Trend Micro Takes on Endpoint Security, Management

Trend Micro is talking up a new set of endpoint security technologies it says will cut complexity and improve systems management.

At the core of the discussion is Trend Micro’s Endpoint Security Platform, the result of a partnership between the security company and systems management vendor BigFix. In some ways, the platform can be looked at as Trend Micro’s answer both to organizations looking to combine security and systems management and to similar moves by rivals. Symantec, for example, launched the Symantec Endpoint Management Suite last year with similar goals.

The company announced the release of the platform in conjunction with plans for the OfficeScan Client-Server suite, which is slated to be released next month. The suite is a package of protections for desktops, servers, smartphones and other devices combined with the centralized management and reporting capabilities around Trend Micro Control Manager.

Both solutions are designed to minimize the time it takes to protect organizations’ endpoints and to ease management, officials at Trend Micro said.

“Where the complexity for enterprises comes into play for thousands of endpoints is reporting on the compliance aspect every single day as well as dealing with failures or lack of reporting for mobile endpoints,” said Ron Clarkson, director of endpoint security at Trend Micro. “With endpoints increasingly mobile, not only can it be difficult to update them, but it can be difficult to ensure that they’ve been updated from a security compliance readiness perspective.”

According to Trend Micro, the Endpoint Security Platform creates a unified framework for security management that scales to support up to 250,000 users on one management server and allows enterprises to select specific platform modules that support their environments. The current release contains three modules: Core Protection Module, Web Protection Module and a Patch Management Module. A data leak prevention module based on technology the company acquired from Provilla will be available in June, the security vendor said.

Trend Micro also announced the official launch of file-based reputation technology as part of its "Smart Protection Network." The capability, which will be included as part of the OfficeScan suite, is in line with the ongoing adoption of application whitelisting by anti-malware vendors. According to Trend Micro, the technology is designed to move pattern file management into the cloud to reduce the burden on endpoint resources. 

“Enterprises need proactive security solutions that are able to immediately detect new and emerging Web-based threats without overburdening their endpoints. The cloud-client infrastructure behind File Reputation means fewer updates to the client, with a more predictable impact on endpoint resources,” said Jon Oltsik, senior analyst for Enterprise Strategy Group, in a statement. “The fact that enterprises now have a choice in selecting the right endpoint security ‘fit’ for their organization is an added plus.”