Press Release
FaceTime Application Detection Raises Stakes in Network Security
Offers Patented Technology to Identify and Control 1,400 Real Time
and Web 2.0 Applications and 50,000 social networking apps
BELMONT, Calif. - December 8, 2008 - FaceTime Communications, the
leading provider of solutions that manage Web 2.0 and unified communications in
the enterprise today announced its patented application inspection and
classification technology is now available for license to network security
equipment manufacturers who are interested in offering more application control
in their products. Dubbed ACE, for Application Control Engine, the
perimeter-based application filter identifies and categorizes more than 1,400
Web 2.0 applications and more than 50,000 additional application "widgets"
distributed via social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Orkut.
Backed by FaceTime Security Labs' exclusive application analysis and
categorization, ACE automatically updates its database to stay current with new
application detections.
At its core, ACE is the technology that sets FaceTime's award-winning Unified
Security Gateway appliance apart from all other network security appliances.
The USG enables enterprises to control real-time communications integrating
management, security and compliance of Web communications, consumer-driven
applications such as public IM, Skype and P2P and enterprise-class unified
communications suites such as Microsoft's Office Communications Server and IBM
Lotus Sametime.
"The widespread adoption of email was a key driver for the anti-virus scanning
industry, and the Web browser led to a standard requirement for URL filtering
databases," said Frank Cabri, vice president of marketing for FaceTime
Communications. "In the same way, the current explosion of real-time and Web
2.0 applications is prompting a need for application filtering to examine,
classify and control the evasive applications that are running over corporate
networks today."
"The competitive landscape in markets such as UTM and network firewalls has
escalated with increasing pressure from customers who require deep inspection
of the application traffic entering the enterprise at the network perimeter,"
said Brian Burke, program director for IDC's Network Security Service. "To
remain competitive, incumbent vendors must provide this comprehensive
application visibility and control - and partnering will provide the fastest
and most efficient path."
Market Requirements for Application Identification and Control
As revealed in the research report The Collaborative Internet: Usage Trends,
End User Attitudes and IT Impact commissioned by FaceTime and based on an
independent study by NewDiligence, 62 percent of IT respondents reported eight
or more Internet applications installed on their enterprise networks –
representing a 300 percent increase over the first study conducted in 2005.
Further, they noted that about one-third of end users continue to download the
applications they want to use on their desktops, regardless of company policy -
and these applications are used about equally for business and personal
reasons.
While many Web-based applications can be identified and blocked by a URL
signature, newer Internet applications are typically not browser-based and
therefore require specialized handling to effectively identify and classify
their true nature. Identifying these applications presents a new challenge for
enterprise IT. As more and more applications masquerade themselves as HTTP,
FTP, SMTP and Telnet traffic, while exhibiting evasive techniques, it becomes
increasingly difficult for Unified Threat Management (UTM), Firewall, Secure
Web Gateway (SWG) and IPS solutions that rely on simple signature matching
techniques to accurately identify, and therefore control them.
Application control is identified as one of the six key evaluation criteria for
the September 2008 Gartner report Magic Quadrant for Secure Web Gateway. In the
report, analysts Peter Firstbrook and Lawrence Orans conclude that "application
control is the most immature SWG feature. IM, Skype and peer-to-peer (P2P)
applications are the most commonly supported; however, few SWG solutions can do
more than block or allow access on a group or user level. Even fewer use
application network signatures versus more-easily evaded URL or Internet
Protocol (IP) address blocking."
Likewise, application identification is one of four key areas noted as
recommended components of the Next Generation Firewall, by Gartner analysts
Greg Young and John Pescatore in their November 2008 report Magic Quadrant for
Enterprise Network Firewalls. The report proclaims that "simply enforcing
proper protocol use on standard ports is no longer of sufficient value in this
environment. If firewall vendors do not make these changes, enterprises will
demand price concessions to reduce firewall costs substantially."
About ACE
The Application Control Engine™ (ACE™) enables security and network solution
providers to embed application filtering technology to accurately identify and
manage real-time applications on the network. ACE employs patented technology
to enable high-performance detection and categorization of more than 1,400
distinct applications - regardless of port, protocol, or evasive technique used
to traverse the network. Based on the same technology integral to FaceTime's
Unified Security Gateway, the ACE software developers kit (SDK) allows solution
providers to easily extend their offerings to help customers manage instant
messaging, peer-to-peer file sharing, social networking, Web 2.0,
voice-over-IP, anonymizers, IPTV, multimedia, games, virtual worlds, and
unified communications.
FaceTime's U.S. patent for classifying and identifying network traffic flows
forms the technology foundation for ACE. Available only from FaceTime, this
technology provides unparalleled accuracy and application coverage through
active monitoring and dynamic correlation of network, content, traffic and
other session characteristics. ACE creates a profile of both the specific
application in use along with the unique feature being executed (e.g. a file
attachment sent via instant messaging) allowing ACE Program Partners to deliver
granular policy and control over real-time applications within their products.
Purpose built for today's applications, the engine includes built-in support
for daily auto-updates of new applications provided by FaceTime Security Labs.
These updates occur through the ongoing collection, analysis and categorization
of application information from hundreds of thousands of end-points deployed
throughout the world both in enterprise networks and on consumer PCs. This data
is analyzed and confirmed by FaceTime Security Labs' researchers to insure that
its application database is current.
About FaceTime Communications
FaceTime Communications enables the safe and productive use of instant
messaging, Web usage and Unified Communications platforms. FaceTime's
award-winning solutions are used by more than 1,000 customers for security,
management and compliance of real-time communications. FaceTime supports or has
strategic partnerships with all leading public and enterprise IM network
providers, including AOL, Google, Microsoft, Yahoo!, Skype, IBM and Jabber.
FaceTime is headquartered in Belmont, California. For more information visit
http://www.facetime.com or call 888-349-FACE. The FaceForward blog, at
http://blog.facetime.com, offers thoughts and opinions about the changing
nature of Internet.
PR Contact:
Joshua Barnes
A&R Edelman
650-762-2865
joshua.barnes@ar-edelman.com
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