News
Stonesoft Raises the Bar with the Stonesoft Security Engine Version 5.4 and New High Speed Network Security Appliances
September 2012 by Marc Jacob
The network security vendor Stonesoft releases new software (version 5.4) that runs at the core of all Stonesoft network security products and the Stonesoft Management Center (SMC). The company’s flagship product, the Stonesoft Security Engine 5.4, now offers improved security against advanced cyber threats, including Advanced Evasion Techniques (AETs). To improve situational awareness the new SMC 5.4 provides unique AET reporting, enhanced log visualizations and overviews of entire networks.
To meet the need for higher data performance Stonesoft is also introducing two new high-end security appliances, the Stonesoft 3206 and Stonesoft 5206. With new software design and improved processing technology the appliances’ real-life application traffic throughput has been increased to over 100Gbps. For customers this brings real value by offering dynamic, software-based security at the speed of static, hardware (ASIC)-based security.
The Stonesoft Security Engine 5.4 – AET reporting and user-friendly log visualizations
Stonesoft’s new version 5.4 software has been tested against over 800 million Advanced Evasion Techniques (AETs) and provides the most comprehensive reporting of AET-borne cyber attacks. The new enhanced log visualization functionality takes real-time application and situational awareness to a level never previously witnessed in enterprise-class network security. For network security administrators this opens up new possibilities to monitor, analyze and control what is happening, and who is doing what, where, how and when – in a more visual and intuitive way – from one single management overview.
The transformable and adaptive Stonesoft Security Engine 5.4 is an integrated security software solution. It is capable of providing all of the network security features and functionalities of a Next Generation Firewall (NGFW), Intrusion Prevention System (NGIPS/IPS), Evasion Prevention System (EPS), layer-2 firewall, VPN or UTM. The Stonesoft Security Engine is designed to meet the requirements of the ever-changing cyber threat landscape, and can adapt to business or infrastructural changes. This allows users to re-configure, transform and dynamically select the level and structure of security without additional investment – or costly time delays.
The Stonesoft Security Engine 5.4 also puts an end to the security industry’s dominant approach, which is to develop and sell static, disposable and siloed point solutions with a fixed lifecycle. As one unified and evolving software solution, the Security Engine is capable of deploying any new security updates, upgrades and improvements without heavy rip-replace-deploy operations. Stonesoft’s “future included” thinking improves return on security investment – with a longer lifecycle and always-up-to-date protection. The Security Engine 5.4 is available as software, virtual software or as a hardware appliance for a perfect fit in today’s hybrid network environments.
More new and improved features
• Route-based VPN and Dynamic Routing enables easier configuration and maintenance of VPN policies, as well as flexibility on how traffic is routed
• Enhanced support for Snort© signatures
• Improved deep inspection and application identification enables better protection, control and situational awareness over users and applications
• Improved Stonesoft Management Center scalability and localization helps avoid human error and enhances usability (e.g. language options)
• Integrated Traffic Capture in the Stonesoft Management Center allows administrators to make traffic recordings easily and rapidly for incident investigation and troubleshooting
New High Performance Appliances – The Stonesoft 3206 and 5206
With the new software version 5.4, the Stonesoft 3206 and 5206 high performance appliances’ real-world application traffic throughput has increased to over 100Gbps. For example, small data packet handling has increased by more than 400% to meet the requirements of large organizations, service providers, telecom operators etc. Both new appliances are available as a Stonesoft Security Engine, Next Generation Firewall/VPN and Intrusion Prevention System.
The new Stonesoft FW-5206 appliance was tested, using the BreakingPoint FireStorm from Ixia, at up to 119 Gbps of bandwidth on L3 traffic and up to 24 Million concurrent TCP connections on L4 traffic. With this high performance, Stonesoft is geared to address the service provider market that until now has been dominated by hardware based firewalls. Ixia provides comprehensive solutions for pre-deployment and production network monitoring, testing and optimization.
– Availability
The new version 5.4 Stonesoft Security Engine, and the new Stonesoft 3206 and 5206 appliances, are now available globally.
