StarHub to Grow Singapore’s Cyber Security Ecosystem

Author Avatar Posted on May 18, 2016 by Wedge Networks Administrator

Collaborates with industry partners, academia and public-sector organisations to strengthen Singapore’s capabilities in cyber security

Singapore, 18 May 2016 – StarHub today announced plans to grow the local cyber security ecosystem at the launch of its Cyber Security Centre of Excellence (COE). Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry), Mr S Iswaran graced the COE launch as Guest-of-Honour.

The COE established by StarHub, is supported by the Economic Development Board (EDB). It serves as a hub for the cyber security ecosystem, bringing together the best of brains and expertise to tackle cyber threats, which are among other serious risks affecting economies globally today.

Internationally renowned security expert Professor Yitzhak Ben-Israel has been appointed as the Advisor to the COE, and he provides strategic advice and recommendations to the body. Professor Ben-Israel is a member of Singapore’s Research, Innovation and Enterprise Council as well as the International Advisory Panel for Singapore’s National Cybersecurity Research and Development Programme. He also sits on the board of Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology & Research, and heads the Security Studies programme at Tel Aviv University.

Five industry partners, namely Blue Coat, Cyberbit, EY, Fortinet and Wedge Networks as well as four institutes of higher learning (IHL), including Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP), Republic Polytechnic, Temasek Polytechnic and Singapore University of Technology and Design have joined the COE to-date. Together with StarHub, the partners will undertake various initiatives to strengthen Singapore’s capabilities in cyber security, focusing on talent development, innovation and industry partnerships. Going forward, StarHub plans to rope in more industry and IHL partners to the COE to drive value and results.

To help cyber security professionals enhance their knowledge and career development, StarHub plans to work with leading centres for professional development in cyber security to design and offer relevant training courses. StarHub is also committed to addressing the shortage of cyber security talent in Singapore by training at least 300 specialists on different cyber related capabilities and skill sets over the next five years. It is teaming up with the four IHLs and the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) to enhance cyber security training curriculum and programmes, and to collaborate on research and development.

As a first step, StarHub and NYP have jointly established a lab on NYP campus to provide hands-on training for students of Cyber Security & Forensics. These students will subsequently have the opportunity to learn directly from experienced cyber security professionals during their internship placements at StarHub or its industry partners.

The COE’s first commercial initiative is the first-of-its-kind Security Operations Centre at StarHub (named StarHub Security Operations Centre), whereby StarHub’s core infrastructure is integrated with round-the-clock proactive cyber threat detection capabilities. Cyber-attacks come through wired and wireless networks; being a telco, StarHub’s core networks are thus a strategic location to monitor and detect potential malicious data traffic early and perform mitigation. In addition, cyber security solutions to protect industrial control systems and cloud-based cyber security solutions currently being developed, will be ready for the in the second half of the year.

“Cyber security is a top national and commercial security priority for Singapore as our Smart Nation vision takes shape, touching many aspects of our personal and business lives. StarHub is proud to work with top-notch partners to bolster the cyber security sector, which is important for a sustainable digital economy,” said Mr Tan Tong Hai, StarHub Chief Executive Officer. “A telco plays a unique role in this ecosystem, building cyber security capabilities on the telco infrastructure which helps accelerate the development of a new generation of cyber security solutions that can better address market needs.”

“StarHub’s investments in cyber security are closely aligned with our vision for Singapore to be the cyber security hub for innovation and mission critical operations. In particular, StarHub’s initiatives to foster collaboration with leading cyber security companies, catalyse innovation and build deep cyber security talent are critical to build a vibrant cyber security industry in Singapore,” said Ms Thien Kwee Eng, Assistant Managing Director, Singapore Economic Development Board.

Mr David Koh, Chief Executive of CSA, said, “To ensure the holistic development of Singapore’s cyber security landscape, CSA is working closely with major industry partners to build local capabilities as well as develop advanced cyber security capabilities. StarHub’s Centre is built upon the foundation of strong partnerships with global leading industry players for innovations and with local Institutes of Higher Learning for talent development. We applaud StarHub’s efforts to strengthen cyber security capabilities which will allow us to better secure Singapore’s cyber space.”

StarHub and the COE partners will jointly invest S$200 million over the next five years to support a sustainable cyber security ecosystem.

For the original press release, please visit Starhub.com.

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Wedge Networks Named a 2016 Cool Vendor In Communications Service Provider Security Solutions By Gartner

Author Avatar Posted on May 4, 2016 by Wedge Networks Administrator

Leading Analyst Firm Recognizes Innovative, Intriguing and Impactful Companies in the Communication Service Provider Security Market

Calgary, May 4, 2016 — Wedge Networks, the leader in Orchestrated Threat Management, today announced that it has been named a Cool Vendor based on the April 20, 2016, report titled, “Cool Vendors in Communications Service Provider Security Solutions, 2016,” by Deborah Kish, Principal Research Analyst and Akshay Sharma, Research Director in the Carrier Network Infrastructure group at Gartner Inc.

The report evaluates interesting, new and innovative vendors, products and services in the security market that help carriers and service providers become more competitive, as well as offer new value-added services to their enterprise, government and home customers. In the report, Gartner explains that carriers and service providers (CSPs) “are looking for ways to move from siloed networking appliances toward fluid and dynamic cloud-based security solutions that support end-to-end control, along with dynamic pay-as-you-grow provisioning that can be provided with virtualized and orchestrated security systems.“

“We are honored to be named a Gartner Cool Vendor for 2016,” said James Hamilton, CEO of Wedge Networks. “We believe that the cloud is the center of nearly every network – it’s the last stop for data entering an organization, and the last stop for traffic exiting to the outside world. The cloud is the ideal place to implement security, and that’s why we provide cloud-based security for some of the world’s largest networks. By developing a revolutionary orchestrated threat management platform, Wedge Networks offers elastic scale security that is embedded in our customer’s cloud to protect all network users, with all devices, from all locations.”

