Enhanced Security Management

Intrusion-prevention software maker Entercept Security Technologies, in the wake of Cisco Systems' surprise acquisition of rival security vendor Okena Inc. last month, has unveiled an enhanced version of its software that offers increased management capabilities and protection for more operating-system platforms.

Cisco had partnered with Entercept to sell its server-protection and security software to its customers since the fall of 2001. Now that Cisco is set to sell its own intrusion-prevention application, Entercept is fighting back. "We're focused on continuing to develop the best intrusion-prevention technology," says Robin Matlock, a senior VP at Entercept. "Our customers bought the technology, not our relationship with Cisco."

Entercept this week will unveil version 4.0, which the company says better meets the needs of large companies by centrally managing up to 5,000 of its agents per management server; previously, it supported 1,000. A new management architecture will let companies better delegate security responsibilities to administrators, says Chad Harrington, director of product marketing for Entercept. Administrators can now simultaneously manage Entercept intrusion-prevention agents on servers no matter where they're located and can set specific rights for users depending on their roles. For instance, an administrator responsible for protecting human-resource systems could be allowed to view security events on their servers but not be allowed to alter settings on the agent.

The company also added support for HP-UX 11.x to the versions of Windows and Solaris it supports. Available now, Entercept 4.0 pricing starts at $1,295 for the standard edition and $1,595 for the Web-server edition. The management server, which is sold separately, is $4,995.

The loss of Cisco as an Entercept partner seems not to bother at least one customer, who has been using the security software for more than a year. Says Bill Stevenson, information security officer at New Century Mortgage Corp., "We're happy with Entercept and don't see any reason now to think about changing."