FaceTime Communications Integrates Sophos's Anti-Virus Engine With New USG 3.0

FaceTime Communications (www.facetime.com) the leading provider of solutions enabling the safe use of Web 2.0 and Unified Communications in the enterprise, today announced that the company has licensed a world-class Web 2.0 virus detection engine from IT security and data protection firm Sophos. Sophos's anti-virus technology has been integrated with FaceTime's Unified Security Gateway (USG) 3.0, the first secure Web gateway to combine the content monitoring, management and securing of Web 2.0 applications, such as social networks, instant messaging and unified communications with URL filtering, malware and Web anti-virus protection.

"Web 2.0 applications are making their way into enterprise networks, and the proliferation of viruses and malware propagated through the Internet and increasingly, popular social media sites presents a huge security concern for IT managers," said Nishant Jadhav, Director, Business Development. "By licensing the best Web 2.0 anti-virus solution on the market, we now add HTTP/HTTPS antivirus support to our URL filtering, anti-malware, content monitoring, scanning, and recording for Web traffic and applications such as instant messaging, unified communications, and social networks."

"For the first six months of this year, SophosLabs detected 23,500 new infected Web pages* – that's one every 3.6 seconds. This statistic underscores the necessity of ensuring safe Web browsing, which includes virus and other malware protection," said Michael Rogers, Vice President of Global Alliances & OEM at Sophos."We are pleased that FaceTime's Unified Security Gateway 3.0 customers will now benefit from Sophos's proactive anti-virus detection technology."

FaceTime's USG 3.0 is an enterprise appliance that gives granular control of not just Websites and applications but also of the content being posted to blogs, wikis, webmail and social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. Such content can be monitored, secured and recorded – reducing outbound data leakage and enabling compliance with industry regulations and legal discovery requirements.

By filtering all Web 2.0 traffic and stopping viruses at the USG gateway, Sophos's proactive detection technology offers an extra layer of protection for FaceTime's Unified Security Gateway (USG) 3.0 customers. In addition to real-time scanning, virus updates are automatically delivered via the same engine, ensuring that all customers are protected against the latest threats.

Sophos's global network of threat analysis centers, SophosLabs, analyzes over 40,000 new suspicious files everyday and consistently creates and delivers threat protection updates around the clock. Sophos uses unique technologies, such as Behavioral Genotype® Protection, that expedite detection and block unknown malware without waiting for specific detection to be made available.

To Purchase FaceTime Products Visit FaceTimeSecurity.com

FaceTime Launches Augment, AMU Kit for Blue Coat and Surfcontrol Users

FaceTime Communications (www.facetime.com) the leading provider of solutions enabling the safe use of Web 2.0 and unified communications in the enterprise, today announced release of its Augment, Migrate & Update (AMU) kit specifically designed for organizations facing costly upgrades to keep pace with the enterprise security and control capabilities needed to manage the changing use of the Internet.

The new AMU kit is designed to help customers of end of life products like Surfcontrol upgrade from their current URL blocking platforms to FaceTime's Unified Security Gateway (USG) 3.0. USG 3.0 provides granular control over Web sites and applications as well as the content posted to blogs, wikis, webmail and social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

Organizations being forced to upgrade from existing Surfcontrol platforms can now use FaceTime's AMU kit to gain access to zero-cost Web filtering, upgrade support, and a free guide to Enabling Social Networks. Additionally, Blue Coat users can augment existing proxy infrastructures with new Web 2.0 application controls and take bi-directional control of content posted and received from the Internet.

"Companies are now fully embracing the benefits of Web 2.0 and social applications as part of their enterprise networks," said Nishant Jadhav, Director, Product Management of FaceTime Communications. "They recognize the value of social networks, blogs and wikis to collaborate with customers and colleagues, and they see how applications such as instant messaging can enhance productivity. Now, with our Unified Security Gateway, such content can be monitored, controlled and secured to prevent data leaks, enable compliance with industry regulations, such as GLBA, HIPAA, SEC, FINRA and MIFID, and enforce corporate policies."