The information provided in the Gartner report is of value to all IT professionals who are seeking to protect their networks using cutting edge cloud security, and to all CSPs and managed service providers looking for new value-added services to offer their customers.

Gartner Disclaimer
Gartner does not endorse any vendor product or service depicted in our research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

About Wedge
Wedge Networks™ is transforming the way security is delivered. Powered by the innovative WedgeOS™, Wedge Networks’ Cloud Network Defense is an orchestrated threat management platform designed to enforce security at the cloud-layer of the network to combat the shifting threat landscape associated with cloud, mobility, bring your own device, Internet of Things and consumerization of IT. By applying security policies at the cloud-layer, enterprises and network operators offering security-as-a-service can achieve more effective security, using best-in-class, continuously updated multi-vendor technologies for EverGreen Security™, with greater efficiency and scale. Wedge Networks’ CSP Security and the Wedge Platform, has won more than a dozen awards, is deployed globally, delivering security protection for tens of millions of users in Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, internet and broadband service providers, and across all industry verticals. Wedge Networks is headquartered in Calgary, Canada and has international offices in Dallas, USA; Beijing, China; and Manama, Bahrain. For further information visit: http://www.wedgenetworks.com/

US & International PR contact:
Hannah Whitrow
Zonic Group PR
hwhitrow@zonicgroup.com
+44 (0)1672 550126

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Cloud As Part Of Technological Evolution

Author Avatar Posted on April 4, 2016 by Wedge Networks Administrator

By Michael David Tan, Published on UpgradeMag.com, April 4, 2016

Wedge Networks started offering cloud-specific offerings in 2014, when it launched Cloud Network Defense, a cloud-based security platform that provides real-time, in-line protection of all devices (physical and virtual) and users connected to the cloud.

“Wedge Networks’ Cloud Network Defense represents the industry’s first Orchestrated Threat Management platform, which was purpose-built and optimized for deployment at the cloud-layer of the network to provide security to the cloud infrastructure and the users of that infrastructure. As an Orchestrated Threat Management platform, Cloud Network Defense is architected using the principles of Software Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Function Virtualization (NFV) to support a more open, agile and scalable security framework to satisfy the dynamic, continuously evolving and rapidly scaling networks of today,” said Frank Wiener, VP of marketing.

The ability to add Cloud Network Defense to a network operator’s existing cloud infrastructure with a subscription-based licensing model positions it as an ideal solution for the delivery of Security-as-a-Service without requiring vertically integrated hardware appliances or upfront volume licensing commitments. This allows customers to select from a variety of conventional enterprise security services, such as secure web and email, data loss prevention, application control and more, as well as entirely new Infrastructure-as-a-Service security services to protect their cloud services. These services will soon be available for self-service subscription through an on-line portal or calling the service provider, which can instantly provision the service.

The latest update to Cloud Network Defense is a threat intelligence engine called WedgeIQ. Launched this year, this Big Data functionality employs a set of unique threat detection and remediation algorithms and a variety of pattern-matching techniques to identify targeted cyber threats against individual enterprises. It enables real-time response to security outbreaks, and presents the results as easy to understand analytics to the enterprise customers. WedgeIQ analytics are available to Security-as-a-Service users, giving them advanced yet easy to use instrumentation to monitor and manage their security.

Today, Wedge’s security platforms are deployed in Fortune 500, government agency, and network operator networks spanning 17 countries and protecting more than 80 million end points. And while Security-as-a-Service for cloud infrastructures was introduced only late last year, Wedge is already “engaged with leading network operators throughout the region to add this offering to their service portfolios. Services are expected to be available from these operators beginning in 2016,” Wiener said.

One of the biggest challenges in cloud adoption is the continuing confusion about the cloud and its benefits. And for Wiener, “the operational and economic benefits of the cloud are undisputed.” However, there are big concerns with the cloud, including: security, and the concern with how to maintain and demonstrate compliance with a wide range of regulations regarding the protection and distribution of information such as personal identification records, health records, finance records and more.

To this end, “Wedge Cloud Network Defense offers powerful new tools to conduct real-time deep inspection of data in-motion to track and enforce policies consistent with Compliance requirements,” Wiener said. “The ability for innovative network and cloud-infrastructure providers to offer these and other Security-as-a-Service offerings, with automated provisioning, will mitigate key concerns and accelerate adoption of Cloud offerings.”

For Wedge, over the last year, an increased number of global vendors offering new cloud-based solutions has driven local Filipino cloud ecosystem frameworks. The key dynamics within the market include expanded adoption, consolidated competition, new disruptors, developer migration, solution expansion, and new technology battlefronts.

“The Philippine government, previously noted for its conservative approach to technology adoption, has recently begun an aggressive push for cloud computing. GovCloud – a private cloud for government agencies and their employees along with basic cloud applications such as GovMail (unified government e-mail system), web hosting and payment gateway applications is one example of an industry improving their cloud-based solutions,” Wiener said.

For Wiener, “the explosive growth of wirelessly connected monitoring and control devices is ushering in an era of increased productivity and effectiveness, and creating gaps in conventional security and compliance enforcement systems for many enterprises including schools, government bodies and health organizations.”

