Security News
Check Point CEO Gil Shwed On ‘Prevention-First’ XDR And Security Vendor ‘Overload’
Kyle Alspach
In an interview with CRN, Shwed makes the case for the company’s prevention-focused approach to cyberdefense, and says more security vendors may shut down amid the challenging economy.
Shwed On The Record
In the cybersecurity industry, many see it as a positive development that cyberdefense is not just about prevention anymore. Since it’s now recognized that “breaches happen,” deploying tools on the preventative side is not enough, the thinking goes. But if Gil Shwed is right, we maybe shouldn’t be so quick to demote the role of prevention. Shwed, the co-founder and CEO of Check Point Software Technologies, has played a central role in shaping the cyberdefense industry for three decades. And in his view, the fact that cyberattacks continue to grow in number and sophistication suggests a “prevention-first” mindset is still required. “Our message to the world is that these attacks can be prevented,” he said in a recent interview with CRN.
[Related: Check Point Hires Distribution Vet Francisco Criado As New Channel Chief]
For Check Point, that means taking a different approach from competitors on extended detection and response (XDR), Shwed said. XDR gathers data from numerous sources to correlate and prioritize threats, but most XDR platforms are focused on detecting attacks that’ve already occurred, he said. Check Point, instead, is touting its platform as “XPR,” for extended prevention and response. “Many XDR solutions go and collect logs, but the collection takes time and the analysis is done minutes or even hours later,” Shwed said. “What we’re doing is in real-time. I’m seeing a file, I’m analyzing the file, and immediately I take action. It’s not an hour later.”
Beyond Check Point’s XDR/XPR platform, Shwed also discussed the advantages of the company’s SASE (secure access service edge) offering and why Check Point opted to develop its own SD-WAN platform, which was announced in February. And the Check Point CEO offered thoughts on how the difficult economic environment could impact the cybersecurity industry and its vast quantity of vendors: “I think we will see some rationalization of the market, and unfortunately [some] companies that don’t survive or have a hard time surviving.”
What follows is an edited portion of CRN’s interview with Shwed.
