Internet Security Systems jumped into the e-mail security appliance market with a new appliance that brings together multiple technologies to pre-emptively protect network messaging infrastructure from known and unknown threats.
ISS' Proventia Network Mail Security System takes gateway antivirus and antispam and marries them with intrusion prevention to guard against the growing number of threats that use messaging as an attack vector, said Dave Ostrowski, product strategy manager at Atlanta-based ISS.
The Proventia Network Mail Security System offers protection from threats such as the SQL Slammer worm and Microsoft's recent Windows Server Service vulnerability, both of which spread via messaging, Ostrowski said.
"As a company that's focused more on threats and vulnerabilities, ISS is better positioned to provide a product that does more of the IPS [intrusion-prevention system] heavy lifting before the e-mail gets in the door," said Brandy Peterson, CTO of Fishnet Security, a Kansas City, Mo.-based solution provider.
Additional appliance features include content and embedded URL filtering and an image analysis module that protects against the growing incidence of image spam. The image analysis module can protect against attacks that target vulnerabilities in the rendering portion of Windows .jpg files, Peterson said.
The appliance uses ISS' Virus Prevention System (VPS), a proprietary technology that examines the behavior of e-mail attachments in a virtual environment to identify behavior typically associated with malicious executable files, making it effective for blocking viruses and other zero-day threats, Ostrowski said.
"This method allows the solution to block 95 percent of viruses without requiring signature updates," Ostrowski said.
ISS expects the appliance to appeal to large enterprises and MSPs, Ostrowski said. For channel partners, the appliance form factor creates service opportunities such as installation, configuration and ongoing maintenance, he added.
Customers are interested in getting more out of the infrastructure they have in place, Peterson said.
"For someone who has a homogenous ISS environment, this is an opportunity to add some more security while maintaining a common management platform," he added.
The Proventia Network Mail Security System is available now and is priced starting at $20,000 for 2,500 users.