Wedge also recently launched a family of new Security-as-a-Service packages, to provide needed security and compliance enforcement services for the expanding Internet of Things in enterprise networks globally. The new packages are available immediately for implementation using Wedge Cloud Network Defense that can also be deployed by Enterprises within their own data center cloud. Packages are available to address diverse needs of different vertical markets, such as healthcare which is subject to Health Information Privacy and Protection Act (HIPPA) compliance obligations, to manufacturing which is far less regulated but increasingly dependent on the cloud and the IoT.

“Wedge Cloud Network Defense represents a revolutionary new approach to implementing and orchestrating security at the cloud-layer of the network. It combines industry leading security performance in real-time, in-line with the data flowing to and from the cloud to protect all users and all devices, with imperceptible latency. The result is a safe and secure, yet high-performance cloud experience for the end users,” Wiener said. “The open, agile and massively scalable attributes of Cloud Network Defense empowers service providers with an unprecedented ability to evolve and scale security as dynamically as the infrastructure and cloud-services they are offering… The result is the ability for service providers to offer Security-as-a-Service which becomes an integrated subscription option with the cloud-service, or as a more general cloud-layer of enterprise security to provide more advanced and uniform security enforcement across the extended enterprise.”

For the original article, please visit Upgrademag.com.

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5G & IoT Dominate MWC16

Author Avatar Posted on March 22, 2016 by Wedge Networks Administrator

By Paul Barker, Published in Connections+ on March 22, 2016

Excerpt:

“Barcelona, Spain – The 2016 edition of Mobile World Congress showcased many technological advances, but the two that clearly stood out from the rest were 5G and the Internet of Things.

In the exhibit halls, during keynote speeches and at press conferences, both topics were front and centre and dominated discussion.

Speaking on Sunday night prior to the start of the four-day conference, Nokia CEO Rajeev Suri predicted that necessity will force the industry to implement the updated mobile network faster than expected and it will happen.

“All too often, we see opportunities turn into money traps, but 5G is different,” he said. “The industrial Internet can bring massive efficiencies to companies everywhere, but they cannot rely on the existing networks.”

“5G must happen fast because important IoT use cases demand it. If we know that (it) can help save lives, improve our environment and make our lives better, we need to move faster, not slower.”

As for the show itself, which attracted a record 100,000+ attendees, Sylvain Cornay, service assurance marketing manager with Quebec City-based EXFO, a manufacturer of test and service assurance instruments for fixed and mobile telecom networks, discussed its merits on the second day. “The real value is in the people that come to the show,” he said. “Everybody is here – all the major players and operators from across the world come each year, which makes for a special atmosphere and quite a buzz.

“There are some really interesting concepts coming out of the IoT industry, but it’s still relatively early days. The challenge around M2M communication is very different to the type of communication the industry is used to. We use a lot of bandwidth with things like video, but M2M is different. It could be a signal once a day or week, or once every second. So how does the network handle the peaks that will come from billions of connected devices?

“5G is clearly on the way, but ultimately it’s not going to make it without NFV (network functions virtualization) and SDN (software-defined networks. It’s really that simple.”

Greg Collins, founder and chief analyst for Exact Ventures, a Burlingame, Calif.-based market intelligence firm that tracks the networking, telecommunications and wireless sectors, said a lot of people are excited about the direction all three areas are heading.

“IoT is a big topic and for the first time I have been noticing a lot more health devices and people understanding how to digitize their traditional bricks and mortar types of businesses.

“As for all of this talk about 5G, when I first heard about it I was skeptical thinking, ‘Oh my God, does the industry really need a radio upgrade. What does this do to the business model of the carriers? Do they want the capital-intensity of such an initiative, which will be a burden for many of them.

“But 5G is different. It represents the intersection of a lot of things. It’s going to force carriers to transform what they do as well as their business models. What they need to do now is hash out the details.”

Meanwhile, according to Ericsson CEO Hans Vestberg, no industry will be able to avoid the digital disruption coming their way this year. He said that three fundamental ICT forces -– broadband, mobility and cloud – are rapidly reshaping value chains, digitalizing business models and creating possibilities that were previously unimaginable.

“Along with our industry and our customers, Ericsson is on a transformation journey,” said Vestberg. “Today, 66% of our business comes from software and services; just years ago, the majority was hardware. The majority of our principal competitors are ICT players, rather than telecommunications businesses.”

He added that 5G, IoT and cloud are the ICT industry’s hottest topics

According to Ericsson, the IoT is quickly becoming a reality and its impact on both industry and society will be profound. The company forecasts that the number of IoT connected devices globally will more than triple from under 5 billion today to 15 billion by 2021. A recent IDC study predicts that global IoT spending will reach US$1.3 trillion by 2019 and the McKinsey Global Institute concludes that IoT will have a potential annual economic impact of up to US$11 trillion by 2025.

Prior to the show, the chair of oneM2M Technical Plenary warned that vendors rushing to be the first to release IoT gadgets and ecosystems need to urgently increase collaboration and treat the IoT race as a marathon, rather than a sprint.

Dr. Omar Elloumi, a member of the Nokia corporate CTO group, said the full potential of IoT could only be realized if service providers and vendors alike look at it as a customer-centric opportunity while remaining focused on the bigger picture.

Without this, said Elloumi, IoT growth will be stunted and the market will become heavily fragmented, leading to security issues and vendor lock-in.

“According to the 2015 McKinsey report ‘Unlocking the potential of the Internet of Things’, interoperability will unlock 40% of IoT revenue – that alone shows just how damaging launching products could be without carefully considering interoperability,” he said.

