Safend Protector - A Software Solution Securing Enterprise Endpoints

Safend Protector is a software solution that secures enterprise endpoints. With many new communication technologies available today, employees can use an ever-increasing number of products, including USB flash drives, WiFi modems, smart phones, Bluetooth adapters, and digital music players, to connect with their laptops or desktops. These devices, which can hold up to 80 GB of data, in addition to more conventional CD-RW and DVD-RWs discs, pose a critical data leakage threat for enterprises. Similarly, such devices are also a favored way for hackers to bypass firewalls and antivirus software to introduce malware and Trojans into corporate networks. Safend Protector provides IT managers with the tools to address this threat and prevent the use of unauthorised peripheral devices in the enterprise environment.

Enterprise networks are currently characterised by a abundance of easily accessible computer ports, such as USB, FireWire and PCMCIA. In addition, a variety of communication adapters such as Bluetooth, IrDA, Wi-Fi and device types such as USB Pen Drives, MP3 Players, Printers, Digital Cameras, Smart Phones and PDA’s all enable effortless access through these ports. These devices enable optimal accessibility, but they leave endpoints wide open to infiltration.

Today, enterprise IT is focusing on the tradeoffs between productivity and security. An enterprise’s need for productivity attracts them to innovative devices and security concepts. But they are severely challenged to maintain the ultimate precautionary measures against theft, fraud, virus invasion, eavesdropping and the general misuse of resources.

Current security solutions only protect communication with enterprise networks through the main gateway and through critical servers, while endpoints remain exposed. IT managers are unable to control and monitor much of the communication to and from these endpoints, leaving their networks with a significant security blind spot. Consequently, IT managers are being forced to rethink strategies to avoid information leakage and system infiltration. True protection can only be obtained by establishing a wall around each computer and by intelligently protecting their actual ports, while judiciously allowing access though required ports by required devices

The Safend Protector Solution

Safend Protector enables IT administrators to design and implement an enterprise-wide security policy that controls (allows, blocks or restricts) and monitors access to computer ports and devices, as shown below:

Safend Protector prevents:

1. Data leakage and theft
2. Enterprise penetration
3. Introduction of malware

Safend Protector complements enterprise data security and network server based security products by protecting the most vulnerable network elements — the endpoints. Safend Protector protects your organisation’s data though the following endpoint ports in your network:

Physical interfaces:

USB, FireWire, PCMCIA, Parallel, Serial

Wireless:

Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Infra Red (IrDA)

Storage:

Removable Storage, CDs, DVDs, Floppy Drives, Tape Drives

The Safend Protector enables organizations to first see what ports and devices are being used in their organization (visibility). It then enables them to define a policy that controls their usage. Various customized policies can be defined and automatically distributed according to the organizational units (computers and users) already defined in your Active Directory.

All this provides the missing link that has been left wide open in corporate security solutions by providing secure, smart, intuitive and central control over an organization’s ports, devices and storage devices. Safend Protector thus ensures that users will only be able to use permitted devices through permitted port.