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Websense is one of the leading provider of employee internet management solutions which enables organizations to optimize employee use of computing resources and mitigate new threats related to internet use including instant messaging, peer-to-peer, and spyware.
By providing usage policy enforcement at the internet gateway, on the network and at the desktop, Websense hopes to enhance productivity and security and optimize the use of IT resources. CIOL Bureao catches up with Geoff Haggart, vice president- EMEA &, APAC, Websense, on the company’s plans and their roadmap for the enterprise market in India.
Can you tell us something about Websense’s Remote Filtering technology?
Websense Remote Filtering extends Websense’s industry-leading web filtering and web security technology to include protection for remote laptop users outside as well as inside of the company network. Remote Filtering allows customers to apply the same internet usage policies to remote users and frequent travelers, protecting them from external security threats and preventing access to malicious or inappropriate sites.
At Websense, we recognised the importance of securing the end-point. There is an evolving concept of “deperimeterisation”, where the days of creating a computing environment which protects all systems inside a corporate firewall have long gone.
Can you tell us about the anti-mobile spam solution that you are developing with Nortel?
Wireless service providers and device owners alike are finding their handsets increasingly receiving unwanted or even malicious content from spammers and hackers. This innovative URL filtering and security solution, we are developing with Nortel, will help protect mobile handsets and devices from content that could interfere with voice and data services and also block downloading of malicious code.
It will allow GSM/UMTS wireless operators to set mobile handset and device internet access policies for subscribers across three URL filtering categories - security threats, adult materials, and undesirable content. Each category will contain content in a variety of sub-categories to allow for flexible and carefully defined policy settings.
Is this a pioneering product or are there any such solutions already available in the market? By when can we expect to have it in the market?
Last year, malware/virus writers began to target smart phones, particularly those running the Symbian and Windows Mobile operating systems. Although limited in their destructiveness and spread, this year may see PDA and smartphone virus coders hone their skills, leading to a proliferation of sophisticated bugs. The security industry as a whole, recognized this and began working with service and infrastructure providers to offer security solutions in this area. One of the exciting things about our venture with Nortel is that you have two best of breed technologies uniting to tackle a rapidly growing market, which up until now has seen relatively embryonic security solutions.
With VoIP applications on a rise, the hackers must be gearing up to attack the VoIP users. Can you tell us about your plan of action for VoIP based attacks?
As growing numbers of enterprises shift to VoIP, eavesdropping and denial of service attacks, which can disrupt vital lines of communication, should be areas of concern for network administrator's and security managers. The advantages of using VoIP are clear for all to see but with such a rapidly growing communications technology comes new challenges for security professionals. Websense currently enables our customers to manage the usage of specific VOIP applications both at the network protocol layer and also the endpoint, to ensure that employee acceptable usage policies are enforced. By enforcing which VOIP applications can be used by employees, our customers can limit their exposure to emerging VOIP risks. As the adoption of VOIP increases, Websense is looking at additional ways to leverage our unique approach to security to better protect our customers.
How mature is the Indian enterprise to handle malicious threats? What steps has Websense taken to educate the end user about the measures that need to be taken to handle such threats?
Indian Enterprises are equipped to tackle legacy threats as they have been investing in solutions to tackle the same over the last 5 – 8 years. However the awareness and the rate of adoption of methods to proactively tackle the challenge need to increase. Considering the magnitude of danger that Emerging Threats currently pose to enterprises, it is imperative for enterprises in India to take significant measures to proactively safeguard against emerging malicious threats. Websense proactively discovers and immediately protects against web-based threats such as spyware, phishing attacks, viruses and crimeware. We have partnered with global consultants like IDC and Frost & Sullivan to organize events, seminars and workshops. Additionally we conduct various net events and workshop to create awareness about Emerging Internet threats for its customers, channel partners and resellers. We also offer proof of concept demonstrations to customers to build awareness about threats associated with web browsing and how Websense analyzes and mines websites to proactively safeguard against internet threats.
What is your take on open source solutions? Do you think they are more robust as compared to proprietary solutions? Does Websense have security solutions for enterprise-scale open-source applications?
The basic idea behind open source is simple, and effective: When programmers can read, redistribute, and modify the source code for a piece of software, the software evolves. People improve it, people adapt it, people fix bugs. And this can happen at a speed that, if one is used to the pace of conventional software development, seems astonishingly quick at times. The main problem with open source in security is that there simply isn’t the investment capacity required to deliver capable products. For example, here at Websense, we spend millions of dollars each year just trying to keep up with, and stay ahead of current internet threats. The infrastructure, research and engineering capacity required to deliver high-quality security solutions, simply put, is huge.
Infact, we are working with many customers to embrace open source technology integration such as Squid Web Proxy Cache, when combined with Websense Web Security Suite provides customers with a cutting-edge, security policy enforcing, internet proxy/cache.
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