Trend Micro Releases Deep Security 8 Platform

Security specialist Trend Micro announced the next release of its Deep Security platform that further expands its server security platform in the IT industry across physical, virtual and cloud computing environments. With an all-new agentless integrity monitoring capability purpose-built for VMware vSphere 5 virtual environments, including hypervisor integrity checks and other cloud-sourced innovations, Deep Security 8 is designed to lower the barrier to adoption of file integrity monitoring across the data center and help small and midsize businesses (SMBs) achieve higher levels of data protection and compliance.

A server security platform comprising anti-malware, firewall, IDS/IPS, Web application protection, integrity monitoring and log inspection in one integrated solution, Deep Security 8 offers new features for physical servers, including automatic cloud-based event white-listing and configurable trusted events to help lower the operational complexity of integrity monitoring, and agent-based anti-malware to allow businesses to extend the same Deep Security protections to physical servers for Windows and Linux operating systems.

For virtual servers, the platform offers agentless file integrity monitoring through the same Deep Security Virtual Appliance that already provides agentless anti-malware and agentless intrusion prevention in a virtual environment, flexible deployment architecture that allows select VMs to be set up with optional agents that coordinate with the virtual appliance for added defense in depth, hypervisor integrity monitoring utilizing Intel TPM/TXT technology and support for VMware vSphere 5 and VMware vShield Manager 5, with VMware vShield Endpoint Security API 2, as well as backward compatibility with VMware vSphere 4.1 with VMware vShield 1.0.

Deep Security 8 offers agent-based anti-malware for VDI local mode, which allows continuously optimized protection of virtual desktops as they move outside, and back, into the data center, and the platform leverages web reputation capabilities to protect users from accessing compromised websites. For virtual desktop environments protected by Deep Security agentless anti-malware, Deep Security now provides an optional End-user Notifier that can provide malware notifications in lieu of a full-blown anti-malware agent.

Businesses only need to license those security components they currently need on specific servers—adding a module is a simple license key switch. Deep Security is priced in the United States starting at $1,000 per server, with volume discounts available. Deep Security 8 is expected to ship by the end of the year. Channel partners can gain a differentiated virtualization portfolio along with the prospect of increased deal sizes.

While Deep Security is a server security platform that provides a secure container for applications and servers in the cloud, SecureCloud augments Deep Security by encrypting and protecting the data that the servers and applications use. SecureCloud is a cloud data protection and policy-based encryption key management solution that makes it possible to encrypt and protect data in physical, virtualized and cloud computing environments. It is designed to enable faster cloud adoption, greater cost reduction and better compliance.

Deep Security and SecureCloud work together to create a context-aware framework that responds to the constantly evolving state of the dynamic data center. SecureCloud communicates with Deep Security, using the security status information from Deep Security to ensure that any server requesting access to encrypted data has up-to-date protection before encryption keys are released. If integrity checks by Deep Security determine that a VM with out-of-date or inadequate protection is trying to start up, or that a VM has been compromised by an attack, SecureCloud adaptively responds and the VM’s data access is blocked via denial of encryption key and an action is flagged to the administrator for remedial action.

SecureCloud 2 also features new enhancements, including an encryption agent complete with FIPS 140-2 certification. In addition, new Deep Security Manager (DSM) linking points allow SecureCloud to query the DSM and gather information about the servers it is protecting. SecureCloud administrators can build policies around this new information and enhance the rules that govern which servers are allowed access to encryption keys.

SecureCloud is delivered as a convenient hosted SaaS (software-as-a-service) solution under a free two-month trial or as an on-premise software application. Service provider delivery options that provide unified billing and rapid deployment are also available. Perpetual-based pricing aligns with traditional security pricing, but there is also subscription-based pricing. The current SecureCloud product version is available for purchase now through Trend Micro sales and channel partners, and through cloud brokers and service providers. SecureCloud 2 is projected to be available by the end of the year and can be purchased separately or as part of a Total Cloud Protection pack with Deep Security 8.