Sophos, the world leader in protecting businesses against
viruses, spyware and spam, today announced the launch of new
Application
Control features that allow system administrators to
selectively block unauthorized VoIP, peer-to-peer (P2P) and Instant
Messaging (IM) applications that can present risks to company data
and networks.
The new capabilities integrate seamlessly into Sophos
Anti-Virus, version 6, providing users with a universal desktop
client that addresses a diverse range of security and productivity
challenges. Sophos's latest offering comes in response to security
and efficiency concerns resulting from the uncontrolled adoption of
VoIP, P2P and IM in the enterprise.
A survey conducted earlier this month by Sophos reflects the
serious concern that uncontrolled applications are causing system
administrators. For example, 86.1 percent of respondents said they
want the opportunity to block VoIP applications, with 62.8 percent
indicating blocking is essential.
Source: Sophos online poll, 460 respondents,
September 2006
"Our guests and their experience are our highest priority, and
they expect system availability and information security.
Therefore, a centrally managed, integrated solution which protects
our systems from malware is of the utmost importance," said Cris
Williams, Manager of Infrastructure Technologies at Hilton Hotels
Corporation. "Introducing application control to that solution
would further improve our threat management stance by limiting
exposure to our networks."
"Clearly enterprises want to stop employees from running
unauthorized programs that eat up bandwidth, violate security
policies or result in data leakage. This is a problem that wants to
be solved, and Sophos has a simple solution," said Steve
Munford, CEO of Sophos. "Sophos gives companies the tools to
combat a growing problem without having to roll out new software or
learn how to use a new management console. Our goal is to provide
enterprises with a single management console and universal client
for both security and general desktop management."
Sophos's solution gives system administrators the power to
selectively allow or block usage of applications by individuals or
groups. As a result, they can implement flexible policies that
reflect the diverse needs of groups across the enterprise.
"Companies are in danger of losing control and accountability if
they allow their users to decide what software they run on their
computers," said Phil Cracknell, President of the Information
Systems Security Association (ISSA). "To stop productivity and
security issues raising their ugly head businesses should manage
and authorize what applications are allowed to run on the
network."
"While much of the attention is about the external threat,
individuals inside the enterprise have the potential to cause the
largest security problems," said Brian Burke, Research manager for
IDC's Security Products service. "System administrators need a
simple, flexible solution that not only ensures peace of mind, but
guarantees the ability to develop and enforce policies that work
for all parts of the enterprise. Sophos is accomplishing this by
offering companies all the functionality within its existing
enterprise solution along added protection to the core
offering."
Pricing and Availability:
Application Control is an optional feature of Sophos Anti-Virus,
version 6, available to both new and existing customers. Existing
customers of Sophos Anti-Virus for Windows 2000/XP/2003, version 6,
can use this new feature at no additional charge. New customers
have the option to deploy Sophos Anti-Virus either with or without
Application Control.
More than 100 million users in 150 countries rely on Sophos as the best protection against complex threats and data loss. Sophos is committed to providing security and data protection solutions that are simple to manage, deploy and use and that deliver the industry's lowest total cost of ownership. Sophos offers award-winning encryption, endpoint security, web, email, and network access control solutions backed by SophosLabs - a global network of threat intelligence centers. With more than two decades of experience, Sophos is regarded as a leader in security and data protection by top analyst firms and has received many industry awards.
Sophos is headquartered in Boston, US and Oxford, UK. More information is available at www.sophos.com.