Press Release
Blue Ridge Networks: As Security Industry Moves Toward Unified Threat Management, Highly Secure VPNs Represent Critical Core
Demand rising for multiple forms of network protection from a single source, but security marketplace lacks focus
CHANTILLY, Va.-- (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Sept. 19, 2005 -- Blue Ridge Networks(TM), the premier provider of secure communications products and managed VPN services announced today that it views Unified Threat Management (UTM) as a growing trend within the information security industry, but that UTM solutions arising from multiple vendors within the security market are making choices difficult for decision-makers. Blue Ridge Networks views UTM as having a high security VPN at the core and truly integrated, centrally-managed security functions at the endpoints.
Basing UTM on a highly secure VPN is important to organizations because its the only way to ensure that the exchange of information between remote users and the home network is confidential, unaltered, and not spoofed.
"There's no doubt that the idea of UTM is gaining traction in the market," commented Tony Russo, CEO for Blue Ridge Networks. "Our customers are telling us that they are interested in the idea of a single vendor integrating the functions that protect remote users and sites. They face a lot of pure-play vendors selling pieces - firewalls, anti-virus software, intrusion protection, and other applications. Then, there are the networking hardware companies - router vendors who are jumping into the security game for a quick buck and selling integrated appliances."
In September 2004, research firm IDC identified UTM as a new category for the security market, pointing to substantial potential advantages in performance, convenience, and choice to customers, resellers, and product vendors. Businesses considering implementation of UTM offerings are attracted by the potential for simpler administration, a single point of contact for product support, and the elimination of the inherent inefficiencies involved in piecing together in-house solutions. Without coordinated integration and a strong VPN at the core, confidentiality, integrity, and availability of an organizations network access cannot be ensured.
Blue Ridge Networks works closely with its customers in the federal government and enterprise markets to assess their evolving needs and to determine future requirements for its products.
"What we see among our customer base is a desire to have a high security VPN, centrally managed, that pushes security to the edge of the organization. Our customers are among the most security-conscious in the world. They've been deploying our secure VPNs for a decade without a single breach," Russo added. "Because we earned their long-term trust and because we have a track record of designing our products to meet their needs, they are asking us directly to expand our security offerings, integrate those capabilities, and make management easy."
The Blue Ridge Networks BorderGuard platform, which secures both wired and wireless access, has earned several federal government certifications and is the only remote access solution in the marketplace that has earned both Common Criteria certification and FIPS 140-2 validation.
About Blue Ridge Networks
Blue Ridge Networks develops secure communications solutions for wireless and wired environments. The company was responsible for the industry's first commercial virtual private network and has completed widespread deployments across commercial and government sectors. The Blue Ridge Networks BorderGuard product suite has been deployed globally and in demanding applications, such as wireless LAN, extranets, site-to-site and remote access VPN, and thin client computing. The company has earned the FIPS 140-2 validation, Common Criteria certification, HIPAA compliance, and the Department of Defense SPOCK validation. Information about the company's products and managed services can be found at www.blueridgenetworks.com.
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Blue Ridge Networks is a trademark and BorderGuard is a registered trademark of Blue Ridge Networks, Inc. Other names used herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.