VASCO's aXs GUARD Gatekeeper bundle for SBs

OAKBROOK TERRACE, ILLINOIS: VASCO Data Security International, Inc., software security company specialized in authentication, has launched an aXs GUARD(R) Gatekeeper bundle for small enterprises.

VASCO is introducing this solution for the European and North American markets due to the large number of SME-businesses in those regions. The bundle has been conceived to provide a total solution for the most pressing security needs of small businesses (SBs).

The solution is ideal for companies from two to 20 employees. It comprises firewall with IPS to protect small enterprises against modern hacking techniques, a content scanning module to protect against viruses and spam and a VPN module to connect several remote locations. When adding DIGIPASS(R) to the solution, small enterprises will be able to authenticate home-workers or employees on the road. Thus ensuring that only authorized staff is accessing the corporate network from a remote location.

The aXs GUARD Gatekeeper is delivered on a 19"1U server with 2 Ghz processor, 2 Gb Ram, 4 Gigabit network card and a hard disc with a capacity of 500 GB. This makes the solution largely scalable: additional modules can be added, such as Trend Micro anti-virus, anti-spyware and anti-phishing, or as the company grows new users can be added. The operating system provides a seamless connection of the company with the Internet. Furthermore, it provides an intuitive web-based Graphical User Interface providing a step-by-step configuration.

The Firewall and Intrusion Prevention module not only protects the company from outside hacking attempts, it allows the company to define a number of guidelines and policies. For instance, the identification of inappropriate websites which should be blocked or make certain services, such as online banking, IM only available after working hours.

The content scanning and anti-spam module takes care of the communication functionality: the proxy manages the Internet access of all users, it store requested data locally to speed up page requests. The web filter manages the blocked websites. The SMTP relay manages e-mail delivery and the e-mail filter checks all in- and outgoing e-mail according to the predefined parameters. The spam filter will refuse unauthorized e-mail, quarantine messages or mark them as spam. All content is also scanned for viruses. Furthermore aXs GUARD Gatekeeper provides a number of statistics such as who is surfing, how often and where to. aXs GUARD uses ipsec and PPTP protocols and encryption methods to ensure that data which are transported over the VPN are secured and unreadable for third parties.

"SME are very vulnerable in terms of Internet security. Usually they do not have an IT staff with extensive knowledge of the latest evolutions in security such as larger companies. Therefore small companies look for budget-friendly total out-of-the-box solutions that can be implemented with limited IT-knowledge or resources. With the new aXs GUARD Gatekeeper we have that solution which fits the security needs of the SME," said Jan Valcke, president and COO at VASCO Data Security.