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VRC white paper about impact of AV on VDI performance – @LoginVSI, @LoginConsultant
New VRC white paper about impact of antivirus on VDI performance
The independent research initiative Project Virtual Reality Check (VRC) released the long awaited ‘Phase V’ white paper which provides new insights in the impact and best practices of various antivirus solutions on VDI performance.
By testing and comparing different solutions and configurations Project VRC discovered the best practice to perform a pre-scan of the master image before deployment.
Another key finding is that antivirus off-loading architectures makes a big difference from a storage IO point of view, but not always from a session density point of view.
This Project VRC white paper with all Login VSI test results and best practices can be downloaded for free here:
Download the Project VRC white paper
Read other white papers based on tests with Login VSI
//Richard
Magic Quadrant for Application Delivery Controllers – #Citrix, #NetScaler, #F5
The application delivery controller has evolved into a key component of the data center architecture, and enterprises should evaluate ADCs based on how they integrate with this architecture and support more-advanced features, such as user and traffic control and monitoring.
Market Definition/Description
Application delivery controllers (ADCs) provide functions that optimize enterprise application environments. The market evolved from the load-balancing systems that were specifically developed to ensure the availability and scalability of websites. Enterprises use ADCs to optimize reliability, end-user performance, data center resource use and security for a variety of enterprise applications.
Magic Quadrant
Source: Gartner (October 2012)
Vendor Strengths and Cautions
A10 Networks
A10 continues to gain market share and brand awareness, especially in Asia, and it is aggressively targeting the North American market. Its product development has placed focus on developing a scalable high-performance platform with a strong feature set but a more limited focus on establishing a data center architectural vision. While strong in its product focus, A10 has demonstrated more limited innovation and still has a more narrow feature support than leading vendors. A10 is a good choice for enterprises seeking a cost-effective…
Continue reading here!
//Richard
#Microsoft and Others Fail Antivirus Test – #ForeFront, #FEP, #AV
Microsoft is still behind the competition…
How many of you out there are using ForeFront Endpoint Protection (FEP) to secure your clients/servers?
Below is a good article from Neil J. Rubenking about the latest (Nov/DEc 2012) report from AV-Test:
Based in Magdeburg, Germany, independent lab AV-Test evaluates and rates antivirus products on a variety of different criteria. Every couple of months the researchers summarize their testing and report on which products achieved certification. In the latest such report, several vendors failed to make the grade.
One of the many individual tests involved in AV-Test certification measures how well products stand up to zero-day attacks—viruses or other threats so new that no antivirus signature exists. AV-Test CEO Andreas Marx noted that the 25 consumer products in the current test averaged 92 percent detection of zero-day attacks. “This means,” said Marx “that one out of ten malware attacks succeeded.” He also pointed out that while the products averaged 91 percent cleanup of existing infections, many didn’t remove all traces. “Only 60% could be put back in a condition similar to the pre-infection state,” Marx observed.
Certification Failed
Products can earn six points each for repair of existing malware infestations, protection against new attacks, and overall usability. Here usability means the product doesn’t slow system performance and doesn’t falsely report valid programs or activities as malicious. In order to receive certification, a product must earn a total of 11 points.
Just as in the previous test, Microsoft didn’t make the cut, though with ten points it came close. PC Tools also failed with ten points.
The big loser this time around was AhnLab. In the previous test AhnLab squeaked by with 11 points. The latest test saw that score drop to 8.5 points, well below the certification cutof…
Continue reading here!
//Richard
AT&T boldly enters home security market with digital life – via @EricssonLabs, @ATT
This is cool! Great thinking and I like the aggressiveness in finding new business models and ideas!
One of the more ambitious and promising initiatives announced at CES was AT&T’s Digital Life. As the flagship announcement at AT&T Developer Summit, Digital LIfe is an application and services platform that will offer a broad range of services to consumer households including media management, home security services, home energy monitoring and a broad variety of sensor-based services such as water leak detection and water main control.
When launched in March 2013 in eight metropolitan markets in the US, the platform will be the first of its kind sold by mobile operators in the US in partnership with several firms including Cisco Systems, which will provide a control panel for the service. The service platform has been in development for well over a year, with a mansion full of demonstration prototypes given at CTIA in New Orleans in 2Q2012, and represents a significant strategic direction for AT&T which is aggressively pushing the traditional business model boundaries of a mobile operator. While pricing and service details won’t be available until later in the quarter, the new platform is designed to leverage AT&T’s ever expanding portfolio of connected devices and shared data plans launched in 2012.
While home media management and device connectivity are not new to AT&T, the platform’s home security service is a strong indication of AT&T’s ambitious plans to expand its business model and revenue base.
According to AT&T, the home security market is a highly fragmented industry that is ripe for disruption and under penetrated. With less than of 20 per cent of US households currently subscribing home security services and served by thousands of service providers, AT&T is convinced that its wireless IP-based services will offer both the scale and efficiency to carve out a leadership position in the space, challenging current market leader ADT.
AT&T’s new security business will offer two 24/7 call centers to respond to real-time…
Continue reading here!
//Richard
Magic Quadrant for Endpoint Protection Platforms – #Gartner, #EPP via @rspruijt
Magic Quadrant for Endpoint Protection Platforms
VIEW SUMMARY
The endpoint protection platform provides a collection of security utilities to protect PCs and tablets. Vendors in this market compete on the quality of their protection capabilities, the depth and breadth of features, and the ease of administration.
