6, 2010.

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About Fidelis Security Systems Since 2002, Fidelis Security Systems has been providing organizations with the power to protect their sensitive information from data breaches and cyber attacks. Built on a patented Deep Session Inspection™, platform, the Fidelis Extrusion Prevention System' is the industry's only next-generation network security solution with the visibility and control necessary to stop data breaches by uniquely working at the session-level where today’s threats occur. Fidelis enables their government, military, and commercial enterprise customers around the globe to see, study, and stop advanced threats with a single engine for real-time proactive situational awareness.