14 DAY TRIAL // Last week, at Inetrop in Las Vegas, WatchGuard Technologies announced the launch of WatchGuard APT Blocker, a solution designed to defend organizations against advanced persistent threats (APTs).
WatchGuard APT Blocker is designed to deliver real-time visibility and protection within minutes. Since it integrates WatchGuard’s visibility tool Dimension, customers are provided a centralized view of advanced threats and other useful trends.
By using a sophisticated full-system emulation environment for detecting zero-day malware and APTs, APT Blocker is designed to identify and submit suspicious files to a cloud-based sandbox.
APTs are usually associated with high-profile cyber espionage operations against governments, but that’s not always the case, experts warn. Recent data breaches, such as the ones suffered by Adobe and Target, have demonstrated that all companies are vulnerable, regardless of their size.
“Nearly 88 percent of today's malware can morph to avoid detection by signature-based AntiVirus solutions,” explained Corey Nachreiner, director of security strategy and research for WatchGuard Technologies.
“That means today's AntiVirus solutions remain necessary for catching known threats but alone, they're no longer sufficient,” Nachreiner added.
“APT Blocker's full-system emulation approach to sandboxing provides simple, rapid protection, which doesn't rely on a traditional, signature-based approach to detect and stop advanced malware; in a solution that scales to inspect millions of objects at any given time.”
WatchGuard customers get a free 30-day trial of APT Blocker on WatchGuard Unified Threat Management (UTM) and Next-Generation Firewall appliances. The latest release of WatchGuard’s Fireware security platform, version 11.9, comes with a pre-installed free 30-day trial of APT blocker.
Fireware 11.9 brings improved application-traffic management to allow users to control and limit application bandwidth, expanded visibility for HIPAA and PCI compliance purposes, customizable DLP signatures, enhanced IPv6 support, and a new custom network zone that enables administrators to segregate wireless guest networks and meet PCI requirements.
The launch of APT Blocker comes just as WatchGuard announced a partnership with Lastline, a company that specializes in advanced malware research.
“WatchGuard is recognized as a leader in the network security space. We are thrilled to strike up this partnership to combat advanced cyber threats,” said Brian Laing, vice president of products for Lastline.
“With nearly a million red WatchGuard appliances installed worldwide and our unique, cloud-based sandboxing capabilities for detecting advanced malware, companies worldwide now instantly will have access to the industry's most sophisticated technologies to stop evasive malware designed to bypass traditional security products.”
Additional information on WatchGuard APT Blocker is available on the company’s website.