Dennis Fisher

Sun Rolls Out Trusted Solaris for x86

Sun Microsystems Inc. last week rolled out two new commercial versions of the Trusted Solaris operating system for the x86 platform. The decision to make Trusted Solaris available on Intel-based servers is part of a larger overall strategy to renew the companys commitment to the Unix-based OS on that platform. “Were very serious about Solaris […]

Hercules Tightens Control Over Flaws

Citadel Security Software announced last week the latest version of its vulnerability remediation software, which gives users more control over when and how flaws are fixed. Using a new feature in Hercules 2.0, administrators can write custom signatures and fixes for vulnerabilities, enabling them to remediate flaws found in in-house or custom applications. Users can […]

Startups Ready Security Wares for Databases

As hackers continue to find ways around edge-of-network security walls, several companies are readying software and appliances that drive protection deeper—to database files. Two companies, Vormetric Inc. and Decru Inc., this week will unveil products that encrypt database files in storage as well as in transit and give administrators close control over access. Later this […]

Symantec Defends BugTraq

Symantec Corp. officials are defending their practices for handling postings to the BugTraq mailing list in the face of criticism from an upstart competitor. The way the list is run hasnt changed since Symantec acquired BugTraqs owner, SecurityFocus, last summer, executives say. “What I can tell you is that we never delay posting any message […]

SSL Certificate to Secure Online Transactions

Hoping to engender a greater level of trust by consumers in e-commerce Web sites, VeriSign Inc. and nCipher plc. on Monday announced a new hardware-based SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificate that the companies say should help protect sites against data theft and Web-site spoofing. The Hardware Protected SSL Certificate will fill the same identification role […]

NAI to Buy Entercept for $120 Million

Network Associates Inc. on Friday wrapped up an eventful—and very expensive—week with the announcement that it is buying Entercept Security Technologies Inc. for $120 million in cash. This is the second major acquisition in three days for NAI, which also purchased IntruVert Networks Inc. for $100 million on Tuesday. Both Entercept and IntruVert sell intrusion-prevention […]

Worms Wreak Havoc on the Net in 03

A rash of fast-spreading worms is being blamed for a more than tenfold increase in the number of security events on the Internet in the first three months of this year. The number of confirmed attacks and incidents was also up 37 percent over those in the fourth quarter of 2002, according to a new […]

NAI Acquires IntruVert for $100 Million

Shaking off its recent accounting woes, Network Associates Inc. on Wednesday paid $100 million in cash to acquire IntruVert Networks, a 2-year-old startup that sells intrusion prevention solutions. IntruVert, based in San Jose, Calif., has a line of intrusion prevention appliances, known as the IntruShield, that combine denial-of-service protection with signature and anomaly based attack […]

April Fools Pranks Target Security Industry

Several security-related April Fools Day hoaxes began floating around the Internet Tuesday, several of which ruthlessly satirized the security industry and its denizens. From phony vulnerability advisories warning that the end of the world is upon us to a “product announcement” for a tool that automatically strikes back at hackers, the hoaxes have become far […]

Symantec Defends BugTraq Policies

Symantec Corp. officials are defending their practices for handling postings to the BugTraq mailing list in the face of criticism from an upstart competitor. The way the list is run and when messages are posted hasnt changed at all since Symantec acquired BugTraqs owner, SecurityFocus, last summer, executives say. “What I can tell you is […]