FaceTime's survey of 1,100 worldwide IT Managers, in June 2009, revealed that social network usage in the enterprise is already accepted by IT professionals, however, two-thirds of respondents placed high-importance on controlling which groups or individuals can use social networking on the enterprise network and for how long. Eighty percent of the over 1,100 IT Managers surveyed saw information leakage as a primary concern, with malware propagation over such networks seen as a key issue by 90 percent of respondents.

To Purchase FaceTime Products Visit FaceTimeSecurity.com

"Facebook Face-off" at Work Places Businesses at Risk

FaceTime Communications warned today that organisations that do not take full control over the use Web 2.0 applications at work run the risk of data leakage, fines and a reduction in productivity, whether they ban their use or not. Businesses caught in the middle of the "Facebook Face-off" with employees should look to embrace the new internet, whilst using technology to control content posted at work to blogs, social networks and from personal web mail accounts.

"Inhibiting employee use of Web 2.0 applications is a double edged sword," says Nick Sears, VP EMEA of FaceTime Communications. "On one hand it's almost impossible for companies to ban their use with traditional security technologies, on the other preventing employee use of such widely used tools can curb moral, slow down decision making and generally impact on day to day productivity."

For employees prepared to go against company policy, FaceTime points out that in most cases no technical knowledge is required to get applications such as streaming audio and video, file sharing and collaboration tools running on the corporate network. Many of the thousands of Web 2.0 applications now available do the work for the user and bypass conventional firewalls and URL filters by hopping from port to port, using encryption and non-standard protocols, and tunnelling over HTTP.

With strong evidence now emerging that allowing employee access to such sites is beneficial, many organisations are starting to reverse their decisions to ban. However, with no controls in place to manage sites accessed and content posted, companies are still in danger from data leaving undetected, employees posting negative and possibly libellous comments and escalating bandwidth usage.

"Whilst it's much harder to stop employees from doing the wrong thing out of work, if they are on the company network then most organisations have a duty to ensure that all electronic communications is controlled and recorded," continues Nick Sears. "With the technology available today there is no excuse in allowing staff to post comments or upload files, without being able to control the content."

The law is not clear yet over employees making their views clear on social networking sites outside of work. It does not wish to infringe on the freedom of speech, but it also recognises an organisation's need to protect its reputation. The outcome in New South Wales, Australia, of six prison officers that made a complaint to the Industrial Relations Commission after being threatened with the sack over several posts on Facebook, may show which way the future lies.

Earlier this month FaceTime launched version 3.0 of its Unified Security Gateway (USG), the first secure web gateway to combine content monitoring, management and security of Web 2.0 applications, with URL filtering, malware and web anti-virus protection. USG 3.0 provides granular control of not just Web sites and internet applications, but also the content posted to blogs, wikis, webmail and social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

A highly visual reporting engine gives an innovative birds-eye view of user behaviour across Web, IM, P2P and social networks. New integration of on-board antivirus scanning technology in combination with USG's URL filtering and malware engine reduces the risk of Internet-borne malware and viruses.

"User activity monitoring and reporting is key for us at Pernod Ricard," comments, Tina Hart, Technical Projects Analyst, Pernod Ricard, Inc. "The new customisable reporting framework in USG will be of huge benefit to us and will give us much wider flexibility in the management of the device and a greater visibility throughout the organisation of Internet browsing trends."

To Purchase FaceTime Products Visit FaceTimeSecurity.com

Enterprises Can Now Enable Twitter, Facebook and Other Web 2.0 Platforms

FaceTime Communications today announced the release of the Unified Security Gateway (USG) 3.0, the first secure Web gateway to combine content monitoring, management and security of Web 2.0 applications such as social networking, instant messaging, and Unified Communications, with URL filtering, malware and Web antivirus protection.

USG 3.0 provides granular control of not only Web sites and applications but also the content posted to blogs, wikis, webmail and social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. Such content can be monitored, secured and recorded – reducing outbound data leakage and enabling compliance with industry regulations, legal discovery requirements, and corporate policy standards.

