Rackspace introduces enhanced network security with Invision security appliance

Rackspace Managed Hosting, a recognised leader in the global managed hosting market, has announced the addition of Invision Security Appliance, an enterprise-class intrusion detection system that combines multi-layer threat management technology and comprehensive monitoring with the company's renowned Fanatical Support to automatically detect network threats.

The launch of Invision IDS has extended Rackspace's security expertise as the technology is totally complementary to the company's fully-integrated suite of managed security services and products.

Invision's ActiveWatch Monitoring Service provides SANS-certified network security analysts that monitor network activity and conduct extensive protection and security reviews to detect network threats such as worms, Trojans, BotNets and unauthorised intruders in real-time.

Invision also leverages thousands of threat signatures to automatically block network attacks with an enhanced scanning capability that monitors incoming traffic for signatures that are only a threat to each respective environment, reducing the false positive rate.

Rackspace's Invision IDS provides a service that hardware alone cannot effectively manage. Network security experts and enhanced monitoring systems identify the threats that really need attention, weeding out the false positives that waste company resources and the time of IT staff.

The system correlates threats with host vulnerabilities, detecting complex network attack patterns through on-demand vulnerability scanning and network topology scans that leverage thousands of vulnerability checks to pinpoint and mitigate threats.

By integrating fully with firewalls, vulnerable traffic can be blocked even before reaching the device. Additionally, Invision's compliance reporting enhancements include six-month data retention for historical and forensic reporting, helping businesses track their efforts to comply with rigorous security regulations.

Rackspace is in partnership with Alert Logic, an on-demand network security solutions provider, to deliver the Invision Security Appliance as a fully-integrated component of its managed security portfolio. Rackspace also offers its managed hosting customers customised patching, distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) mitigation, managed backup, dedicated firewalls and virtual private networks. Additionally, Rackspace offers customised risk assessment programs and security consulting.