Wednesday, 28 September 2005 21:37 EST

nCircle IP360 enhancements reduce IT workloads with order-of-magnitude improvement in risk prioritization, integrates with ticketing systems, and offers new API for improved automation and integration with security infrastructure

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — September 28, 2005 — nCircle, the leading provider of enterprise-class vulnerability and risk management solutions, announced today the general availability of version 6.5 of nCircle IP360. With this industry leading release, IP360 becomes the only vulnerability and risk management solution to offer integrated network line of sight risk analysis, providing an order-of-magnitude improvement in prioritizing vulnerability and risk remediation in large enterprises. In addition, nCircle IP360 enables customers to leverage existing trouble ticketing/help desk systems to streamline remediation workflow, and introduces a powerful command and control API for increased IP360 automation and integration with security infrastructure.

"Large enterprise networks are typically exposed to hundreds of thousands of vulnerabilities and other security risks. The problem for IT teams is identifying the most critical high-priority risks and taking the necessary steps for remediation," said Paul Proctor, Vice President at Gartner, Inc. "Integrated vulnerability management and topology analysis should help organizations identify and appropriately prioritize remediation efforts."

The IP360 Vulnerability Management System version 6.5 includes the following key enhancements:

* Topology Risk Analyzer
* Security Intelligence Hub on Oracle®
* IP360 API
* Remedy® Help Desk Connector
* Custom Ticketing System Connector

nCircle Topology Risk Analyzer
The nCircle Topology Risk Analyzer incorporates network line of sight risk analysis for an order-of-magnitude improvement in prioritizing vulnerability remediation so that IT security teams can focus their scarce resources on remediating the highest risks to the overall enterprise first. Only nCircle offers this breakthrough technology as an integrated option in a vulnerability and risk management solution.

Vulnerability management systems rank vulnerabilities simply on their individual host risk. The nCircle Topology Risk Analyzer adds network context to prioritize those vulnerabilities that, due to their line of sight exposure to high threat zones, pose increased risk to the overall network. By analyzing asset intelligence, trace routes from nCircle appliance placement, and network and configuration data from firewalls and routers, the Topology Risk Analyzer delivers a breakthrough advancement in prioritizing risk remediation. IT security operations staff can now focus on maximizing network risk reduction with optimal operational effectiveness.

nCircle Security Intelligence Hub on Oracle
The nCircle Security Intelligence Hub has been enhanced to support the Oracle database for improved performance and scalability. The Security Intelligence Hub for Oracle offers a central repository for mining the endpoint security intelligence continuously collected by IP360. Offering a rich set of customizable and extensible executive reports, the Security Intelligence Hub enables enterprises to measure, manage and reduce risk on worldwide networks, and seamlessly integrates with enterprise information systems such as asset management, patch and configuration management, and threat intelligence feeds. The Security Intelligence Hub also supports Microsoft® SQL Server and IBM® DB2® databases.

nCircle IP360 API
The nCircle IP360 API provides new integration capabilities with customers' existing business processes and IT management systems. Offering a comprehensive set of command and control functions, the IP360 API can be used to automate routine IP360 operational and administrative tasks to improve the efficiency of security management personnel and reduce operational costs.

Remedy Help Desk Connector and Custom Ticketing System Connector
The Remedy Help Desk Connector and Custom Ticketing System Connector offer bi-directional integration with existing help desk and ticketing workflow systems for automated remediation management, including automatic validation by IP360 that a ticketed issue has been successfully resolved. These connectors enable enterprises to leverage existing help desk investments and eliminate the need for additional training of IT operations staff.

"In an age of increasing online identity theft, malicious network attacks and stringent regulations, enterprises must become more proactive in identifying, measuring and managing a broad category of risk on their networks," said Abe Kleinfeld, president and CEO of nCircle. "nCircle offers customers the most comprehensive security risk management solution available, incorporating vulnerability, line-of-sight, configuration, policy and application risk management. By helping companies to identify, measure, manage and reduce risk, organizations can dramatically reduce their network's target surface while maximizing operational effectiveness."

About nCircle IP360
nCircle IP360 is an enterprise-class vulnerability and risk management system that proactively drives cost-effective network risk reduction. IP360 is appliance-based for ease of deployment and administration, and is Common Criteria (ISO 15408) certified. nCircle IP360 version 6.5 is available immediately and offered with both purchase and subscription pricing.

About nCircle

nCircle is the leading provider of enterprise-class vulnerability and risk management solutions. Global enterprises in the financial services, insurance, government, manufacturing and services industries rely on nCircle to protect their business critical networks. nCircle’s complete lifecycle vulnerability management solutions enable enterprises to find and eliminate vulnerabilities before they can be exploited, ensure security policy compliance and meaningfully measure and manage business risk. The company, located in San Francisco, CA, is privately held and VC funded. Additional information about nCircle is available at www.ncircle.com.