Zero-Day Protection On Tap

The situation has caused vendors and solution providers to come up with new ways to combat security breaches. The key to effective combat is being able to identify both known and unknown attacks and then take the appropriate action.

The real problem is the unknown, or zero-day, attack. These attacks occur before major vendors have identified a new security threat and before they have updated their products to handle it. An effective security appliance must be able to address zero-day attacks; otherwise, companies may become unwitting victims. WatchGuard's FireBox X Peak is a high-performance appliance that combines several critical security services from intrusion detection to antivirus capabilities to malicious code prevention.

The Firebox X Peak was designed with zero-day protection in mind. Using a layered security approach, the unit examines all incoming and outgoing traffic for anomalies, while also checking for malicious code signatures and malformed packets. The appliance forces all traffic to pass through a series of virtual gates, each with its own set of checks and balances. This layered approach is quite effective at stopping almost any threat. The Firebox X Peak creates no detectable latency for the typical network, thanks to the unit's throughput capacity of more than 1 Gbit per second.

Flexibility is another area in which WatchGuard's offering excels. The device is equipped with 10 Fast Ethernet ports so integrators can configure the unit to fit almost any scenario. Each port is fully configurable and can take on almost any defined role—from segmenting internal networks to providing DMZ capabilities. What's more, three of the ports support Gigabit Ethernet to allow for the creation of high-speed network backbone connections. The unit's ports also can serve as failover candidates, which means redundancy can be built right in without additional expense. Other notable features include traffic management, quality of service and dynamic routing to fine-tune network performance.

The browser-based console is concise, allows for speedy setup and offers ample help. Rich graphics are used to visually represent the network and network status. Administrators have access to extensive logs, helpful for forensics and ROI calculations. Spam filtering, content control and other security features are available as modular add-ons to the platform. Upgrades to the unit can be done on the fly by simply installing software license keys.

WatchGuard is 100 percent channel-focused. Its partner program requires resellers to meet sales quotas and certification criteria, purchase an internal use unit and actively market WatchGuard products. Dedicated technical support is offered to all partners, and the company guarantees a three-hour response time. Marketing and sales support, MDF, recurring product rebates, a dedicated partner Web site and e-mail newsletter also are provided. The FireBox X Peak costs just under $10,000, and average reseller margin is 20 percent.