Barbedwire Hopes Star Will Shine

The company's Security Threat Analysis & Active Response (STAR) management platform provides comprehensive event correlation, threat analysis and response for enterprises, which have a variety of firewalls, intrusion-detection systems and other security devices, said executives at Barbedwire, which makes firewall/VPN appliances that run products from Check Point Software Technologies, and devices that incorporate open-source technology such as Snort intrusion detection.

"The STAR engine is geared [toward] the fact that all the different products in midsize to large organizations have their own reporting and management systems," said Zia Iqbal, CEO of Barbedwire, based here. "What happens is that the correlation of the different security systems becomes next to impossible."

STAR consists of a hardware-management console and software agents that collect data from various security devices and relay it back to the console via a secure SSL connection, Iqbal said. The console puts that information, along with system log data from network devices, into a database. "The reporting done against this archived data gives you a complete picture of all of the security events collected over the network," Iqbal said, adding that STAR also features a response system that can impose a temporary security policy to block an attack.

Barbedwire has filed two patents for STAR, which is slated for production in early April. Pricing is expected to start at $10,000.

That pricing, combined with strong technology, will make STAR attractive to the midmarket, said Shakir Khan, CEO of Fortifire, a security solution provider based in Hayward, Calif. "Attacks are getting very sophisticated, and the data is getting too complicated," Khan said. "We need something comprehensive. It's a solution that's needed, and price is a big factor."

Using an enterprise security management console that aggregates data from multiple sources is becoming a trend in the IT security industry. Other vendors offering similar tools include ArcSight, e-Security and Symantec, which rolled out its Security Management System last fall.