Check Point Offers Zone Defense With InterSpect Upgrade

InterSpect 2.0 provides a new spate of solutions to fight worms and viruses and offers network zone segmentation for quarantining problems. It was expected to be available to solution providers immediately.

According to Tamir Hardof, product marketing manager at the Redwood City, Calif., vendor, the new InterSpect also incorporates further integration with the Check Point Integrity end-point security solution to safeguard networks from attacks introduced inside the network.

"We are trying to raise the bar on internal security across the board," Hardof said. "If solution providers are looking to provide customers with a complete solution, this product complements a perimeter solution nicely by protecting everything inside."

The new tool boasts one-click SmartDefense antivirus updates, as well as proactive protection that can recognize and stop the spread of e-mail worms by restricting messages delivered to the network using POP3/IMAP protocols, he said. Customers also can manage and deploy these offerings from Check Point's Smart management architecture, and view InterSpect 2.0 logs in the company's SmartCenter console for easier management of enterprisewide deployments.

The first iteration of InterSpect, launched in January, did not contain any of these features. Solution providers who tested the latest version of the product said they like how it has evolved.

Steven Snider, president of Cadre Computer Resources, Cincinnati, hailed the device's quarantine functions in particular, saying the enhancements are just part of the tool's progression to intrusion prevention from intrusion detection.

"Initial versions of InterSpect could do quarantining, but it was shotgun-type quarantining," Snider said. "The 2.0 version can get all the way down to user quarantine so that if you have a user who has a nasty worm or something like that, instead of shutting off the whole segment, you can just shut off that one user."

Check Point last week also reported financial results for the third quarter ended Sept. 30. Revenue for the third quarter was $129.3 million, compared with $106.3 million in the third quarter of 2003.

Pricing for InterSpect 2.0 ranges from $9,000 to $39,000. The product comes in four different models.