Forwarded From: darek milewski <darekm@cmeasures.com>
http://www.zdnet.com/pcweek/stories/printme/0,4235,391104,00.html
Security consortiums fall short
By Jim Kerstetter
More is turning out to be less for many corporate security administrators.
The half-dozen security consortiums that formed last year in the name of
easier integration between products have fallen short of expectations,
leaving users looking for new answers.
Although two vendor groups, the Open Platform for Secure Enterprise
Connectivity Alliance and the Adaptive Network Security Alliance, are
preparing to deliver new SDKs (software development kits) for integrating
security products into enterprise networks, the results of consortiums in
general have been mixed. For example, alliances sponsored by other
vendors, such as Network Associates Inc., Security Dynamics Technologies
Inc. and Finjan Software Ltd., have produced little.
"Call me shortsighted, but all I'm worried about is integrating my new
intrusion detection stuff with my old network management stuff," said Irv
Newman, a network analyst at a Michigan manufacturing company. "And I need
to do it soon."
Key problems involve gathering consensus within the various groups, which
tend to gravitate toward a single vendor's product plans.
For example, the 200-member OPSEC Alliance was founded by Check Point
Software Technologies Ltd., of Redwood City, Calif.; ANSA, with 60
members, is headed by Atlanta-based Internet Security Systems Inc.
Nevertheless, the leading consortiums are starting to produce some
results.
Check Point released its OPSEC SDK late last year. It included APIs for
Lightweight Directory Access Protocol directories, intrusion detection and
network management protocols. This year, according to sources, it will be
expanded to support more authentication mechanisms, such as X.509 digital
certificates and smart cards. In addition, the group has certified more
than a dozen vendors for interoperability.
"The OPSEC Alliance was started two years ago, and now we have a viable
program," said Bradley Brown, director of business development at Check
Point. "If I was starting a program like this now, I would say, 'Yes,
there's not much point.' At best, it's going to take them two years before
they can start providing value."
By the end of this month, ISS plans to deliver the first free SDK from
ANSA, which was launched last fall. The Adaptive Network Security
Management SDK will allow administrators to manage intrusion detection
through their existing network management infrastructures. It will be the
basis for integration with network management tools from Tivoli Systems
Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co. and Computer Associates Inc.
Other groups aren't faring as well. WatchGuard Technologies Inc.'s
LiveSecurity Alliance, still longing for acceptance, will announce within
two weeks the formation of the LiveSecurity Advisory Council. The council
will analyze the latest security news, such as viruses and new hacks, and
send alerts to customers.
But users waiting for the ultimate recipe for security integration
shouldn't count on these consortiums, industry analysts said. Instead,
they should focus on smaller, individual partnerships that can more nimbly
piece together a security infrastructure.
One such group is IBM's SecureWay, launched last month, which brings IBM
firewall and virtual private networking software together with Symantec
Corp. anti-virus software, ISS intrusion detection and Finjan mobile code
scanning technology.
Security consortiums: A status report
OPSEC Alliance (Open Platform for Secure Enterprise Connectivity):
Founded by Check Point Software Technologies two years ago to guarantee
integration with its flagship Firewall-1. Started publishing software
development kits last year. ANSA (Adaptive Network Security Alliance):
Founded by Internet Security Systems last fall to guarantee integration
with its intrusion detection software. Will release its first major SDK
this month. CCI (Common Content Inspection): Pushed by smaller companies
such as Finjan and Aventail, it is focused on integration points for
inspecting content entering a network and is embracing some of the work
out of OPSEC. WatchGuard LiveSecurity Advisory Council: Still in the
negotiation stage, it would create a group of security experts
for sending out advisories on security problems such as viruses and
hacks.
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Received on Thu Mar 11 17:27:43 1999