Market Definition/Description
The enterprise endpoint protection platform (EPP) market is a composite market primarily made up of collections of products. These include:
- Anti-malware
- Anti-spyware
- Personal firewalls
- Host-based intrusion prevention
- Port and device control
- Full-disk and file encryption, also known as mobile data protection
- Endpoint data loss prevention (DLP)
- Vulnerability assessment
- Application control (see Note 1)
- Mobile device management (MDM)
These products and features are typically centrally managed and ideally integrated by shared policies.
DLP, MDM and vulnerability assessment are also evaluated in their own Magic Quadrant or MarketScope analyses. Longer term, portions of these markets will get subsumed by the EPP market, as the personal firewall, host intrusion prevention, device control and anti-spyware markets have in the past. EPP suites are a logical place for convergence of these functions. Indeed, 53% of organizations in a recent Gartner survey1 already use a single vendor for several of these functions, or are actively consolidating products. In particular, mobile data protection is the leading complement to EPP and purchasing decisions regarding the two products are increasingly made together. For most organizations, selecting a mobile data protection system from their incumbent EPP vendors will meet their requirements.
In 2012, the large enterprise EPP market is still dominated by Symantec, McAfee and Trend Micro, which together represent approximately 68% of the total revenue of Magic Quadrant participants. Sophos and Kaspersky Lab are the two other global leaders that are competitive across multiple functions and geographies, and push the combined Leaders quadrant market share to 85%. Despite the introduction of new players, the displacement of incumbents is still a significant challenge in the large enterprise market. The biggest impact of the Magic Quadrant Challengers and Visionaries is to push the dominant market players to invest in new features and functionality (sometimes via acquisitions) to stay ahead, and to keep pricing rational. In the less demanding small and midsize market, competition is more intense. A number of Niche Player solutions are dominant in specific regions.
The total EPP revenue of the Magic Quadrant participants at year-end 2011 was roughly $2.8 billion, up 4% from 2010. We attribute this growth primarily to increased buying of more-expensive suites, offset by lower prices for low-end malware-only solutions. Consequently, EPP revenue growth is more a result of an inflow of revenue from other markets. We anticipate that growth will continue to be in the low single digits in 2013.
Microsoft is the best vendor in a position to challenge the incumbent Leaders, primarily due to attractive pricing in its enterprise agreements. Approximately one-third of enterprise buyers1 indicate they are actively considering Microsoft or plan to do so during their next renewal periods. However, Microsoft’s slow development, the lack of a single unified security management interface and mediocre test results will temper its adoption. Longer term, we believe that increased displacement of Windows endpoints with application-controlled OSs (such as Microsoft WinRT and Apple’s iOS and OS X Mountain Lion) is the biggest market threat. These solutions shift the value proposition of EPP solutions from traditional anti-malware to MDM and data protection capabilities.
Magic Quadrant
Source: Gartner (January 2013)
Vendor Strengths and Cautions
Arkoon Network Security
Arkoon Network Security’s StormShield EPP solution (formerly offered by SkyRecon Systems) is designed as a seamless integrated EPP with a focus on behavioral protection. Arkoon’s Ability to Execute score is hampered by its relatively small market share and limited geographic presence, as well as its still-maturing management capabilities….
Continue reading here!
//Richard
Microsoft Security Newsletter – September 2012
Ok, didn’t have the time to search where online the newsletter is located so I just copied some of it into this post. I think that there where some interesting posts/articles around “BYO”, Cloud etc. So browse and enjoy! 😉
| Welcome to September’s Security Newsletter! |
This month’s newsletter focuses on personal devices in the workplace, often times referred to as “Bring Your Own Device,” or BYOD. BYOD is a very hot topic these days as organizations grapple with the challenge of managing the risks involved in allowing corporate data to be placed on personal devices such as smart phones. At face value, BYOD has the potential to be a win-win proposition. However, depending on how BYOD is implemented and managed, it could be a Pandora’s box.The primary challenge is that some of the devices employees decide to bring to work may not have basic security or management capabilities. This challenge is compounded by the risks associated with connecting to social networks and by the diverse ways organizations and people are choosing to connect and share data today – such as the utilization of cloud services. We recently conducted a study to find out more about how personal devices are being used in the business environment. Our study found that:
BYOD does have distinct advantages. From the standpoint of the IT department, BYOD is generally seen as a cost-cutting measure because the burden of supplying the equipment is shifted to the employees. Some organizations subsidize BYOD policies with a per diem to offset the costs for users, but it still results in lower costs for the organization by relieving IT of its traditional role of maintenance and support. Another advantage of BYOD is that individuals tend to upgrade and embrace new platforms and technologies much faster than businesses. The organization benefits from being able to take advantage of cutting edge tools and features without the pain of deploying new hardware to the entire company. From the user’s perspective, BYOD means using devices and applications that are more familiar. Empowering users with the ability to choose which hardware and platforms they use creates more satisfied and productive workers. It also allows them to carry a single mobile device instead of one for work and another for personal use. The list of smart personal devices capable of connecting to private and public networks is rapidly and constantly expanding. For chief information security officers (CISOs) and chief security officers (CSOs), managing an ever growing list of devices and applications isn’t a sustainable model. Some of the security professionals I have talked to are shifting their focus to managing the data instead of the devices. They have concluded that device security is only a proxy for data security; if they can’t effectively manage the security of the devices that employees bring to work, they will focus on managing the security of the data itself. I think the industry recognizes the importance of securing personal devices and are making steps toward better management controls in the future. If you are interested in learning more about BYOD, I encourage you to read these blog posts recently published on the topic:
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The IT Melting Pot! 