By IT-Observer Staff
Friday, 29 April 2005 10:36 EST

With the InfoSec Europe exhibition in London, where more than 300 exhibitors crowded and some 100 products - aimed at end-users, businesses and governments - were introduced, it has been an interesting and busy week for the security community. Here’s IT Observer’s coverage of the exhibition.

New Spyware Defence For Companies

8e6 Technologies & Netdata introduced new spyware defence for companies at the InfoSecurity Show. The product line offered in the UK by Netdata Plus allows network managers to monitor a user's Internet usage in real-time to determine if that user is using the Internet appropriately and block a user's access to “unacceptable” Internet sites.

“We’ve chosen to feature Spyware at this show because we know our customers are still struggling to control it” said Eric Lundbohm, 8e6’s Vice President of Marketing. “A good web filter and web use reporting capability is essential to affectively battling Spyware”

Blue Coat Introduced Spyware Interceptor

Blue Coat Systems, a leading provider of proxy appliances, introduced Spyware Interceptor, built to be the industry’s most effective anti-spyware appliance for networks with 1,000 users or less. Spyware Interceptor is built on Blue Coat’s proxy technology which is backed by the leading experts in web proxy control and security at Blue Coat Labs™, who operate around the clock to track malicious web sites, spyware, nuisance-ware, and other potential sources of security threats.

“Spyware prevention is not possible with desktop software alone – organisations require a gateway solution based on an advanced web proxy architecture to be effective,” said Nigel Hawthorn, European marketing director for Blue Coat."

Kaspersky Lab Secures Business Serve’s Customers

Kaspersky Lab announced today that it has licensed its award winning anti-virus technology to Business Serve plc, one of the UK’s leading converged communications providers). Business Serve will be using the licence to provide secure email capabilities as a value-add service to its 40,000 business customers.

“Kaspersky Lab’s superior technology and competitive licensing model will enable us to continue to offer our customers the very best protection against email borne malware,” commented Martin Molz, Business Serve’s Chief Operating Officer.

PnP Devices: Security Threat

Utimaco, the leading European manufacturer of professional IT security solutions, addressed the threat posed by the increasing adoption of plug and play device during a seminar at InfoSec Europe 2005 exhibition.

"In today's security conscious climate, it's inconceivable that most organisations, in some cases fully aware to the threat posed by PnP devices, don't have even a basic security policy in place to protect against their use," said Helmut Dansachmueller, Utimaco’s head of product management.

The impact of Spam on email

Mirapoint, a leading provider of email server and security appliances,has announced the results of a survey on the impact of spam controls on the reliability of email as a communication tool. The survey also highlights how UK companies enforce email policies in the workplace.

Sixty six percent of respondents said that legitimate emails they should have received have been blocked by a spam filter - known as false positives in the industry. Two thirds of those respondents said this happened on a monthly basis but a quarter of those surveyed revealed that they experience this problem on a weekly basis. While 51% of those respondents said time wasted was the most significant repercussion, 42% have missed a deadline as a result.

Innominate introduced mGuard

Innominate Security Technologies launched its new mGuard bladePack. This innovative “device attached security” solution provides up to 12 small mGuard appliances to deliver the highest levels of individual protection for business critical servers and systems.

Each mGuard blade provides high-speed firewall, VPN, hardware encryption and antivirus protection to secure specific IP connections along with audit and centralised SNMP-based management.

“Unlike traditional security appliances that secure the whole enterprise or segments of a network with one security appliance and standard, mGuard gives the highest levels of protection where it is needed most,” said Jan Johannsen, Director Channel Sales from Innominate.

Unified Threat Management for Network Security needs

Equiinet, the internet security gateway and caching specialist, said small and medium sized businesses should consider Unified Threat Management (UTM) as the minimum requirement for network security needs. The UTM definition as defined by industry analyst IDC, consists of firewall, gateway anti-virus and intrusion detection and prevention, in one single appliance.

"The single appliance approach means there is a single unit, from a single vendor to install and a single source for maintenance and support rather than as many as eight discrete products from eight vendors," said Bob Jones, managing director, Equiinet.

Thawte partners with SafeBuy

Thawte, Inc., one of the most established Certification Authorities worldwide has announced a partnership with SafeBuy www.safebuy.org.uk, the leading assurance scheme for web-based retailers in the UK.

“SafeBuy has partnered with Thawte through our Referral Program, t-refer, as a Premium Partner and we will be working closely with them to develop other opportunities in the future. Thawte has always had a holistic view on Internet protection and the SafeBuy partnership endorses Thawte’s commitment to Web security and the importance of trusted, independent third parties endorsing the Thawte brand and our products.”

Email Systems launched 3rd version of Email Management Suite

Email management specialist Email Systems has launched a third version of it’s suite of services to coincide with InfoSec event. In addition to best of breed services such as anti-spam and anti-virus management, Anti-DoS, A New User Interface, Improved Reporting, TLS Encryption and a Proactive Security Monitor Amongst Key Enhancements were introduced in the 3rd version.

HNS Consulting lauches (IN)SECURE Magazine

HNS Consulting Ltd. today announced the first issue of (IN)SECURE Magazine, a freely available, freely distributable digital security magazine discussing some of the hottest information security topics.