Cisco and RSA Parter to Protect Data - Twenty-Four Seven Security

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April 08, 2008
Cisco and RSA Parter to Protect Data

While this falls pretty much in line with Bruce Schneier's prediction in this podcast -- in which he predicted the security industry would continue to consolidate, but he meant more along the line of nonsecurity companies integrating security into their applications so that security would no longer be a stand-alone product -- you can still see Cisco and RSA partnering as part of the bigger consolidation trend.

In what Cisco says is an attempt to address a very fragmented data security market, RSA, the security unit of EMC, announced it will integrate its next-gen data loss prevention (DLP) with Cisco in order to provide customers with the ability to discover, secure, track and enforce the usage of sensitive data stored in the data center and at desktop and server endpoints, as well as while sensitive data is transmitted across enterprise networks.

This collaboration will continue to collaborate in data center security, data encryption and key management, but also expand on their PCI reference architecture which helps enable customers to audit and run reports on their systems to ensure compliance with PCI regulations.

"Data security is very challenging. Due to regulatory and non-regulatory drivers, customers need to secure sensitive data and gain stronger visibility into where that data resides. The answer lies in coordinated product innovation, strategic partnership and professional services,” said Dennis Hoffman, Vice President and General Manager for Data Security and Chief Strategy Officer at RSA, the Security Division of EMC. “By working with industry leaders, like Cisco, we are helping our customers solve these challenges. By developing solutions with Cisco, customers can discover, monitor, and enforce the use of sensitive data directly into the infrastructure – no matter where it moves, how it moves or where it is stored."

Since security complexity is such a big issue, when it comes something as important as data security, it makes sense for two companies as big as Cisco and RSA to join forces to offer a comprehensive data protection solution.