Nokia Appliances to Get a Snort of Sourcefire, Intrusion Detection Software

Nokia plans to integrate Sourcefire’s intrusion-prevention software into its line of network security appliances by year’s end.

Sourcefire, which is based on the open-source Snort software, scans the network for suspicious activity, which it can either block or report back to network administrators.

The product makes a logical addition to Nokia’s appliances, which already use Check Point Software Technologies’ firewall and virtual private network (VPN) software, said Kara Hayes, a senior product marketing manager at Nokia.

Pricing for the Nokia Intrusion Protection appliances has yet to be determined, but that is expected to be announced in the coming months, she said.

Nokia says its appliances are used by about 90 percent of the Fortune 100, and they are typically implemented in environments where remote users are reliant on voice-based or mobile phone applications, said Rob Whiteley, senior analyst at Forrester Research.

“They’re specifically going after that mobile road warrior who’s out there connecting back to the enterprise, who has a lot of real-time applications like voice and video, and who needs to be secure,” he said.

Other networking giants, including Cisco Systems with its ASA 5500 series and Juniper Networks with its Integrated Security Gateways, have taken a similar approach in blending firewall, VPN and intrusion-detection capabilities, Whiteley said.

-Robert McMillan, IDG News Service (San Francisco Bureau)

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