As the security market grows, vendors are on the lookout for competitive advantages. One potential path to greater profit is through partnerships.
One example is Cisco IronPort and RSA, the security division of EMC (NYSE:EMC). The two have combined IronPort’s e-mail security appliances with RSA’s Data Loss Prevention (DLP) technology to deliver new capabilities to Cisco customers.
Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO) IronPort’s C-Series e-mail security appliances incorporate RSA DLP technology today and its S-Series Web security appliances will incorporate RSA DLP technology in the future. In addition, Cisco has announced a DLP Risk Assessment consulting service.
“Not all breaches are human initiated. Spyware, Trojans, and other malware are designed to suck valuable information out of customer premises,” Keith Valory, Cisco IronPort director of product management, told InternetNews.com.
“But you need more than technology,” he added. “You need to ensure that you have the right controls in place in the IT environment so that only people with a need to know have access to sensitive information. You need to protect data and be in compliance with the laws. Our DLP service, a lighter weight professional service, helps you do that.”
New technology brings new features and capabilities, but also security challenges, the two companies said.
“Like never before, mobile devices and collaborative applications are allowing enterprise users to access and share information with ease, making it increasingly difficult for IT organizations to keep sensitive data protected,” said Tom Corn, RSA vice president of marketing, in a statement.
“These solutions give our customers an immediate head start on reducing the risk of data loss,” added Valory in a statement.
“A comprehensive and global network of RSA staff follow new laws and changes to laws,” Valory told InternetNews.com. “They update RSA’s content and policy classifications so that clients don’t need to worry about making changes to their settings when the laws change.”
Data in motion
“We see data loss in three broad buckets,” he said. “There’s data in motion over the network, data at rest on servers, and data at use on endpoints and clients.”
He added that customers and analysts have told IronPort that data in motion is the biggest problem.
Valory said that customers have wanted to implement DLP in the past but found it expensive to buy and difficult to install.
“Customers can now one-click-enable HIPAA policies to ensure that critical data is encrypted,” Valory said. “And over time, if the network has unique issues, they can layer those in over time with custom rule sets.” (HIPAA is the U.S. government’s Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act designed to provide coverage for workers and their families when they change or lose their jobs).
E-mail DLP is available today on IronPort’s C-Series e-mail security appliances and DLP for IronPort’s S-Series Web security appliances is planned for the future. Pricing was not disclosed.
Cisco’s DLP Risk Assessment Service is also available now. Pricing depends upon the size and complexity of the customer, but the typical fee is up to $50,000, the company said.
