McAfee flexed its network security muscles with the announcement of a new set of internal network appliances, new intrusion prevention system (IPS) capabilities, and a reorganization of these and other network products into an across-the-board solution set it's now marketing as McAfee Full Spectrum Network Defense.
, in order to prevent outbreaks that have slipped through the cracks from doing widespread damage. Offered through the channel later in December, the T-200 will be priced starting at $24,995 and targets midsize and large corporate LANs, while the T-500 will start at $44,995 for backbone networks and data centers.
In addition to the appliances, McAfee took the wraps off of enhancements to its M-Series IPS, typically starting at $10,995. First among the new features is the addition of zero-day malware protection offered via McAfee's cloud-based Artemis technology. Designed to gather data around the globe through 'threat-sensors' across the globe, Artemis will feed back important real-time information into its IPS systems to add protection against unknown new threats.
Additionally, McAfee added IPS integration into McAfee Risk Advisor, a decision support tool that gives network administrators visibility into the state of endpoints and offers a way to categorize vulnerabilities from these systems in order to cut off attacks before they escalate. This added integration gives IPS administrators the ability to deploy a protection signature before endpoints are patched.
Finally, as a part of its Full Spectrum Network Defense Solution push, McAfee will now offer a network-centric console through ePolicy Orchestrator that gives a single puppet master the strings to control all the necessary elements within the McAfee network security retinue: Network IPS, User Behavior Analysis, Network Threat Behavior Analysis, Network Access Control, and McAfee Firewall Enterprise.
According to Charles Kolodgy, research director for IDC, the new improvements to McAfee's network security offerings give its customers tangible benefits in detecting real-time threats from all vectors.
“Organizations typically lack the ability to see the full spectrum of network threats,” Kolodgy said in a statement. “They need deeper insight into the whole set of threats in order to provide full protection for critical business systems such as data centers. Integrating threat detection provides full visibility when inspection isn't enough or when it isn't feasible for cost or scalability reasons.”
