Permeo Upgrades App Security Gateway

Application security vendor Permeo Technologies Inc. on Monday will unveil version 5.0 of its Application Security Gateway, which includes a new Web-based console and improved PKI support.

Version 5.0 of the gateway also introduces support for the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), which is used in a number of applications, including voice over IP and some instant messaging systems. In a typical enterprise environment, administrators have to open a hole in the firewall to allow SIP-based applications through.

But, because Permeos system uses a separate client-server connection that doesnt rely on the Internets IP infrastructure, the SIP application traffic goes through a pre-selected firewall port directly to the Application Security Gateway. The Permeo gateway then passes the request on to the application server.

All of the traffic between authenticated users and the gateway is encrypted via SSL. The gateway then decrypts the traffic before handing it off to the application server.

“Our forte is that we allow native application access through the firewall in any network,” said Andrew Morbitzer, vice president of marketing at Permeo, based in Dallas.

The new Web-based console is designed to make it easier for administrators and others with little security training to install and deploy the gateway.

Version 5.0 also has support for PDAs running the Palm OS, as well as Java support for the Permeo Clientless Agent.

The new version will be available in December, with prices starting at $5,100 for 125 concurrent connections.

Permeo on Monday will also announce that version 5.0 supports Microsoft Corp.s Live Communications Server 2003, which provides a variety of communications functionality, such as instant messaging and whiteboarding, to remote users.

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