“The time required to create globally harmonized standards can create frustration for many of us, but this is nothing compared to the frustration consumers and industries will experience if their newly installed IoT system requires multiple controls for multiple devices and actually complicates their lifestyle or operations rather than simplifying them.”

Security is another major obstacle that detailed and well-documented specifications can overcome, he added, with security functions covering identification, authentication, authorization, security association, sensitive data handling and administration.

“The IoT is still a nascent market,” Elloumi said. “The ability to spin up a new solution can be quite daunting; there is a lot of effort involved in integrating a complete solution especially if you have to deal with legacy systems; this is the case for smart cities in particular.

“Standards-based solutions give you an eco-system of multiple solution providers which is the only way to ensure multi-vendor interoperability and supplier choice and, therefore, deliver on the actual promise of IoT.”

Formed in 2012, oneM2M is the global standards initiative that covers requirements, architecture, API specifications, security solutions and interoperability for Machine-to-Machine and IoT technologies.

On the 5G front, one week before the conference, Ottawa-based Mitel announced it was investing in a new initiative focused on advanced 5G cloud connectivity. The new unit will be headed by Pardeep Kohli, former CEO of Mavenir, a software-based telecommunications networking provider, which Mitel purchased last year.

“Wireless connectivity is now an essential aspect of everyday life, but we’ve only just scratched the surface of the economic and social impact it will have in the future as mobile technology continues to advance,” Kohli said. “Mitel’s 5G platform is focused on building that future.”

There was no shortage of other news at MWC 2016. Highlights included the following:

Wedge Networks launching IoT security platform: Calgary-based Wedge Networks launched a new line of new Security-as-a-Service packages it said provides “urgently needed” security and compliance enforcement services for IoT in enterprise networks. The new packages are available immediately for implementation using Wedge Cloud Network Defense (CND), which can be deployed by enterprises with their own data centre cloud, and by communications service providers (CSPs) to offer Security-as-as-Service to their business customers.

“The explosive growth of wirelessly connected monitoring and control devices is ushering in an era of increased productivity and effectiveness, and creating gaps in conventional security and compliance enforcement systems for many enterprises,” the company said in a release.

Wedge CND’s IoT Security and Compliance Enforcement packages provide IoT optimized security and compliance services with enforcement at the cloud layer to consistently apply policies to all network connected devices, both physical and virtual.

Packages are available to address different vertical markets, such as healthcare which is subject to compliance obligations and manufacturing which is far less regulated but increasingly dependent on the IoT, it added.

“IoT, compliance, and Security-as-a-Service are all hot topics at Mobile World Congress and the networking industry at large”, said Alan Zeichick, principal analyst of Camden Associates.

“IoT innovation continues to push new boundaries here at Mobile World Congress, 2016”, said Dr. Hongwen Zhang, chief technical officer and co-founder of Wedge Networks. “Establishing plans to address the unique security and compliance challenges for the IoT is becoming a critical concern for many businesses.”

The security platform can provide advanced network security applications such as Web filtering, anti-malware, anti-spam, data loss prevention, mobile security, application control and server security, application filtering.”

For the full article, please visit connectionsplus.ca.

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Wedge Networks Wins Multiple 2016 Info Security PG’s Global Excellence Awards® Including Gold for Internet of Things (IOT) Security

Author Avatar Posted on March 2, 2016 by Wedge Networks Administrator

San Francisco, 2 March 2016 – Wedge Networks, the leader in Cloud Security and orchestrated threat management today announced Info Security Products Guide, the industry’s leading information security research and advisory guide, has named Wedge Networks’ Cloud Network Defense™ a winner in the following 3 2016 Global Excellence Awards® award categories: Gold for Wedge Cloud Network Defense™ with WedgeIQ in the Category of Internet of Things (IOT) Security, Bronze for Most Innovative Security Product and Bronze for Cloud Security Product of the Year.

The security industry celebrated its 12th Annual 2016 Global Excellence Awards in San Francisco by honouring excellence in every facet of the industry including products, people behind the successes and best companies. More than 50 judges from a broad spectrum of industry voices from around the world participated and their average scores determined the 2016 Global Excellence Awards Finalists and Winners. Winners were announced during the awards dinner and presentation on February 29, 2016 in San Francisco attended by the finalists, judges and industry peers.

“We are very honoured to be recognized by the Info Security Products team in 3 categories and to win the Gold Award for Internet of Things (IOT) Security. This is a great achievement for Wedge Networks who has won Gold for its third year running, and for Cloud Network Defense™, which was launched in December 2014” said Dr. Hongwen Zhang, CTO and Co-founder of Wedge Networks.

He continued: “Establishing plans to address the unique security and compliance challenges for the IoT is becoming a critical concern for many businesses, and this was a hot topic at Mobile World Congress last week. We have responded to the challenges businesses face for IoT by further enhancing our offering. On 23rd February we announced a family of new Security-as-a-Service packages, to provide urgently needed Security and Compliance enforcement services for the rapidly expanding Internet of Things (IoT) in Enterprise networks globally.”

About Info Security Products Guide
Info Security Products Guide plays a vital role in keeping end-users informed of the choices they can make when it comes to protecting their digital resources. It is written expressly for those who are adamant on staying informed of security threats and the preventive measure they can take. You will discover a wealth of information in this guide including tomorrow’s technology today, best deployment scenarios, people and technologies shaping info security and market research reports that facilitate in making the most pertinent security decisions. The Info Security Products Guide Global Excellence Awards recognize and honor excellence in all areas of information security. To learn more, visit www.infosecurityproductsguide.com and stay secured.