Increasingly, corporations, financial institutions, government agencies, schools, and other organizations are finding that Web 2.0 platforms are an important medium for communicating with employees, partners and customers, but their traditional security solutions do not combat the risks associated with these collaborative technologies.

Additionally, Web 2.0 platforms introduce new compliance and policy challenges. For instance, financial advisors already using IM now also use Twitter and other channels to communicate with clients; yet regulatory bodies such as FINRA require that these communications be monitored and archived. Schools are required to comply with the Child Internet Protection Act (CIPA), but also need to find a way to allow access to educational sites and even YouTube videos without enabling access to harmful content. Government agencies and corporations worry about sensitive information leaking out over Twitter or Facebook.

"Users will continue to bring Web 2.0 applications into enterprise networks and IT managers can either try to lock down the network, or they can secure these applications and reap the benefits of social media collaboration while regaining control," said Kailash Ambwani, president and CEO of FaceTime Communications. "USG 3.0 delivers unique capabilities in not just monitoring and securing inbound and outbound content over Web 2.0 and Internet applications, but also in our innovative reporting, providing a birds-eye view of user behavior across all the modalities of Web, social networks, IM and Unified Communications platforms – providing a clear understanding of a user's complete activity."

Organizations are now faced with the challenge of managing and securing the converging worlds of enterprise communications and collaboration on the one hand and publicly available social networks and Web 2.0 applications on the other.

FaceTime's survey of 1,100 worldwide IT Managers, in June 2009, revealed that social network usage in the enterprise is widely accepted by IT professionals, however, two-thirds of respondents placed high-importance on controlling which groups or individuals can use social networking on the enterprise network and for how long. Eighty percent of the over 1,100 IT Managers surveyed saw information leakage as a primary concern, with malware propagation over such networks seen as a key issue by 90 percent of respondents.

According to the "Hype Cycle for Infrastructure Protection, 2009" published by the Gartner Group: "The Web is simultaneously becoming more important and more dangerous to modern business. Web 2.0-based applications and services, such as Skype and salesforce.com, have the ability to cut costs and improve productivity. Organizations are increasingly interested in opening up Web access to Web 2.0 applications, such as social networking and IM, but are concerned about security risks. Concurrently, the Internet is also the primary source of malware infection and the primary channel for data loss due to external hacking. Yet fewer than 20% of organizations have adequate solutions to effectively protect their endpoints from Web-based attack and effectively manage Web participation"

Traditional security tools, such as firewalls and URL filters are bypassed by the thousands of applications, such as streaming audio and video, file sharing and collaboration tools, which are capable of hopping from port to port, using encryption and non-standard protocols, and tunneling over HTTP.

We knew that some degree of Web 2.0 application usage was happening in our network, but our initial evaluation of USG, gave us the full picture", says Ted Hickman, Global Network and Telecommunications Manager, Cook Group Incorporated. "USG now gives us granular control over what our users can do, we've shut down a host of unauthorized P2P usage and we're now monitoring and reporting on our users behaviour across the whole Web 2.0 spectrum.

To Purchase FaceTime Products Visit FaceTimeSecurity.com

FaceTime Provides Reuters Messaging Import for SEC, FSA Compliance

FaceTime Communications announced today the availability to import Reuters Messaging communications alongside instant messages (IM) from public, enterprise and other financial IM networks to manage and archive all conversations into a single location. The new capabilities added to IMAuditor, FaceTime's security and compliance software, will allow financial services organizations to meet the stringent compliance requirements for the retention of IMs as set out by regulatory bodies such as the SEC, NYSE and the Financial Services Authority (UK).

Reuters Messaging is widely used by financial institutions to communicate throughout the course of their business. With IMAuditor, FaceTime clients utilizing Reuters Messaging, are now able to combine the logging, archiving and easy retrieval of these messages, with that of public and enterprise messaging and other real-time communications. In addition, IMAuditor also supports the export of Reuters Messaging conversations to customers' existing email-archiving platforms for a single point of compliance and e-discovery

"With the acceptance and growth of IM, Web 2.0 applications and social networking sites in the workplace, real-time communication tools are rarely used in isolation. This development meets the growing regulatory requirements of the financial services sector and helps to ease the burden of compliance," comments Brian Babin, director of product management for FaceTime Communications.

