Security Watch: RSA Expo Sneak Preview

The biggest security event of the year starts today in San Jose, Calif., featuring numerous big-name speakers as well as a wealth of new product and solution announcements.

The theme of the four-day RSA Conference will center on ancient Vedic mathematics and a sage named Aryabhatta, who published an astronomical treatise in the year 499 that was written in 118 Sanskrit verses; the volume has had lasting ramifications for science and mathematics. RSA has invited author and cryptographer Dr. Subhash Kak to deliver one of the keynote speeches about how Vedic mathematic relates to today's information issues.

Other keynote speakers include Microsoft's Bill Gates, Sun Microsystems' Scott McNealy, Cisco Systems' John Chambers, Symantec's John Thompson, Internet Security Systems' Tom Noonan and VeriSign's Stratton Sclavos. Art Coviello, CEO and president of RSA Security, also will deliver a keynote address in his role as de-facto host of the event.

The conference will also feature panel discussions and educational seminars on numerous security topics, including messaging, management, endpoint security and security services.

For example, Symantec just announced a next-generation consumer security service for Windows Vista and Windows XP that will likely be discussed at length at RSA. Code-named Genesis and scheduled for release this fall, the new service will integrate with Symantec's Norton technologies to provide continuous protection to end users from various forms of malware.

On the endpoint-security front, StillSecure and Senforce Technologies are expected to announce integration between the network-access control (NAC) of StillSecure Safe Access and the Senforce Endpoint Security Suite (ESS). Also, Lockdown Networks will announce an expanded NAC offering called Sentry, an appliance for organizations that require consistent security-policy enforcement from the core network out to branch offices across VPN or WAN connections. And ConSentry Networks will showcase its "NAC in a Box" solution that supports Cisco Trust Agent and the Cisco NAC framework, providing a turnkey NAC implementation in a single device.

New messaging-security solutions also will abound, as vendors and partners strive to get a handle on the boom in malware activity. Barracuda Networks is expected to announce the release of its Spyware Removal Tool and a new ActiveX download for its Spyware Firewall, which extends protection beyond the gateway to include removal of malware from previously infected desktop computers.

PostX and BorderWare Technologies will announce a partnership to provide a comprehensive policy-based e-mail security solution to address regulatory and compliance concerns. Under terms of the partnership, BorderWare will integrate PostX e-mail encryption technology into MXtreme, an e-mail security appliance, to deliver integrated e-mail security and outbound content management with secure content delivery. E-mail security company IronPort Systems will unveil the IronPort M-Series Security Management Appliance, which provides a consolidated platform for managing all policy, reporting and audit; and anti-malware vendor Bit9 will be on hand to talk about its new services component.

Among the other new products, solutions and other announcements expected at the show:

Voltage Security will release a new enterprise-management platform integration kit, while Altiris will announce SecurityExpressions, an audit-ready support of data-security standards set forth by the Payment Card Industry (PCI) to help protect credit-card data.

BMC will show its new Identity Management for .NET solution.

Array Networks will announce management-, security- and compliance-feature enhancements to its SSL VPN SPX Product Series, as well as a beta release of GINA (Graphical ID and Authentication) for united SSL VPN Access.

Vontu6.0 will show a data-loss prevention solution for Fortune 500 enterprises and government agencies.

Blue Coat will make a series of announcements, including new functionality for its ProxyAV Web virus scan appliances; and a new version of Reporter, a solution for visibility into Web-based user activities.

PGP will announce a new data-storage encryption product that automates the secure storage, transfer and backup of large volumes of business data.

ConSentry Networks will unveil a strategic upgrade to its LANShield operating software that enables enterprises to better support endpoint-security software.

Net Optics will announce the iTap gigabit-port aggregator, which features SNMP remote management.

Radware will announce DefensePro 3.0, a security tool that provides application-level, network-core and endpoint protection against known and unknown zero-day DoS and distributed DoS attacks by automatically monitoring and adjusting network-traffic parameters based on behavioral DoS-protection technology

Check VARBusiness.com often for continuing coverage from the RSA Conference.