Wedge Cloud Network Defense™ (CND) Security-as-a-Service
Wedge Networks has developed a revolutionary cloud-based, network security platform called Wedge Cloud Network Defense™ (CND). This industry leading security platform can be implemented in a virtualized cloud compute environment to provide advanced network security applications such as web filtering, anti-malware, anti-spam, data loss prevention, mobile security, application control, server security, application filtering and more, with unrivaled scale, performance, and service agility. CND’s sustained performance over scale, multi-tenancy support, and the software-based licensing model of the platform have proven to be an ideal combination for service providers seeking to offer innovative new security services, while minimizing capital investments and business risk.

About Wedge
Wedge Networks™ is transforming the way security is delivered. Powered by the innovative WedgeOS™, Wedge Networks’ Cloud Network Defense is an orchestrated threat management platform designed to combat the shifting threat landscape associated with cloud, mobility, bring your own device, Internet of Things and consumerization of IT. By applying security policies at the cloud-layer, enterprises and network operators offering security-as-a-service can achieve more effective security, using best-in-class, continuously updated multi-vendor technologies for EverGreen Security™, with greater efficiency and scale. The award winning Wedge Platform is deployed globally, delivering security protection for tens of millions of users in Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, internet and broadband service providers, and across all industry verticals. Wedge Networks is headquartered in Calgary, Canada and has international offices in Dallas, USA; Beijing, China; and Manama, Bahrain. For further information visit: http://www.wedgenetworks.com/

Contact:
Hannah Whitrow
Zonic Group PR
hwhitrow@zonicgroup.com
+44 (0)7760 806 070

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Wedge Networks Enriches Industry Leading Asymmetric Web Filtering Solution With Value-Added Services For Internet Compliance

Author Avatar Posted on February 29, 2016 by Wedge Networks Administrator

Disruptive Solution Enables Internet Service Providers to Achieve Compliance and Offer Value-Added Services While Reducing Solution Footprint by a Factor of 10

SAN FRANCISCO Feb. 29, 2016 — From the RSA 2016 show in San Francisco, California, Wedge Networks, the leader in orchestrated threat management, today extended its solution offering to enable value-added services in conjunction with its market leading Web filtering solution. Web Filtering for Internet compliance can be implemented with Wedge Cloud Network Defense (CND), using an Asymmetric filtering technique that compared to traditional techniques requires as little as ten percent of the footprint to achieve compliance.

“Internet traffic continues to grow at a rapid pace, with some of our customers’ reporting that traffic levels across their networks are doubling every twelve to eighteen months”, said James Hamilton, recently appointed CEO of Wedge Networks, Inc. “Wedge CND enables them to achieve regulatory compliance, and offer their customers the choice of a more customized internet experience, while reducing the solution footprint, complexity and cost.”

Conventional proxy-based Web filtering systems require both the outbound Universal Resource Locator (URL) web page request, which accounts for typically ten to fifteen percent of HTTP/HTTPS traffic, and the inbound web page reply, which accounts for the remaining eighty-five to ninety percent of traffic. Wedge CND’s Asymmetric Web filtering technique scans only the outbound URL requests and blocks requests for unapproved URLs and categories of URLs, to enforce compliance requirement before the request reaches the internet. This approach has a corresponding reduction in the scale of Web filtering equipment that must be procured, installed, powered, cooled, routinely updated, and otherwise maintained for dramatic capital and operational expense reductions. The reduction in equipment and operational complexity positions Wedge CND’s Asymmetric Web Filtering system as the platform of choice for Internet Compliance applications.

Wedge CND’s latest system release introduces support for multi-services policies, enabling service providers to offer personalized, value-added Web filtering and security services to meet the diverse needs of government agencies, enterprises, schools and residential consumers. Wedge CND’s industry leading support for multi-services with multi-tenancy allows network operators to extend Web filtering administrative domains to their internal and end-user ISP customers, so they may self select and modify criteria from an available selection of value-added security services.

The Wedge Cloud Network Defense™ (CND)
Wedge Networks has developed a revolutionary cloud-based, network security platform called Wedge Cloud Network Defense™ (CND). This industry leading security platform can be implemented in a virtualized or a cloud compute environment to provide advanced network security applications such as web filtering, anti-malware, anti-spam, data loss prevention, mobile security, application control, server security, application filtering and more, with unrivaled scale, performance, and service agility. Applications such as Web Filtering and others can also be supported with Wedge CND’s security mediation system called WedgeOS™. This system can alternatively be packaged as a more conventional security appliance, or a virtual instance, with the Web Filtering application and Wedge’s patented Deep Inspection engines, providing superior web filtering accuracy with imperceptible latency.

Media briefing opportunity: Wedge Networks will be at RSA from 29 February – 4 March and will be available for briefings at the Ontario Government booth, number N4329 North Expo. Wedge Networks CEO James Hamilton who is widely recognized as one of the cybersecurity industry’s most respected and influential leaders will be presenting at the AGC conference Information Security and Broader Security Conference on February 29th from 9:15-9:30am at the Westin, St. Francis – Union Square, San Francisco. To arrange a briefing with Wedge Networks please contact: ejefferies@zonicgroup.com

About Wedge
Wedge Networks™ is transforming the way security is delivered. Powered by the innovative WedgeOS™, Wedge Networks’ Cloud Network Defense is an orchestrated threat management platform designed to combat the shifting threat landscape associated with cloud, mobility, bring your own device, Internet of Things and consumerization of IT. By applying security policies at the cloud-layer, enterprises and network operators offering security-as-a-service can achieve more effective security, using best-in-class, continuously updated multi-vendor technologies for EverGreen Security™, with greater efficiency and scale. The award winning Wedge Platform is deployed globally, delivering security protection for tens of millions of users in Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, internet and broadband service providers, and across all industry verticals. Wedge Networks is headquartered in Calgary, Canada and has international offices in Dallas, USA; Beijing, China; and Manama, Bahrain. For further information visit: http://www.wedgenetworks.com/

