Cisco's security agent guards desktops

20 May 2003 09:09

In a rare move, Cisco is launching a security product for the corporate desktop PC. The announcement is part of a larger move into the security solutions market

In order to fulfil its aim to provide end-to-end security for its customers, Cisco will announce 14 new security products and services on Tuesday. The company is also focussing on selling more software to a platform that Cisco has rarely touched: the corporate desktop PC.

"Companies are looking for a single, integrated solution in the form of a single provider, to keep control of their networks," said Jeff Platon, senior director of product and technology marketing. "Using three different boxes and three applications to control them is not going to cut it anymore."

The updated and new products include three security management products, three hardware-based accelerators for the company's VPN (virtual private network) products, and five new components to its intrusion detection system, one of which protects desktop PCs from potential threats and another that does the same for servers. Three others, including a new version of the company's VPN client for desktop PCs, are also due to be announced.

"Cisco aims to be a major provider of security by embedding it into their routers and systems and (by moving) to more desktop and host server security," said Charles Kolodgy, research director for market research company IDC.

In one of the major pieces of Cisco's forthcoming announcement, the network-hardware maker said it intends to license security management software from netForensics and rebrand it as CiscoWorks Security Information Management Solution (SIMS). The software is designed to help administrators monitor security devices from Cisco and other companies.

"(Cisco) gets to support competitors' products, without competitors having to provide information to Cisco that they might not want (disclosed to the company)," Kolodgy said, underscoring the reason that the networking company may have had for using another's companies technology instead of its own.

Two other products that will be announced came out of Cisco's purchase of intrusion detection company Okena.

The Cisco Security Agent for Desktops aims to stop attacks on corporate PCs by looking for anomalous network behaviour and blocking it, while Cisco Security Agent for Servers does the same for the heavy lifters of the corporate network.

Cisco has already signalled its intention to move into other markets from which it traditionally has shied away, such as the home. In March, the company said it would buy consumer-oriented network hardware maker Linksys in a stock deal worth about $500m.

Networks and networking products have seen huge innovation and growth in the last few years. High bandwidth LANs and Storage Area Networks are now in common use. ZDNet UK's Networking Central keeps you up to date with the latest news and views.

Let the editors know what you think in the Mailroom.