Ingrian Networks Announces New Software That Empowers Intrusion Detection Systems to Work in Encrypted Networks.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 9, 2002

Ingrian Enables IDS Integration in an Encrypted

Web-Based Application Environment

Ingrian Networks, the leader in Active Application Security solutions, today announced the launch of Ingrian IDS Extender, a new optional Service Engine for Ingrian's secure networking platforms. The IDS Extender provides interoperability with all leading Intrusion Detection Systems, enabling them to perform critical security functions within a secure, encrypted data network. This new capability means that IT organizations no longer have to trade off between secure connectivity and effective intrusion detection.

Today's network-based IDS products monitor the flow of clear-text traffic coming into the network, examine packets for potential attack signatures, and alert IT administrators of potential intrusions. In this type of network environment, a properly configured IDS is capable of performing well. However, an IDS cannot perform properly within a secure SSL connection because it cannot "see" encrypted traffic coming into the network and, therefore, cannot alert administrators of potential intruders traveling within secure tunnels. Encrypted traffic is becoming more prevalent as a result of increasing SSL deployments to protect application-level data in transit. This creates a conundrum for businesses that want the protection of an IDS and the security of an encrypted data path for Web traffic, such as HTTP.

"Many companies have made a significant investment in IDS solutions, and they need to leverage those investments to safeguard against a new wave of threats to Web application data over SSL," said Rod Murchison, VP of Product and Corporate Development at Ingrian Networks. "The Ingrian IDS Extender solves this problem by providing patent-pending software intelligence that enables any third-party IDS solution to securely communicate with an Ingrian platform and effectively process all data in a temporarily decrypted form."

The Ingrian secure networking platform actively manages a broad range of security functions, including private key management, application traffic inspection, real-time encryption, and secure SSL connectivity between Web clients and backend servers. This ensures that all Web-based applications and data are transmitted via a safe, secure path from end to end.

With the IDS Extender Service Engine installed on the Ingrian platform, secure traffic coming into the enterprise infrastructure is unencrypted and first inspected by Ingrian for malicious URLs, cookies, etc. Here, the customer can set up policy-based forwarding rules so that specified traffic types are also copied and diverted over a private, secure link from the Ingrian platform to an external IDS--either physically attached or over a secure network segment. At that point, the IDS can look for potential intruders and, if necessary, send an alert to the IT administrator with sufficient information to take action. Meanwhile, all approved data is re-encrypted by the Ingrian platform and delivered over a separated, secure SSL session to back-end servers.

"Trust models are often at odds with threat models. In this case, encryption has become a growing thorn in the side of IDS since it eliminates the ability to detect threats," said Pete Lindstrom, research director for Spire Security. "The Ingrian solution provides the best of both worlds by keeping the communications secret while still providing a way to identify attacks and other malicious behavior."

The Ingrian IDS Extender Service Engine is a key software enhancement resulting from Ingrian's new architectural initiative called EASE (Extensible Architecture for Service Engines), which will continue to spawn new Service Engines that leverage the extensibility of the Ingrian platform. Pricing for the IDS Extender Service Engine depends on customer configuration, but starts at $4,995 and is available in Q4 2002. The software will be supported on all Ingrian secure networking platforms.

About Ingrian Networks

Ingrian Networks is a leading provider of Active Application Security solutions that help companies protect their Web-based information assets and ensure safe information exchange within the enterprise and across the Internet. The company has created a combination of integrated hardware and software products with patent-pending solutions that help to secure, optimize and manage data in transit and in storage. Ingrian solutions are deployed in large enterprises, financial institutions, government agencies, and healthcare companies around the world. Managed by senior executives from Nortel Networks (NYSE:NT), Blue Coat Systems, formerly CacheFlow (NYSE:BCISD), and Stanford University. Ingrian Networks was founded in January 2000 and is backed by $26M in private and venture capital funding. Major investors include American Express (NYSE:AXP), JAFCO Ventures, Prism Venture Partners, and Partech International. The company is headquartered in Redwood City, CA, with regional offices throughout the US and Europe.