McAfee.com Debuts Plans for the Next Generation of Web-Based Security Services
New Computing Architecture to Fortify Real-Time Security Offering With Distributed Information and Resource Sharing
SUNNYVALE, Calif., April 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ –McAfee.com (Nasdaq: MCAF), a leading provider of Web security services todayoutlined its plans for the next generation of Web Security Services. TheMcAfee.com “Grid Security Services” (previously code named “Project M2”)represents a revolutionary new concept that brings together the massivelydistributed computing capabilities of Internet-based grid technologies withXML-based Web security services to provide powerful real-time security tomillions of users and businesses on the Internet. Grid Security Servicesrepresent the next step in the evolution of McAfee.com’s patented Web securityservices model.
With Grid Security Services, McAfee.com will implement a security gridwith millions of sensors all over the Internet, constantly preventing,analyzing and reporting security threats to a central hub through a Webservices framework. The hub, in turn, processes this data and providesreal-time alerts and immunization to the rest of the systems on the grid.Security data from the grid can be made available to anyone who installs theMcAfee.com SecurityCenter.
The McAfee.com SecurityCenter, announced earlier today, is an integralcomponent and the first phase of the Grid Security Services initiative. TheSecurityCenter offers a single interface to access McAfee.com applications andacts as a central dashboard for users to view their security status. It willallow for always-on security and a secure transfer of select, limitedinformation between McAfee.com and each double opted-in user, providing areal-time indicator of security threats, virus outbreaks and vulnerabilitiesbased on information gathered and shared across the network. As more and moreusers download the initially free SecurityCenter and become part of the grid,the services will continue to improve, providing immediate notification of andprotection against viruses, hacker attacks, and privacy invasions as threatsarise.
“The massively distributed architecture of the Internet, interconnectedthrough open standards, provides a platform to utilize the power of grid-basedcomputing towards solving a very real problem — the problem of constantlysecuring the global Internet in real time as threats arise,” said SrivatsSampath, president and CEO, McAfee.com. “Grid Security Services are aresponse to the rapidly evolving need to continuously protect users on theInternet by leveraging the massively distributed capability afforded by it.”
The key components of the Grid Security Services are the following:
Grid Nucleus
The grid nucleus is made up of a series of secure origin servers that actas an up-to-date repository of information gained by tracking the status ofthe entire grid. When an event is registered anywhere on the grid, theinformation is shared through this repository so that nodes on the grid may bemade aware of threats as soon as they occur. McAfee.com security services aretied into these servers allowing for the immediate updating andup-to-the-minute protection against the latest threats as they arise.
Sensors and Protectors
Grid protectors are Web services that provide key security such asanti-virus, personal firewall, intrusion detection & tracing, spam filteringand identity protection. These services, resident on every end-node or systemon the grid, interoperate with the rest of the components using an XML-basedschema.
Grid sensors are extensions to grid protectors and provide the mechanismsto trap and report security issues. These bi-directional sensors providereal-time data on threats to the grid hub and receive notifications, alerts,immunization and updates from the hub. Grid sensors also provide geographiccoordinates to help identify the location and origin of threats. GridSecurity Services will soon have access to over one million grid sensors fromaround the Internet, via the McAfee.com SecurityCenter.
Exchange Language
The exchange language is the XML-based schema through which the nodes onthe grid communicate with the grid nucleus. McAfee.com plans to enhance thisin the future to include additional layers of security on top of SOAP and HTTPthat will enable each node on the grid to communicate directly and securelywith one another.
Grid Network
The grid network is the network of individual nodes that only afterexpressed permission by the user interact with the grid nucleus and in thefuture with one another.
Grid Alerts
Grid alerts notify end-users on the grid about breaking security problemsinside and outside the grid. Alerts are configurable and can be made to useother proprietary services such as Microsoft .NET Alerts. These alerts arealready a component of the SecurityCenter launched by McAfee.com today.
Grid Immunization & Updates
Grid immunization and updates are XML-based updates containing criticalimmunization and update data within McAfee.com’s managed services. In thecase of a new virus, this would contain a list of signatures of the virus andits variants. In the case of a firewall or anti-spam, this would contain alist of recently discovered banned IP addresses or spam addresses. Thisallows the Grid Security Services to learn about security threats on differentparts of the grid and rapidly disseminate the appropriate protection to therest of the grid.
Grid Security Services are the next generation of McAfee.com’s Webservices security architecture and are based on the premise that members of alarge Internet-connected community or grid can act as security sensors andadvance warning systems for the entire community and the Internet at large.The first phase of the Grid Security Services initiative, the McAfee.comSecurityCenter, is available for download at no cost to consumers atwww.mcafee.com.
About McAfee.com
McAfee.com Corporation is a world-leading provider of managed Websecurity, optimization and maintenance services. Using a patented system andprocess of delivering software through an Internet browser, McAfee.com hasredefined how software is developed, delivered and experienced by PC users athome and at work, virtually eliminating the need to install, configure andmanage the technology on a local PC or network. McAfee.com hosts softwareapplication services on its vast technology infrastructure and provides theseservices to users online through its Web site www.mcafee.com. McAfee.com hassigned up more than 1.5 million paid active subscribers, making it one of thelargest paid subscription sites on the Internet. The company estimates that30% of its subscriber base is international.
For more information, contact McAfee.com at 408-992-8100 or visit http://www.mcafee.com .
NOTE: McAfee is a registered trademark of Network Associates, Inc. and/orits affiliates in the U.S. and/or other countries. All other registered andunregistered trademarks in this document are the sole property of theirrespective owners.