New Solutions from IBM Help Customers Detect, Prevent and Respond to Cyber Attacks
IBM on Monday unveiled a suite of security software and services designed to help organizations defend against advanced cyber threats and protect sensitive data.
Developed over the past two years by IBM security researchers, developers and analysts, the new IBM Threat Protection System includes an end-to-end architecture of analytic and forensics software that helps organizations prevent, detect and respond to ongoing and sophisticated cyber attacks.
“Coupled with a new Critical Data Protection service, which helps organizations find and secure their most sensitive data, this dynamic, new protection system includes the knowhow from threat analysts based in IBM’s cyber security labs around the globe,” IBM explained.
The introduction of the IBM Threat Protection System and Critical Data Protection Program represent two years of significant investment in organic development and the acquisition of companies, including Q1 Labs, Trusteer, Guardium, Ounce Labs, Watchfire and Fiberlink/MaaS360, IBM said.
Big Blue explained that its Threat Protection System is designed to disrupt the lifecycle of advanced attacks with a three-pronged approach that helps customers prevent, detect and respond to threats.
Highlights of the new offerings include:
• Prevention – A new Trusteer Apex solution for endpoint malware blocking, significant enhancements to the IBM Network Protection appliance for quarantining against attacks and new integrations with key partners’ network sandbox capabilities.
• Detection – Enhancements to IBM’s QRadar Security Intelligence platform allow organizations to detect attacks at new scale and actively block exploits with a click.
• Response – IBM has introduced new Security QRadar Incident Forensics and continues to expand its emergency response services globally.
Designed to help customers safeguard critical data — a corporation’s “Crown Jewels”, the IBM Threat Protection System is supported around the world by IBM’s managed security operations centers (SOC), which can monitor the system once deployed by clients. The system can also be deployed and integrated into customer SOCs.
“Up to now, many organizations have responded to security concerns by deploying separate new tools to address each new risk, and the heightened awareness caused by high-profile security breaches has only intensified this trend,” Brendan Hannigan, General Manager, IBM Security Systems, wrote in a blog post.
“I spoke to a government client recently that has 85 different security products across their environment,” Hannigan continued. “That alone is a security problem, not to mention the level of complexity as they try to make sense of dozens of disconnected solutions with limited views of the threat landscape. Adding more and more point solutions is unsustainable and, in many cases, has the opposite effect of what was intended. We call this “security sprawl,” and the IBM approach is designed to help drive this complexity down over time.”
According to the Ponemon Institute’s ninth annual global study on data breach costs, commissioned by IBM, the average total price tag of a breach increased 15 percent to $3.5 million.
“Concerns over the ability to protect critical data from cyber attacks have moved center stage in the board room,” said Kris Lovejoy, General Manager, IBM Security Services. “Cyber attacks and loss of data have the ability to impact brand reputation, reduce shareholder value and open an organization to litigation. IBM’s new software and services are designed to provide these executives with a unique solution that lets them keep their focus on the day-to-day needs of their customers and driving business revenue.”
According to IBM, its security division has had double-digit revenue growth for six consecutive quarters, with the company holding the #4 spot in the overall security software market in 2013, according to IDC.