Media Contacts:

USA & International PR contact:
Emma Jefferies
Zonic Group PR
ejefferies@zonicgroup.com
+44 (0)1672 550 130
+44 (0)7804 903 026

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IoT at MWC: We Need Secure Network Infrastructure – Not Shiny Rings – To Keep Us Safe

Author Avatar Posted on February 26, 2016 by Wedge Networks Administrator

Wearables, sensors, batteries, cool apps, great wristbands – sure, those are necessary for IoT success, but the real trick is to provision reliable, secure and private communications that Black Riders and hordes of nasty Orcs can’t intercept

By Alan Zeichick, IDG Contributor Network, Published on Network World, February 26, 2016.

Excerpts:

“Barcelona, Mobile World Congress 2016—IoT success isn’t about device features, like long-life batteries, factory-floor sensors and snazzy designer wristbands. The real power, the real value, of the IoT is in the data being transmitted from devices to remote servers, and from those remote servers back to the devices.

“Is it secret? Is it safe?” Gandalf asks Frodo in the “Lord of the Rings” movies about the seductive One Ring to Rule Them All. He knows that the One Ring is the ultimate IoT wearable: Sure, the wearer is uniquely invisible, but he’s also vulnerable because the ring’s communications can be tracked and hijacked by the malicious Nazgûl and their nation/state sponsor of terrorism.

Are IoT communications links secret? Are they safe? Are they reliable, consistent, and easy to manage by the device’s service provider? (I haven’t seen the specs for the wireless provisioned by Mordor, but we could call it 3rd-Age-G.)

At Mobile World Congress 2016 this past week, the unquestioned buzz was mostly about the forthcoming 5G wireless trials, but the IoT was a close second. Sure, many of the most attention-getting IoT (and 5G) discussions were about specific devices, such as smartphones, wearables, connected cars and industrial systems.

Fortunately, everyone seemed to realize that without safe, secure, persistent, affordable and management communications, the IoT is a #FAIL. And that means not only the last mile (say, 5G) over-the-air link, but all the mobile backhaul, intracarrier and intercarrier links. It also means the fixed server end of the data flow, that is, between telcos and cloud service providers, enterprise data centers, and collocation facilities. After all, a tunnel is vulnerable on both ends, as well as in the middle.

Here are some of the announcements at Mobile World Congress that struck me as being especially relevant to the connectivity, privacy and security issues of the Internet of Things, even if none of them require devices to be forged in the molten lava of Mount Doom.”

“Treebeard keeps you safe, and is strong enough to take down black-hat wizards. However, while you can’t subscribe to Ents-as-a-Service, carriers can sign up to resell a set of new Security-as-a-Service packages from Wedge Networks. According to the company, its new IoT Security and Compliance Enforcement packages provide IoT optimized security and compliance services with enforcement at the cloud layer to consistently apply policies to all network connected devices, both physical and virtual. There’s also a healthcare package designed for Health Information Privacy and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliance obligations to medical device manufacturing which is far less regulated but increasingly dependent on IoT stuff.”

For the full article, please see networkworld.com.

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Wedge Networks Announces IoT Security and Compliance Enforcement Security-as-a-Service Packages

Author Avatar Posted on February 23, 2016 by Wedge Networks Administrator

New Security Options Address Critical Gaps in Enterprise Security and Enable Compelling Security-as-a-Service Offerings for MSSPs

BARCELONA Feb. 23, 2016 — From the Mobile World Congress show in Barcelona, Spain, Wedge Networks, the leader in orchestrated threat management solutions, today announced a family of new Security-as-a-Service packages, to provide urgently needed Security and Compliance enforcement services for the rapidly expanding Internet of Things (IoT) in Enterprise networks globally. The new packages are available immediately for implementation using Wedge Cloud Network Defense™ (CND) which can be deployed by Enterprises with their own data center cloud, and by Communications Service Providers (CSPs) to offer Security-as-as-Service to their business customers.

The explosive growth of wirelessly connected monitoring and control devices is ushering in an era of increased productivity and effectiveness, and creating gaps in conventional security and compliance enforcement systems for many Enterprises. Wedge CND’s IoT Security and Compliance Enforcement packages provide IoT optimized security and compliance services with enforcement at the cloud layer to consistently apply policies to all network connected devices, both physical and virtual. Packages are available to address diverse needs of different vertical markets, such as healthcare which is subject to Health Information Privacy and Protection Act (HIPPA) compliance obligations to manufacturing which is far less regulated but increasingly dependent on the IoT.

“IoT, compliance, and Security-as-a-Service are all hot topics at Mobile World Congress and the networking industry at large”, said Alan Zeichick, Principal Analyst of Camden Associates. “Wedge’s new Security-as-a-Service offerings for IoT security and compliance will give service providers a variety of new services to support their enterprise customers. We expect that those new services will solve real-world enterprise security problems, as well as differentiate forward-thinking service providers.”

“IoT innovation continues to push new boundaries here at Mobile World Congress, 2016”, said Dr. Hongwen Zhang, chief technical officer and co-founder of Wedge Networks. “Establishing plans to address the unique security and compliance challenges for the IoT is becoming a critical concern for many businesses, and we believe Security-as-a-Service will prove to be an ideal approach for many industries.”

