News
WatchGuard Technologies Acquires Percipient Networks and Adds Security at the DNS Layer to SMB Security Platform
January 2018 by Marc Jacob
WatchGuard® Technologies has announced that it has acquired Percipient Networks, a developer of simple, affordable, automated security solutions for small and midsize organisations. Percipient Networks’ flagship product, Strongarm, stops phishing and malware attacks by offering an easy-to-deploy, security-focused Domain Name System (DNS) service. Integrated into WatchGuard’s security platform, Strongarm will further improve the security efficacy of existing malware protection techniques, increase the value of the company’s popular Total Security Suite (TSS) advanced services bundle and become a key element in the evolution of WatchGuard’s cloud security offering.
In 2016, 76 percent of organisations reported falling victim to phishing[1]. Company size and vertical industry played no role in the likelihood of an attack, making it critical for companies to have protections in place against phishing, happy clickers, and other web-based threats. The Strongarm service monitors outbound DNS requests and blocks traffic to websites based on a list of known malicious domains. Furthermore, by monitoring requests at the domain level, Strongarm’s filtering capabilities extend to all ports and protocols. Integrating Strongarm into WatchGuard’s comprehensive unified security platform, will provide customers with the strongest possible protection from the widest variety of threats.
In addition to blocking traffic to dangerous sites, the Strongarm platform was architected to facilitate maximum user and IT admin education. Rather than just blocking traffic to potentially malicious sites, the service redirects users to a ‘blackhole’ where additional information about the attack is collected, and the user is presented with educational materials aimed at preventing future attacks. Percipient Networks also employs a threat analysis team that engages with the IT managers and managed service providers (MSPs) to provide additional insights into attacks and how to prevent them in the future. WatchGuard will continue investment in both areas.
WatchGuard partners and customers will be able to gain early access to the new DNS filtering service later this month when the product is released into Beta. The new service will be generally available as part of the company’s all-in-one security package, Total Security Suite, shortly thereafter in an upcoming release of Fireware. All active Total Security Suite customers will gain immediate access to the new feature at no additional charge with the simple check of a box.
