Webroot Inc. has unveiled three forthcoming solutions designed to buttress its network security offerings.
The first, called Webroot SecureAnywhere DNS Protection and aimed specifically at MSPs and managed security service providers, draws on the web classification, web reputation, and IP reputation components of Broomfield, Colo.-based Webroot’s BrightCloud Threat Intelligence service to automatically stop users from accessing malicious websites, based on customizable policies.
Technicians can attach those policies to specific IP addresses or ranges, and manage the system through the same Webroot SecureAnywhere Global Site Manager console they use to administer other Webroot products. And because the system automatically protects any device connected to the network, it’s an ideal fit for today’s mobile BYOD workforce, according to Charlie Tomeo, vice president of worldwide channel and technical sales at Webroot.
“It’s not going to matter whether or not they are employees or guests and what device they bring in. They’ll be protected,” he says, adding that the system is also lightweight and easy to install because it’s hosted entirely in the cloud.
“You’re not putting a bunch of appliances out there to handle that or putting in a software solution,” Tomeo observes.
Licensing for the system is subscription-based, to align with the MSP channel’s recurring revenue business model. According to Tomeo, the system will cost less than comparable offerings from other vendors.
“It gives our MSPs the ability to provide another layer of security at a pretty reasonable price,” he says.
Currently in beta testing, Webroot SecureAnywhere DNS Protection is scheduled to enter general availability in April.
Also announced today is a new edition of Webroot FlowScape Analytics that integrates with BrightCloud Threat Intelligence. FlowScape Analytics, which Webroot acquired along with San Diego, Calif.-based CyberFlow Analytics in September, leverages machine learning technology to scan network traffic flows for potentially dangerous anomalies in real time. Combining the solution’s native capabilities with insights from Webroot’s continually updated threat database only increases its ability to safeguard businesses from the shape-shifting and proliferating exploits currently running rampant across the Internet, Tomeo says.
The new, threat intelligence-armed version of Webroot FlowScape Analytics is currently in an early availability testing program. Webroot has yet to specify when it will officially ship.
The third and final solution introduced today is called Webroot BrightCloud Streaming Malware Detection. Targeted at makers of firewalls and other network security appliances, the system equips such products to identify malware in real time as it arrives at the edge of the network, resulting in faster threat mitigation. In fact, the new solution can evaluate over 5,700 incoming files a minute, which according to Webroot is more than 500 time faster than the web sandboxing techniques security vendors typically rely on.
BrightCloud Streaming Malware Detection is currently being beta tested by multiple appliance makers, none of which Tomeo would identify. It will begin reaching market towards the middle of the year.
The new products announced today are the down payment on an even larger wave of network security offerings scheduled to arrive from Webroot over the course of 2017. Without providing specifics about those additional solutions, Tomeo described them as elements of an ongoing effort to build a comprehensive suite of security products for end points and networks while simultaneously offering a helping hand to channel pros seeking to capitalize on rising demand for security services.
“They’re starting to focus on [developing] a security practice,” he says of today’s MSPs. “We’re just trying to move with the evolution of the space.”
