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Written by Daniel
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Wednesday, 10 December 2008 11:36 |
Palo Alto Networks devices can detect credit card, Social Security numbers on the fly -- and stop them from leaving the corporate net
Dec 09, 2008 | 05:15 PM
By Tim Wilson
Upstart vendor Palo Alto Networks says it has developed a next-generation firewall feature that can do some of the same tasks as more complex and expensive data loss prevention (DLP) packages -- for free.
Palo Alto Networks, which offers a next-generation, application-level firewall, says it will announce next week a new feature that can identify and block the egress of personal information -- such as Social Security and credit card numbers -- to prevent such data from ever leaving the enterprise.
The application-level firewall also can block some unauthorized applications that may lead to internal data leaks, such as peer-to-peer apps, the company says.
The new capabilities, which are being offered as a free upgrade to Palo Alto's PA-2000 and PA-4000 series firewalls, essentially turn the boxes into a poor man's DLP tool, providing the means to detect Social Security and credit card numbers that are transmitted via any application -- including e-mail -- and block or quarantine the traffic before it can exit the corporate network. The firewalls can also be tuned to detect other sensitive data formats, such as customer account numbers.
"We're not saying we're a DLP vendor, or that we can do all the things a DLP package can do to protect data at rest or with complex intellectual property information," says Chris King, director of marketing at Palo Alto Networks. "What we're saying is that we've got a simple, fast way to do what 90 percent of companies want DLP for -- to keep customer, credit, or personal data from going out the door." [DarkReading....] [Comments...] |
