Securicom, a local IT security provider that was one of the first in South Africa to deliver highest-level firewall technology and monitoring as a fully-managed service, has upgraded its managed firewall solution to deliver impermeable perimeter protection as well as dynamic Web security features.
Securicom Managed Firewall addresses the complexity of company IT infrastructures, providing a powerful defence at the perimeter, across multiple Internet gateways, and beyond. With its new generation Web security features, the solution interrogates traffic flowing into company networks, and also monitors and filters outbound traffic as users access internet resources and communicate between sites and remotely.
The service is based on world-leading firewall and Web security technologies from trusted partners. These technologies are innovatively packaged together as one solution to provide perimeter protection; daily security posture checking against the baseline; secure Web browsing; Web content and URL filtering; network traffic management capabilities; data loss protection; anti-virus; secure remote connectivity; and safe site-to-site communication.
Securicom Managed Firewall is offered on a subscription basis; it is non-invasive to the client infrastructure and there are no special system requirements apart from Internet connectivity. The solution is Ethernet-based so there is no direct interface with any telco infrastructure, further reducing clients' risk.
Securicom installs the solution and conducts a full scan on the Internet-facing IPs to determine the security baseline. Thereafter, daily posture checking scans are run and compared to the baseline. Any deviations or incidents are immediately logged and the client is made aware of the risk. Vulnerabilities can either be remedied, or accepted as the new baseline. All new software updates are rolled out to clients' firewall devices following stability testing in Securicom's lab environment.
“Web-based threats are evolving all the time. It is no longer enough for firewall protection that defends against inbound threats from the Internet, but it should also provide defence against emerging threats that are initiated when users are browsing and accessing Internet resources.
“With our service there is no need to buy, deploy and manage various point solutions. We've packaged together the very best firewall and Web security technologies to combat inbound and Web-based security threats with one solution.
“It's delivered as a fully-managed service and we believe that this has always been, and remains, a key differentiator of our offering. There are very few security providers that offer this calibre of protection as an integrated, managed service,” says the company's Operations Director, Dries Morris.
Securicom Managed Firewall features a user-friendly online management portal which provides company IT administrators with an accurate viewpoint of the security status of the network. From this secure Web portal, the IT administrator has access to up-to-date information on events and activity on the system.
Reports can be automated to run on a scheduled basis and then emailed to the IT administrator in PDF or Excel format; or downloaded from the online dashboard portal by the IT administrator. These reports are a useful tool for managing IT security, network traffic and bandwidth.
The portal also provides company IT administrators with tools for managing low risk functions and reviewing configurations.
Morris describes Securicom Managed Firewall an end-to-end service. It consists of:
* Pre-implementation consultancy
* Design of a connectivity security policy
* Vulnerability assessment
* Deployment of best-of-breed technologies
* Configuration of firewall devices and related security technologies
* Software upgrades
* Daily security scans (against the baseline)
* Around-the-clock monitoring
* Ongoing support from Securicom team
“Managing a firewall is intensive and requires ongoing monitoring by dedicated, specialised people if it is to be effective. Our service takes the burden off companies that simply are not equipped to do it. With our solution, companies have the assurance of the best, most robust technologies protecting their networks, as well as anytime access to a team of security experts that monitor and maintain the firewall and related security technologies constantly.
“Securicom was one of the first IT security companies in South Africa to provide a completely outsourced, managed firewall service and has extensive expertise in the field. We're always re-evaluating and re-engineering our services to ensure that they are abreast of evolving security threats and emerging trends. Including Web security features to our managed firewall service was the next step in the evolution.”
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