A one-stop-shop for all security solutions sounds very peculiar. However, this is where many large security players are venturing.

The increasing problem of spam, sophisticated mass mailers, and potentially unwanted programs like spyware, adware and phishing schemes have fueled the need for solutions that secure an organization’s entering and departing content.

The solution to counter these threats does not lie in deploying disparate security systems like anti-virus, firewall, IDS, and VPN.

Any security program resembles a bell curve—risk is lowest when policy is framed and procedures are initially adhered, and grows as newer threats and vulnerabilities emerge. It begins to fall again when an attack actually happens and the organization is forced to review its policy and procedures.

For instance, older versions of anti-virus became redundant as attacks were becoming much faster. The ability to respond quickly called for a change in the development of anti-virus tools. Similarly, Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS), which only detected network intruders became superfluous over time and gave way for Intrusion Prevention System (IPS).

As attacks become severe and quicker, it is not humanly possible for an administrator to presume what is wrong and take corrective measures. Even if the administrator can identify a threat, the attack has ceased before action can be taken. Attacks can last between 30 and 80 seconds and within that time frame there are no point tools to take adequate measures.

To handle malicious threats, many of today’s IT managers are deploying multiple point solutions, which introduce new agents that can overlap and cause stability concerns.
They fail to understand that the ability to respond to blended threats is greatly limited when working with traditional products. It becomes difficult for the administrator to examine individual point-device consoles and detect the problem. If the attack is diversified, individual consoles will not give them the whole overview.

As point tools failed to meet customer expectations, anti-virus company McAfee was transforming to a pure-play security company. It acquired companies that had developed best-of-breed solutions (see table)—host network-based Intrusion Prevention technologies, sniffer technologies, firewall, as well as detecting and managing software vulnerabilities. Collectively, these products—along with ePolicy Orchestrator for network management—allow the McAfee brand unequalled breadth in the security arena.
McAfee Security’s integrated solution delivers comprehensive protection from malicious threats under one management console, providing customers with a greater degree of control for detecting known and unknown threats.

“Our goal is to be a full-fledged security player providing end-to-end solutions. We consider security to be a growth enabler, not just a necessary defensive measure. By integrating a full spectrum of security products under one brand, we let businesses spend less time reacting to security threats and more time growing your business by being productive,” says Karthik Sahani, Director of Sales, McAfee India.

Organizations can now streamline security and eliminate the need for point solutions by deploying proactive McAfee system protection across all end nodes. This will reduce the number of security solutions that need to be managed, eliminate stability issues and management costs associated with multiple layers of security software on PCs and servers, and enable a tightly controlled environment for patching of vulnerabilities and malicious threats.

By consolidating protective technologies into a combined solution, McAfee Security’s single solution prevents all types of intrusions by making end nodes invisible to hackers, detecting and cleaning malicious code, preventing unapproved applications from running, and preventing intrusions.