Close
  • Latest News
  • Cybersecurity
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Mobile
  • Networking
  • Storage
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Menu
Search
  • Latest News
  • Cybersecurity
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Mobile
  • Networking
  • Storage
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Cybersecurity
    • Cybersecurity
    • Networking
    • Small Business

    WatchGuard Bets on XTM Appliance Security

    By
    Brian Prince
    -
    July 1, 2008
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      The folks at WatchGuard Technologies say they have seen the future-and its name is extensible threat management, or XTM.

      WatchGuard is banking that XTM is the next phase in development of UTM (unified threat management) devices. Essentially, XTM is UTM with a host of new features, including support for VOIP security, event correlation, and application and content filtering.

      The idea, WatchGuard officials said, is to make network security flexible enough to proactively adapt to the needs of dynamic environments and ensure that appliances interoperate and support mixed network infrastructures. With XTM, administrators will have more flexibility to pick and choose the security policies, profiles and services that best meet their needs, said Chris McKie, director of global and analyst public relations at WatchGuard.

      “Businesses have more and more remote and mobile workers, and are facing the continual consumerization of applications into their businesses,” McKie said. “Skype is a great example. Many of these best-of-breed stand-alone devices lack common reputation services, which means security policies fail to follow users as they move from network systems to Web systems to messaging systems. Our approach is to simplify this challenge and allow businesses the ability to utilize mobile or Web 2.0 technologies, without sacrificing security in the process.”

      The concept is not a far leap-in fact WatchGuard admits the company has already been delivering on some of its XTM vision, such as HTTPS and VOIP support, in its current product line. The term XTM has been popularized by IDC analyst Charles Kolodgy, who has declared that XTM platforms will expand security features, networking capabilities and management flexibility and should provide automated processes such as logging and reputation-based protections.

      But other analysts wondered what the big deal was from a product innovation standpoint, and just how the strategy would differentiate WatchGuard from its competitors. The most significant part of the announcement seems to be the move to add more Web threat protection, said Paul Roberts, an analyst with The 451 Group.

      “The ability to choose protections a la carte already seems to be pretty standard, though most UTMs offer firewall, VPN, IDS/IPS [intrusion detection system/intrusion prevention system] and so on,” Roberts said. “We’re definitely seeing a lot of shuffling in this … UTM market-Fortinet buying database security technology from IPLocks, [and open-source software] vendor Untangle doing an OEM deal with Kaspersky [Lab] to target the low end of the UTM market.”

      WatchGuard wants to move from port and protocol protection and address larger security concerns around specific applications and users, McKie said. The company plans to release high-end XTM appliances later in 2008, and hopes ultimately to build a market for XTM among managed security service providers and other enterprises. The company also is considering providing a software platform similar to that of other extensible applications, so that third-party developers can create customized security applications tailor-made for WatchGuard’s XTM offerings.

      “The UTM designs of today will have to be more malleable, adaptable and proactive to address these issues … So, in summary, the differences of XTM versus UTM are going to be less on box speeds and feeds, and more on extending security, providing greater network functionality, and giving admins more management capabilities and user control,” McKie said.

      Avatar
      Brian Prince

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Android

      Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro: Durability for Tough...

      Chris Preimesberger - December 5, 2020 0
      Have you ever dropped your phone, winced and felt the pain as it hit the sidewalk? Either the screen splintered like a windshield being...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Why Data Security Will Face Even Harsher...

      Chris Preimesberger - December 1, 2020 0
      Who would know more about details of the hacking process than an actual former career hacker? And who wants to understand all they can...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      How Veritas Is Shining a Light Into...

      eWEEK EDITORS - September 25, 2020 0
      Protecting data has always been one of the most important tasks in all of IT, yet as more companies become data companies at the...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      How NVIDIA A100 Station Brings Data Center...

      Zeus Kerravala - November 18, 2020 0
      There’s little debate that graphics processor unit manufacturer NVIDIA is the de facto standard when it comes to providing silicon to power machine learning...
      Read more
      Apple

      Why iPhone 12 Pro Makes Sense for...

      Wayne Rash - November 26, 2020 0
      If you’ve been watching the Apple commercials for the past three weeks, you already know what the company thinks will happen if you buy...
      Read more
      eWeek


      Contact Us | About | Sitemap

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      Terms of Service | Privacy Notice | Advertise | California - Do Not Sell My Information

      © 2021 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×