Skybox security UNVEILS First Virtual Staging Environment for Network Change and Policy Compliance Management

SAN JOSE, CA – Oct 31, 2005 – Skybox® Security, Inc., the leader in Security Risk Management (SRM), today launched Skybox Assureâ„?, the first automated virtual staging environment for network change assurance. For the first time organizations can predict the impact of network changes before implementing them without any fear of network disruption. With Skybox Assure organizations can balance the connectivity needs of the business while keeping critical assets and information secure. Major organizations are adopting Skybox Assure to transform change management from a labor-intensive, error-prone process to a disciplined, automated and accurate process.

“Networking professionals have long needed a way to understand the impact of proposed network changes and policies without subjecting their live networks to unnecessary disruption. Skybox Assure offers a virtual staging environment where network professionals can safely manage and audit network changes,” said Phebe Waterfield, Senior Analyst, Yankee Group. “When used in conjunction with Skybox Secure, organizations can maximize application availability while minimizing and measuring network risk exposure from a single integrated offering.”

The Network Change Management Problem

IT network infrastructures are complex and constantly changing. Best practices dictate that network engineers follow a rigorous network change management process which includes a well-defined procedure for approving, planning, scheduling and documenting changes. However, network engineers have no way to analyze or validate if proposed changes are effective or if these changes expose the organization to unacceptable risk exposure. Documenting and auditing policy compliance in context with network access and security exposure is not feasible with existing change management tools. Moreover, since network changes are implemented on live networks without prior verification, network and user disruption is common.

The Power of Modeling and Virtual Staging

Designed for the IT network and operations team, Skybox Assure automates the network change and policy compliance management assurance process. It helps organizations proactively analyze, compare, validate and optimize network changes without any fear of network disruption. Through a virtual staging environment Skybox Assure simulates all possible access and connectivity paths in order to test and validate proposed changes before implementation. This process allows organizations to evaluate and audit the effectiveness and compliance of access and security controls within defined policies. This process is automated, measurable and accurate.

Skybox Assure collects infrastructure, access and security device configurations, evaluates access paths, maps dependencies among devices and incorporates network policies. It uses this data to model the network environment, run access simulations and analyze connectivity paths. The entire access and connectivity environment is modeled in order to assess and audit the connectivity profile of the network and compare network control information against defined policies. The pre- and post-state impact of proposed changes can be compared side-by-side to validate control effectiveness. As a result, the trial and error process of change requests is eliminated because the modifications can be modeled and perfected within a virtual environment without experimenting on a live network.

“How can organizations assess connectivity and network access without first testing the effectiveness of the changes in context of how the network is designed? By modeling the IT environment and running access simulation, organizations can understand the business impact of proposed changes and whether those changes are in compliance with existing security policies. In order for organizations to reduce IT workload, eliminate human error, and streamline audit reporting, an automated, measurable and reliable network change and policy compliance management process is mandatory,” said David Batista, president and CEO of Skybox Security.

Skybox Assure Benefits:
* A disciplined change management process where security controls can be understood and deployed safely within defined security policies.
* Maximize application availability while minimizing security risk exposure. * Automate audit and policy compliance reporting.
* Eliminate the change trial and error process through a virtual staging environment without network disruption.
* Reduce IT workload by transforming change management from a labor-intensive, error-prone process to an automated, reliable and accurate process.

Price and Availability

Skybox Assure is immediately available and priced starting from $75,000 and higher depending upon the size of the network infrastructure.

About Skybox Security

Skybox® Security pioneered the science of quantifiable security risk analysis and is driving the advancement of the Security Risk Management (SRM) market. The company’s award-winning product suite, Skybox Viewâ„?, is the first and only software solution to create a virtual model and staging environment of an organization’s network security and access profile.

This virtual model can be safely attacked, changed and analyzed for the purpose of improving the security profile of the network as well as validating the impact of proposed network changes within defined policies. The result is a more secure network, operational efficiency and reduced IT workload. Skybox View Suite supports two major applications – Skybox Secureâ„? and Skybox Assureâ„? – through a modular, scalable suite.

Founded in 2002, Skybox is headquartered in San Jose, California and is privately held. Skybox View has been successfully deployed at highly respected Global 2000 companies worldwide. For more information contact (408) 441-8060 or www.skyboxsecurity.com