The Sophos WS1000 Web Security Appliance.
Sophos, a world leader in integrated threat management
solutions, today launched the WS1000, the industry's first
all-in-one web control platform designed to provide trusted content
security, application control and URL filtering in a single
appliance solution. The WS1000 appliance ensures a secure web
browsing experience as it protects against all forms of threats as
well as productivity inhibitors with no negative effect on user
experience.
Malware writers consistently seek the easiest entry point into
the network. Today, that point is the web. The emergence of Web 2.0
has amplified the level of exposure by redefining how individuals
interact with the internet. In addition to accessing unregulated
sites, increasingly web-savvy users are downloading applications
and streaming audio/video. Current business defenses inadequately
protect against the new set of threats posed by this user
behavior.
"Faced with superior defenses at other points on the network,
sophisticated hackers have turned to the web as a new way to
penetrate an enterprise," said Per Andersen, Group VP of IDC EMEA.
"Our research shows that 30 percent of companies with 500 or more
employees have been infected as a result of internet surfing,
indicating a tremendous need for a solution that protects end-users
from the growing number of web-based threats."
Organizations require a complete platform-based solution from a
trusted vendor that addresses all security needs including
web-specific content security, application control and URL
filtering.
The WS1000 answers those needs by defending against the three
categories of threats-known, emerging and unknown-regardless of
their type (spyware, viruses, Trojans, worms, adware, phishing
attacks, etc.). Sophos's WS1000 protection is powered by
intelligence gathered from scanning billions of unique web pages,
identifying more than 5,000 new malware-hosting URLs daily.
Additionally, Sophos's application control allows administrators
to quickly decide what is permitted in the network thereby
mitigating threat entry and managing bandwidth.
Sophos's technical expertise strengthens the WS1000's critical
value to any organization. Notable benefits include:
- Only vendor to have visibility into billions of internet web
pages, discovering more than 5,000 new malware-hosting sites a day.
The WS1000 is automatically updated against these new and emerging
threats every five minutes
- Fastest scanning speed as only a single pass identifies all
threats
- Analysis of new malware identifies websites that are being used
to host additional malicious code, and blocks access
- "Three-clicks-to-anywhere" interface ensures easy management of
the appliance
"The deployment of WS1000 was among the easiest I've seen, and I
was particularly impressed with the intuitive management console,
which allowed me to quickly navigate and view web traffic
statistics, usage and performance reports," said Wally Eisenhart,
Network Administrator at Sungard Pentamation. "In our tests, the
WS1000 prevented malware flawlessly without sacrificing on
performance. Since end-users are reliant on using the web on a
daily basis, it is essential that they are able to do so both
quickly and safely."
The WS1000 appliance boasts an easy-to-use
interface.
"Sophos continues to head the list of 'industry firsts' with the
WS1000 as it's the first, complete web security control platform,"
said Steve
Munford, CEO, Sophos. "Malicious attackers are moving at a
greater speed than ever before - some changing their web-hosted
malware every 15 minutes to try and avoid detection. Our ability to
track billions of web pages for malicious code means that
organizations can deploy the best, most comprehensives defense
against all threats."
Sophos also announced today that it has partnered
with SurfControl to incorporate into the WS1000 appliance
SurfControl's market-leading URL classification engine, which has
categorized over 3 billion web pages. The partnership will bring
the benefits of the world's leading combination of URL filtering
and malware protection into one solution.
