07/21/2008

Sophos, the private vendor in the secure content and threat management market­, today announced new key features to its managed WS1000 web security appliance that significantly improve IT's ability to keep pace with evasive end-user tools, and the latest threats to security and compliance.

ebizQ received the following:

Offered as a free and automatic upgrade, the new features include multi-layer protection against anonymizing proxies, HTTPS scanning, and a host of end-user enforcement and reporting improvements to one of the industry’s most comprehensive solutions.

The latest research from Sophos highlights the worsening state of security on the web.

SophosLabs today finds an average of one new malware-infected webpage every five seconds – a threefold increase over 2007 – with 90 percent of compromised pages being found on legitimate sites. Exacerbating the situation for IT are tools such as anonymizing proxies that allow users to circumvent URL filtering controls. This is particularly prevalent and problematic in the educational sector, where students often resist controls, aren't easily deterred, and have advanced knowledge of web technologies. In this environment, IT departments in educational institutions are still held to strict guidelines to protect students from exposure to inappropriate or unsafe content.

"Educational IT is a true proving ground for security technologies as we balance the requirement for extremely broad, yet controlled access to what the internet has to offer," said Brian Meeks, IT administrator at Paideia School. "Our students were born into social networking and online gaming, and it is a massive cat and mouse game to ensure they have a safe and productive online learning environment. Prior to testing the latest WS1000, I was spending up to five hours each week chasing down and blocking anonymizing proxy sites. Sophos's technology has made my job infinitely easier."

With fast, full-spectrum managed threat protection – including URL-based filtering, real-time malware scanning and content filtering – the WS1000 had already established itself as a best-in-class solution in the marketplace for comprehensive web security. The new features add:

Proxy Reputation Service: Tracks a vast array of online sources to identify proxy sites/services as they become available and immediately publishes updates to the proxy block list

Real-time Proxy Scanner: Patent-pending detection engine that decodes and inspects every web request for signs that the traffic is being intentionally routed through a dedicated anonymizing proxy

HTTPS Scanning: Enables scanning and filtering of SSL-encrypted traffic – a significant blind spot for IT with most solutions – to ensure that no malware is being transferred or policies violated when communicating over HTTPS in applications such as Webmail

SafeSearch Enforcement: Enforces SafeSearch mode within major search engines such as Google, Yahoo! and MSN/Live to further protect networks from infected or inappropriate site results

Reporting Enhancements: New user-specific activity reporting (categories, sites visited and time online) for tracking behaviors against acceptable use policies and conducting forensic audits

"Web threat authors are one step ahead of traditional filtering solutions leaving most businesses underprotected today," said Chris Kraft, vice president of product management, Web Security and Control at Sophos. "With the Sophos web appliance, and in particular this latest release, organizations can reclaim time and control over web usage and be assured they are protected against the latest threat trends and productivity drains."