This new capability is available within 30 days to all FaceTime IMAuditor customers and supports all current versions of Reuters Messaging.

To Purchase FaceTime Products Visit FaceTimeSecurity.com

Sunbelt Software and FaceTime Partner to Enable Secure Web 2.0

Sunbelt Software, a leading provider of Windows security software, today announced a licensing agreement with FaceTime Communications, the leading provider of solutions enabling the safe use of Web 2.0 and unified communications in the enterprise.

Through the terms of the agreement, Sunbelt's anti-malware technology, designed specifically for the gateway, and its Threat Track™ data feeds have been licensed by FaceTime for integration with its Unified Security Gateway product. As part of the integration, FaceTime will deploy Sunbelt's VIPRE® technology into its appliance to augment the protection provided by FaceTime's Security Labs and the FaceTime WebFilter.

With the incorporation of Sunbelt's gateway anti-malware technology, FaceTime's Unified Security Gateway delivers robust malware scanning at the network perimeter alongside traditional Web filtering. This is in addition to the application research provided by FaceTime's Security Labs, which protects enterprises from the associated threats of more than 2,100 Web 2.0 applications from instant messaging to P2P, Gaming, IPTV and social networking. Sunbelt's Threat Track provides the industry's most accurate and up-to-date feeds, identifying and propagating the latest malicious URLs and malware to researchers. It relies on the world-class research efforts of SunbeltLabs™, the malware research and analysis division of Sunbelt Software.

"As enterprise communications converge with publicly available Web 2.0 applications it becomes imperative to secure increasingly complex data streams," said Nishant Jadhav, Director of Product Management of FaceTime Communications. "Sunbelt gives us the most powerful information in real-time to be able to protect enterprise users so they can freely communicate through any channel in a secure fashion."

"Sunbelt's threat research and detection technology, along with Threat Track data feeds is a perfect complement to FaceTime's existing application security capabilities," said Chad Loeven, VP, business development for Sunbelt Software. "The integration of our comprehensive perimeter anti-malware scanning engine provides FaceTime's customers protection from the full range of threats that can be found in the Web 2.0 sphere."

To Purchase FaceTime Products Visit FaceTimeSecurity.com

FaceTime Signs-up Singapore Distributor Infosec Pacific

FaceTime Communications announced today that it has signed an agreement with InfoSec Pacific (www.infosec-pacific.com) that enables the value add distributor to offer FaceTime's products throughout Singapore. Working together the two companies will expand FaceTime's presence in Singapore and build upon the successes already achieved in the region.

InfoSec has a strong presence in the financial sector and other heavily regulated industries, in addition to several Government contracts. This focus fits well with FaceTime's award-winning products that enable the safe and productive use of instant messaging, Web 2.0 applications and Unified Communications platforms, whilst providing compliance to global regulations on the highest level.

"We chose to work with FaceTime because no other vendor could provide protection against the vast number of web applications now available to the average user," says Lionel Loh, Regional Business Development of InfoSec Pacific. "Social Networking sites such as Facebook, which has over 20,000 widgets that all need to be regulated and controlled, only complicate the issue even further. Finding a partner that could offer comprehensive protection against the threats of the new internet was a key requirement."

As an authorised distributor, Infosec will receive product and marketing support from FaceTime in addition to product training, enabling the distributor to provide first line support to its resellers. It is envisaged that the partnership between the two companies will allow FaceTime to expand its presence throughout Singapore, whilst enabling Infosec to take advantage of a growing market.

"As more businesses become aware of the threats from their employees use of applications such as Instant Messaging, P2P, IPTV and social networking sites, so does the realisation that traditional web security technologies are not able to offer the protection they once afforded," says Nicholas Tay, Asia Pacific Regional Manager, FaceTime Communications. "Working together with Infosec, we will be able help companies not only gain visibility of these applications, but provide complete control and auditing facilities too."

To Purchase FaceTime Products Visit FaceTimeSecurity.com