Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Early Vibe: Skyhigh Networks


I was very impressed with this year’s RSA Conference – not only was the energy level of 24,000 attendees up over previous years, but I also witnessed more innovation on the exhibition floor than I had seen for a very long time. One of the companies I enjoyed talking with, thanks to a tip from my friend Rich B., was Skyhigh Networks. Skyhigh launched on the Monday of RSA so they get the prize for my earliest Early Vibe ever!

Skyhigh offers a subscription service based on firewall logs to identify cloud services accessed from within the network. Most companies have no visibility, and thus no control, over the cloud applications users access from within the corporate network. I find IT usually knows personal use of email, social sites, and data storage is happening, but IT is often stunned when they learn the magnitude of the usage. And of course, there are always the security benefits of detecting use of unauthorized applications, checking out security reputations of applications that are used for the first time, planning training needs for secure use of cloud apps, and prioritizing heavily used applications for renewal negotiations.

My understanding of how it works is firewall log data is delivered up through the cloud, where Skyhigh matches addresses with domains and applications within domains (e.g. granularity for Salesforce or Facebook apps), and security gets a lovely dashboard of cloud application usage patterns. Skyhigh has a cool idea to offer analysis of cloud applications and user behavior as a service that gives Skyhigh a ton of flexibility to deliver new security applications.

Monday, March 11, 2013

Network Access Control: A Strong Resurgence is Underway

Security analyst firm the Ogren Group today released its vendor market forecast and market analysis security report Network Access Control: A Strong Resurgence is Underway.

To buy Ogren Group Security Reports or reprint rights please send mail to eric@ogrengroup.com.

Analyst Comment

The ability to detect and characterize users and devices connecting to the network, and enforce security policies based on real-time assessments, is a huge benefit for enterprises requiring security and compliance for mobile users. The NAC roots of segmenting guests and unhealthy endpoints from sensitive data is fueling growth with BYOD and wireless initiatives along with demands for continuous endpoint compliance.

The NAC market has not only revived, but is experiencing a strong resurgence - the Ogren Group estimated the market for Network Access Control products and services was $392 million in 2012, and predicts it will grow at a 22% CAGR to $1,061 million by 2017. Cisco, ForeScout, and Juniper combined represent over 70% market share and are the clear leaders in the NAC market.



Security Report Summary

The Ogren Group interviewed major vendors and security officers at large organizations in examining the Network Access Control market. This Security Report presents the features, market strategy, future directions, and recommended vendors for NAC. In addition to Cisco, ForeScout, and Juniper, the Security Report also profiles
Aruba, Bradford, StillSecure, and TrustWave. The report structure is:

Executive Summary
Overview
Economic Drivers of NAC Resurgence
Technical Drivers of NAC Resurgence
Noteworthy NAC Features
Noteworthy NAC Weaknesses
Selected Vendor Profiles
Network Infrastructure Vendors
Software Infrastructure Vendors
Independent Vendors
Niche NAC Vendors
NAC Roadmap
Conclusions
Enterprise Recommendations
Vendor Recommendations
Directions and Predictions

Upcoming Ogren Group Research in 2013

Firewall Analysis: Keep Application Paths Clear
Endpoint Security Advances: Protect Un-trusted Systems
BYoD: Security Answers the Bell
Incident Response Strategies: Detect and Act!
Virtualization Impact on Security: Is It a Game Changer?
Spotlight on Threat Intelligence: Get a Head Start on Threats