Wedge Cloud Network Defense™ (CND) Security-as-a-Service

Wedge Networks has developed a revolutionary cloud-based, network security platform called Wedge Cloud Network Defense™ (CND). This industry leading security platform can be implemented in a virtualized cloud compute environment to provide advanced network security applications such as web filtering, anti-malware, anti-spam, data loss prevention, mobile security, application control, server security, application filtering and more, with unrivaled scale, performance, and service agility. CND’s sustained performance over scale, multi-tenancy support, and the software-based licensing model of the platform have proven to be an ideal combination for service providers seeking to offer innovative new security services, while minimizing capital investments and business risk.

About Wedge

Wedge Networks™ is transforming the way security is delivered. Powered by the innovative WedgeOS™, Wedge Networks’ Cloud Network Defense is an orchestrated threat management platform designed to combat the shifting threat landscape associated with cloud, mobility, bring your own device, Internet of Things and consumerization of IT. By applying security policies at the cloud-layer, enterprises and network operators offering security-as-a-service can achieve more effective security, using best-in-class, continuously updated multi-vendor technologies for EverGreen Security™, with greater efficiency and scale. The award winning Wedge Platform is deployed globally, delivering security protection for tens of millions of users in Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, internet and broadband service providers, and across all industry verticals. Wedge Networks is headquartered in Calgary, Canada and has international offices in Dallas, USA; Beijing, China; and Manama, Bahrain. For further information visit: http://www.wedgenetworks.com/

Media Contacts:
USA & International PR contact:
Emma Jefferies
Zonic Group PR
ejefferies@zonicgroup.com
+44 (0)1672 550 130
+44 (0)7804 903 026

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The IoT Calls for an AI-Based Security Approach

Author Avatar Posted on December 14, 2015 by Wedge Networks Administrator

Smart Clouds and Smart Networks

By Alan Zeichick, IDG Contributor Network, Published in Network World on December 14, 2015

Excerpt:

“Our home water is purified by both the local water company and by our own on-premise filtration system. Securing data flowing to and from the IoT requires this same dual approach

I am afraid of the Internet of Things. Is my television listening to me? Maybe someone has hacked into Alexa or Cortana or Siri, or is using my Nest thermostat as an attack vector into my wireless LAN or enterprise WAN. Can someone track me via my smartwatch or fitness band? What about all the automotive stuff? I don’t believe there’s any one technology that will provide the security we need. We need to harden all connected devices to make sure they are resistant to attack. And we need to ensure that network traffic is filtered, cleaned, sanitized, to prevent the hijacking of data or connections back to devices or remote data centers.

We need artificial intelligence. Crypto – that’s good and necessary, but not sufficient to protect our devices and their data. Virus definitions and malware profiles are too big, too slow, and too risky, especially when it comes to small, low-powered devices. Plus, by definition, signature files are always protecting against the past attack vectors, not the ones that nobody sees. Security has to be smarter and focus on detecting bad behavior.

How big is the problem? Big. As cited in Maria Korolov’s recent article, “Most hackable devices,” the Pew research center estimates that 68% of U.S. adults own a smartphone, and that mobile shopping will account for 30% of online shopping this year. She cites research showing that half of smartphone owners use mobile banking, and 1.4 billion people log into Facebook each month using their mobile devices.

What’s more, 30% of Android users don’t protect their smartphones with passwords, and 44% do not have an anti-malware solution installed, according to research from Kaspersky Labs and B2B International. Bluetooth is another vector; Korolov quotes Bruce Snell, director of security and privacy at Intel Security, explaining that some devices use default pairing passwords for Bluetooth, like 0000 or 1234, allowing cybercriminals to pair and gain access to a device easily.”

“And we need solutions like Wedge Networks’ Cloud Network Defense to protect carrier networks because we can’t trust the IoT endpoints, enterprise data centers, or cloud service providers.

Because CND works on an SDN-based carrier network via NFV, it can be always watching – and never affected by the malware itself. Wedge’s founder and CTO, Hongwen Zhang, explained about the company’s new filter technology, called WedgeIQ, that goes beyond deep packet inspection to apply AI machine learning and Big Data-style analytics to see new real-time threats – and apply instant countermeasures. What’s more, CND is a multi-tenant system, if one carrier catches a new attack against once of its customers, all other customers will be protected as well.”

For the full article, please visit networkworld.com.

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The Proof is in the Demo: A Dozen Compelling Proof of Concept Demonstrations at MEF GEN15

Author Avatar Posted on December 3, 2015 by Wedge Networks Administrator

By the MetroEthernet Forum. Published on Telecomkh.com on December 3, 2015.

The Third Network is more than a concept, it’s a reality, as organizations showed SDN, NFV, LSO and CE2.0 solutions running in real-world scenarios – including customer deployments on production networks

More than 1,000 networking and telecommunications professionals saw the first fruits of the MEF’s “Third Network” vision at the GEN15 conference, held mid-November in Dallas, Texas, USA. The highlight for many attendees was the GEN15 Proof of Concept (PoC) Showcase, where discussions about standards and collaboration came to life.

MEF is the industry association behind standards like Carrier Ethernet 2.0 (CE 2.0) and Ethernet Access Standards. The “Third Network” vision, announced at MEF GEN14, held late 2014 in Washington, D.C., combined the power of SDN and NFV, along with CE2.0 and Lifecycle Service Orchestration (LSO) to create networks that have the ubiquity and cost-effectiveness of the Internet along with the scalability, reliability and security of business-class CE2.0 networks. Nearly 200 hardware and software manufacturers, as well as carriers and other telecommunications service providers, belong to the MEF and are committed to delivering on the “Third Network” vision.

