Check Point Software Technologies: Endeavoring to Make Security-Holistic, Simpler and Better By CIOReview Team

Check Point Software Technologies: Endeavoring to Make Security-Holistic, Simpler and Better

CIOReview Team | Tuesday, 21 February 2017, 06:21 IST

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The very old and strong maxim “there’s no such thing as a free lunch” holds deeper meaning to it, when it comes to downloading fun and useful free apps. Who doesn’t like to have a cool and free version of one’s favorite game, or simply an app that gives the convenience of carrying out transactions without going to banks? But while accessing these apps, someone we don’t know might end up acquiring all the information about our lives and activities. The intruder within no time can get access to phone numbers of our friends, our passwords to Facebook, Twitter and even our Gmail accounts, thus leaving us alone to cruise with the ache of identity theft. Even after knowing the implications, we still love our Smartphones and cannot even imagine abandoning it. The security qualms can’t get addressed only by off-putting the usage of Smartphones as the hitch stems from poorly developed security walls, and from naive users who blindly accept whatever permissions are being requested without considering the repercussions. Keeping in the mind that these security challenges are not limited only to Smartphone users, IT security leaders are greasing their elbows hard to identify major threats and contrive ways to counter them without impacting the finances. With web and mobile becoming favorite targets of intruders, its security has been the paramount concern amongst IT leaders and security solutions vendor. However, owing to lack of integrated security strategies and solutions, the network is opened to security breaches, data loss, IP theft and regulatory compliance issues. Even though, organizations invest millions of dollars in buying robust security solutions, the intrusion gets unaddressed and unnoticed because these solutions fail to discover weaknesses within mobile and web environment. In parallel, organizations have questioned about the effectiveness of mobile device management solutions, as MDM is best suited only for device provisioning and management and not for assessing mobile vulnerabilities.

Israel headquartered Check Point is one of the promising and long time security vendors who has established a strong footprint and maintained relevance in the market of security solutions with its comprehensive network security offerings for protection of organizations from the latest and sophisticated threats. The company is an international provider of software and combined hardware and software products for IT security, including network security, endpoint security, data security and security management. Being the first company to introduce firewall technology to the market, Check Point is busy building out next generation firewall platform that connects customers’ data with network security components to provide real-time proactive protections against sophisticated threats. Check Point wears many hats, and most importantly, it dons the role of the ‘Preventer’. In its bid to end the chaos around security realm, the company turns as a guardian who protects organizations against tomorrow’s threats. Aiding in the same, the company’s seasoned leadership team is sticking to implement strategies to help organizations protect their network as well as mobile infrastructure. “We have a ‘customer first philosophy’ and we just don’t go and sell our products. Just like what a doctor does, we try to understand their business model, their problems and then run a diagnosis to find the cause of disquietudes. We sit with them and discuss about security breaches, the ways to prevent it and concurrently prepare them for tomorrow’s threats”, says Bhaskar Bakthavatsalu, Regional Director, India and SAARC.

“If there is a breach, you should be able to fix it without freezing up”
“Many security vendors have come and gone, and some have even betrayed their customers. If there is a breach, you should be able to fix it without freezing up. We have been consistent in our efforts to protect the network infrastructure and data with our broad range of security products and services that are open and flexible to fit all types of customer environments, whether that is a small business or a large Fortune 500 company”, says Bhaskar. Having been in the security space for over 23 years, Check Point has got its fingers on the pulse of customer’s business as well as security needs. It is inclined to become a consultant to its clients, understand their business, and then put forward a solution from a consultative perspective. “We want companies to look to us as an advisor, rather than a technology vendor who is bent on just selling the product”, adds Bhaskar. All of its attention is paid to sell and introduce security as architecture or a framework to customers and not as point solutions. Check Point’s products are proven to provide the strongest level of security, across multiple layers of an organization’s information network: Network security to protect the network infrastructure; data security for ensuring data privacy; superior security management delivering unified policy management, monitoring and analysis. Check Point has been recognized and has received many accolades for its pioneering efforts in security industry. For the eighteenth consecutive year, Check Point has been positioned as the Leaders in the Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Network Firewalls. The positioning was done by evaluating and comparing vendors’ strengths on a scale of completeness of vision and ability to execute. This is just one out of several awards that reflects the grandeur of Check Point.

Detecting, Repelling and Removing Fast-evolving Threats
With users increasingly accessing the internet more through their Smartphones, many Indian Ecommerce companies have shut down their websites and have gone ‘mobile only’ through its apps. This ‘app-only’ strategy can give the hackers an opportunity to steal credit card and other sensitive information from the app. This shift reasonably has given rise to fear of breach in the hearts of Ecommerce owners while dovetailing with another challenge that breaks down the security efforts even further. “Last year we have seen 42 percent targeted cyber attacks, 50 percent mobile malware attacks and 125 percent social media phishing and unfortunately this rate has increased because we wait until the breach happens and react only after it has jeopardized the security protocols. Additionally, lack of security controls and layers aggravate the issue”, says Bhaskar. Check Point continues to embrace new technologies such as mobile computing and Software-defined Networks (SDN) through Software-defined Protection (SDP) architecture. SDP is a three-layer security architecture comprised of enforcement, control and management layers. This framework decouples the control layer from the enforcement layer, enabling robust and highly reliable enforcement points that obtain real-time protection updates from a software-based control layer. SDP converts threat intelligence into instantaneous protections and is managed by a modular and open management structure. “Across the infrastructure, be it mobile, endpoint or any platform, we detect, repel and remove threats that subvert them with our software based architecture and advanced hardware and software security solutions”, says Bhaskar.

We need security today against tomorrow’s threats”
Apart from viruses, malwares and bugs, businesses will soon confront a formidable rival, the IoT. Although IoT is predicted to give rise to real-world applications, from connected homes and cars to health monitoring and smart utility meters, there are significant risks for consumers in the form of unlawful surveillance, active intrusion in private life and data theft. “There is a flood of devices which could be connected, from refrigerators, coffee machines, TVs, microwaves, fitness bands, to cars and drones. Many manufacturers are already in the process of launching driverless cars but the hard part comes while securing the control units as it is completely IP based, thus giving the hackers a way to compromise the security and harm a human being”, says Bhaskar. To protect consumers and individuals from such billions of intrusions and interference posed by IoT connected devices, Check Point has got involved deeply in securing the devices that perform critical operations. As a security leader, Check Point encourages companies navigating towards IoT to reinforce their security strategies in order to combat tomorrow’s critical threats. “Our motto is very simple yet strong. We only talk about securing the future, as our future is IoT driven. Everything will be IP based, which means organizations must be well prepared to tackle threats of the ‘smart future’”, explains Bhaskar. The company encourages companies who are looking for robust security controls to align with its security offerings and experience profitability without any fears of vulnerabilities. Moving ahead, the company wants to be an integral part of the customers’ roadmap when it comes to security so that it can safeguard their business from perpetrators and ensure its customers are on the right track. Having its Indian headquarter in Bangalore, the company is all set to woo the Indian customers by operating through three distributors, including Inflow Technologies, Ingram Micro and Select Technologies, three gold partners, i.e. HCL Comnet, Ramco and Wipro, and six silver partners, i.e. Datacraft, N&N Systems, Ontrack Solutions, Sify, Softcell and Taarak.

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