WatchGuard Technologies’ New Policy Map Provides ‘X-Ray’ Vision Into Firewall Configurations and Network Traffic

PRESS RELEASE

SEATTLE – September 8, 2014 – WatchGuard® Technologies, a leader in integrated security platforms, today announced the industry’s first interactive, integrated policy mapping capability for Unified Threat Management (UTM) and Next-Generation Firewall (NGFW) appliances. Available in the latest version of the award-winning[i] real-time network security visibility solution, WatchGuard Dimension™, Policy Map provides a comprehensive view of traffic flow and policy impact across the entire network, with the ability to quickly filter or drill down for additional detail and analysis.

Security policies are central to firewall operation. According to a 2014 Verizon Report[ii], there’s a strong correlation between a badly configured firewall and the likelihood of a security breach. Dimension Policy Map aggregates disparate information about policies, interfaces, applications and related traffic flows, and presents it in a simple, intuitive and interactive visualization dashboard. It can be used for policy audits, to find active and misconfigured policies, to identify unusual/abnormal traffic patterns, to visually check if firewall policies or configuration changes have the intended impact on traffic patterns and much more.

"I’ve worked with other network vendors for years and they’ve never delivered this type of real-time analysis. Policy map is a powerful tool,” said César Schmitzhaus of Brazil-based Teltec Solutions, a Managed Security Services Provider (MSSP) that has been beta testing Policy Map. “The ability to see and analyze in real time the exact impact these policies are having on customers is incredibly powerful.  There’s no need for complicated reports, just an easy way for my entire team, even CIOs, to see what’s happening.”

“Security policies are the brains of a firewall and dictate the effectiveness of any firewall configuration and directly impact our customers’ network protection,” said Dave R. Taylor, vice president of corporate and product strategy at WatchGuard Technologies. “Given the tremendous customer uptake for Dimension on a global basis, we recognized an opportunity to improve their security management and help eliminate errors by giving network administrators a powerful tool for visualizing policy analysis. They can now see policies like never before and instantly evaluate the impact on the network or user.”

Beyond Policy Map, the newest update to Dimension brings a variety of additional insightful reporting and new dashboard features that includes information on zero-day malware, details about website visits and traffic disposition, enhanced navigation and consolidated CA certificate management. And, it comes free on any WatchGuard UTM or NGFW platform.

WatchGuard Dimension has been gaining rapid market adoption since it was first launched in late 2013. Customers have used the network security visibility tool to monitor and gain critical and timely insights about network security threats, bandwidth and Internet usage, as well as related traffic trends. For complete information on the latest upgrades to Dimension or to test-drive the tool, click here.

About WatchGuard Technologies, Inc.

WatchGuard® Technologies, Inc. is a global leader of integrated, multi-function business security solutions that intelligently combine industry standard hardware, best-of-breed security features, and policy-based management tools. WatchGuard provides easy-to-use, but enterprise-powerful protection to hundreds of thousands of businesses worldwide. WatchGuard products are backed by WatchGuard LiveSecurity® Service, an innovative support program. WatchGuard is headquartered in Seattle, Wash. with offices throughout North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Latin America. To learn more, visit WatchGuard.com.

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