Feature Story

Fight Complacency with Network Box Managed Security Services

Complacency is the biggest problem in security today, says Michael Gazeley, managing director of Network Box Corp., LTD (www.net workboxusa.com), a global provider of managed security services, including for more than 150 financial institutions in the U.S. alone. As Gazeley sees it, if your company's management isn't making security a priority, your IT managers probably aren't either.

While companies go to great lengths to monitor office visitors, Gazeley says, "Businesses seem unwilling to spend either time or money on gateway security, yet the Internet gateway is switched on 24/7 and represents one of the greatest threats to their business."

How Managed Security Services Work

Network Box eases the burden and complexity of managing and monitoring Internet protection via its Managed Security Services. The company's approach relies on a global network of SOCs (Security Operation Centers) that oversee about 4,000 devices globally. Security-trained analysts at each SOC provide 24/7/365 real-time monitoring of more than 1,500 data networks tied to Network Box UTM (unified threat management) devices seated at companies' Internet gateway entry points.

Unique to Network Box's security protection is the use of patented PUSH technology, which automatically pushes antivirus signatures, security patches, and software updates from the SOCs to customer devices within 45 seconds of availability. The Managed Security Services package also includes threat analysis, bandwidth management, license management, change control, load balancing, and security consulting capabilities. Its UTM+ protection includes firewall, IDP, VPN, antimalware, antispam, and content filtering protection.

According to Pierluigi Stella, Network Box USA's CTO, a more traditional approach would involve IT monitoring multiple physical devices for Internet threats and then adding patches, applying signatures, etc. Instead, Network Box's managed security approach lets even a one-person operation implement affordable enterprise-class security, monitoring, and management abilities.

Fight The Arms Race In Real Time

Gazeley views cybersecurity as a whole as an arms race, with antivirus systems playing a key role. One of several technologies Network Box employs to combat malware is Z-Scan, a real-time, cloud-based antivirus solution the company says can react to zero-day malware 4,200 times faster than standard antivirus systems, thus blocking new viruses in as little as three seconds.

Recently, the Tolly Group IT security testing lab cited Network Box as being 100% effective in testing that was conducted using Tolly's Extended WildList of malware and samples from AV-Test, including virus, worm, rootkit, Trojan, and backdoor samples tested across HTTP, POP3, and SMTP protocols.

Don't Wait

As Gazeley says, the consequences of making Internet security less than a top priority include intellectual property theft, downtime, and expensive lawsuits related to confidential data losses. With Network Box's Managed Security Services in place, however, companies of nearly any size can acquire real-time monitoring and management to ensure that such situations don't occur.

"Protection needs to be comprehensive, properly configured, fully updated in real time, expertly managed, and carefully monitored," Gazeley says. Management can either deal with these issues before problems occur or wait until it's too late. "My advice to everyone," says Gazeley, "is to get protected right now. Why be a victim?"

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