Here's a novel approach to E-mail encryption: a free client. With Ciphire Labs' Ciphire Mail, neither the sender nor the recipient has to do anything to make the encryption work. The client, which is free to individuals but not businesses, does it all transparently. Ciphire still needs to tell businesses how much it will charge them and whether encryption will slow message delivery times, but it has lowered the barriers of cost and complexity, and that makes the company worth a look.
Sana Security makes software that automatically detects, classifies, and responds to threats. The host-based, clientless Active Malware Defense Technology is patterned after the human immune system. It "learns" normal software behavior by observing code paths in programs, then identifies anomalies like bugs, misconfigurations, and injected code.
Though security isn't this company's focus, you might be glad to be using Asempra Technologies' real-time data backup next time a security problem results in lost data or a system failure. It backs up data in real time instead of at predesignated times. After an outage, you can roll back to data that's as little as a minute old and get right back to work.
When it comes to keeping the bad guys out, there's nothing quite as effective as a locked door. But companies are still struggling with managing card access control lists across multiple buildings and at remote sites. Now CoreStreet offers a validation system that integrates digital identities for both network and physical access, letting companies lock their doors using the same lists they use for network access.
You may think you've built a solid security perimeter, but have you checked your phone lines? Rogue modems connected to remote-control software, fax machines quietly awaiting use, and unprotected voice calls over the public switched telephone network can lead to data loss. SecureLogix's telecom firewall blocks calls based on phone numbers and call type, detects war-dialing, and fights off other voice-based attacks.
Force Field Wireless can sell you a 10-piece paintbrush set along with paint it claims will keep out unwelcome wireless waves. One coat of the metal-laced DefendAir paint blocks radio waves to 2.6 GHz, stopping 802.11b/g Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and some WiMax transmissions, Force Field says. To fend off 5-GHz 802.11a signals, just add a second coat.
If you want a company that finds malicious sites, identifies the exploits they're using, and pushes protection to customers, Exploit Prevention Labs, known as XPL, might be the one. By discovering exploits in the wild, XPL says it can prevent about 80% of such malware from ever affecting your operations.
Spun out of Columbia University and bankrolled by the Department of Homeland Security, CounterStorm has an unusual approach to locking down networks. Most security vendors fall into either the network access control camp, à la Cisco, or the behavioral analysis camp, like Mazu Networks and Lancope. CounterStorm combines the two, using a 1-U, 1.75-inch device to scan internal LAN switches for unusual behavior, such as connection attempts to points not on the network--typical worm behavior. A 2-U management device quarantines infected devices such as servers and laptops.
10 Security Vendors You've Never Heard Of