The first impression of the PoC showcase at GEN15: A literal doubling in size from GEN14, which had six demonstrations from 12 participating companies and organizations.

Here are the 12 PoC demonstrations from the GEN15 conference:

1. Accedian Networks with Cox Communications, NEC and Zoho Corp.: Agile, LSO-Ready Performance-Assured Small Cells as a Service

With two telephone poles and actual strand mount small cells as configured by Cox in their regional trials, the audience was guided through the installation, commissioning, provisioning of the small cells and backhaul services offering multiple CoS and H-QoS (Hierarchical Quality of Service) enforcement, from a fully automated network management platform, and using OpenDaylight for provisioning.
The ZoHo WebNMS orchestrated network and UNI management, triggering automated turn-up testing using the ITU-T Y.1564 Ethernet service activation test methodology upon unit installation, and dynamically increased the CIR during peak load conditions as measured by the UNIs. The audience participated by helping to define peak loads for the demo, and experienced the small cell connection directly on their handsets during each stage of the service lifecycle.

2. AT&T: Application-Aware Business Services with SLA Assurance

The showcase was a live demo of a leading-edge implementation of NFV and SDN based on AT&T’s cutting edge network cloud architecture. The demo was highly interactive and relevant to a broad spectrum of participants, both on the business and technology sides.
The PoC offered a first-of-its-kind direct view into an intelligent, intuitive, self-service networking solution. This innovative capability allows users to rapidly provision network services with direct self-service access. It used a hands-on touchscreen monitor that took users, operators and IT practitioners through a typical add, remove, build scenario in near real-time environment. It showed the users the control and speed they have over their networks, and demonstrated the value of bringing SDN/NFV/virtualization capabilities to the business community.

3. AVDA Optical Networking with Time Warner Cable: Assuring Superior VNF Performance at the Network Edge

The demonstration showed Time Warner Cable’s present-day deployment of business services comprising CE 2.0 connectivity services and multiple different hardware based network appliances. The demo showed how this solution is enabled by Virtual Network Functions in a highly automated way, creating significant savings in installation and operational cost.
The showcase also explored the unique assurance and agility extensions of CE2.0 demarcation devices responding to NFV-specific requirements, such as resulting from an increased attack surface of open network technology compared to vendor-specific solutions or from L3 OAM requirements due to VxLAN and GRE technologies for chaining VNFs between remote sites.

4. CENX: Assuring IoT Service Quality over NFV with Lifecycle Service Orchestration

This interactive demo illustrated innovations in LSO for service assurance in hybrid networks, where the end-to-end service spans both traditional physical and new Virtual Network Functions (VNFs). This involved monitoring, real-time troubleshooting and service restoration.
CENX’s Cortx Service Orchestrator performed real-time performance monitoring of a M2M service from machine endpoint to the enterprise Data Center. The service ran across a core network with traditional routers as well as a virtualized Packet Core Gateway running as a virtual machine on NFV infrastructure. Utilization of the VNF and VM infrastructure was monitored in real-time, via Cortx interfacing with OpenStack. This provided operations personnel the capability to diagnose service issues and VNF faults immediately, and take intelligent action to restore high service quality.

5. Ciena with Versa Networks and VMware: Orchestrating NFV vCPE Services Across the Data Center and WAN

This PoC showcased the application of service orchestration across a NFV-ready data center infrastructure and an SDN-enabled Carrier Ethernet WAN to enable the rapid development and operationalization of new, value-added business services.
The demo was relevant to network architects, strategic planners, and product managers at communications service providers and data center operators. The showcase showed an open and future-proof architecture, leveraging SDN and NFV, to enable multi-vendor interoperability and service agility. It provided a real-world framework for utilizing SDN and NFV to lower costs, automate service deployment, and realize faster ROI for carriers and service providers. The three individual solutions providers explained their respective components of the demo as the vCPE service was orchestrated from end-to-end, in real-time, from the perspective of a network operator.

6. Cisco Systems: SDN-based LSO on Self-healing Agile Carrier Ethernet Infrastructure

This showcase explored Cisco Systems implementation of the “Third Network,” featuring CE2.0 Lifecycle Service Orchestration through SDN over self-healing infrastructure including physical and virtual network elements.
Key to this demo was showing the business benefits of automating service lifecycle orchestration through integrating SDN into Carrier Ethernet infrastructure to achieve service agility. Network infrastructure featuring physical and virtual elements demonstrated NFV applicability for both service provider and enterprise deployment requirements. Viewers saw how specific SDN protocols and controllers were used to simplify the management and deliver the end-to-end orchestration and service assurance.

7. MRV with SecurePush: Easily Secure a Distributed NFV Environment with a Cloud-based, Multi-Factor Authentication Service

The PoC demonstrated Distributed NFV with a multi-factor authentication as a cloud service. This use case is relevant to operators and enterprises. In a distributed NFV environment, where customers have access to the provider’s networking environment and can run and control applications on top of its virtualized environment, security becomes a bigger concern.
Attendees saw an NFV deployment on OPX-1, which is MRV’s 100GE CPE and aggregation device. Connectivity to the cloud authenticated domain and guest users. Viewers saw the standard, OPNFV-based dynamic VNF deployment, as well as live successful and unsuccessful authentication attempts using the SecurePath cloud service and a cellular phone as the second tier authentication. The showcase combined the themes of CE2.0, NFV and Security as a Service, all of which play an important role in virtualized services using LSO.

8. Oracle, with Axtel, InfoVista, Juniper, PCCW, