McAfee Network Security Platform: The Next-Generation Network IPS

The evidence is alarming: the intrusion detection and prevention systems that currently protect most  enterprise IT environments from malicious penetration, surveillance, and data theft are woefully underprepared  for the latest attack methods. A new class of targeted threats has rendered traditional network  security models ineffective and has exposed essential enterprise assets—trade secrets, intellectual property,  and customer records—to critical levels of operational, financial, and compliance risk. IT organizations that are already overloaded managing complex environments and planned migrations to cloud- and servicebased  infrastructures must now find and deploy a new generation of security solutions that can achieve  higher levels of security efficacy while reducing total cost of ownership.

 

Targeted threats: the Achilles heel of traditional IPS

 

Targeted threats are to traditional intrusion detection what stealth aircraft are to radar. They use many  traditional attack techniques—phishing, social engineering, embedded malware, and traffic obfuscation -  but deploy them in complex orchestrations. By targeting specific vulnerabilities, users, and client systems,  they seek to acquire undetected access to key assets. Once inside and disguised as legitimate traffic,  they establish long-term residency to siphon off valuable data with impunity.
While recent headlines have focused on the most sensational examples of highly organized and wellfunded  attacks—Google, Adobe, RSA, Lockheed Martin, SONY, and PBS—thousands of undisclosed  attacks have quietly plagued government agencies and corporations large and small worldwide. In  fact, new data suggests that targeted attacks are being launched against an ever-widening range  of industries and companies. In Operation Shady RAT, for example, data from a single command and  control server showed evidence that one attack organization successfully hacked 70 companies across 32 industries.

 

McAfee, a wholly owned subsidiary of Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), is the world’s largest dedicated security technology company. McAfee delivers proactive and proven solutions and services that help secure systems, networks, and mobile devices around the world, allowing users to safely connect to the Internet, browse and shop the Web more securely. Backed by its unrivaled Global Threat Intelligence, McAfee creates innovative products that empower home users, businesses, the public sector and service providers by enabling them to prove compliance with regulations, protect data, prevent disruptions, identify vulnerabilities, and continuously monitor and improve their security. McAfee is relentlessly focused on constantly finding new ways to keep our customers safe.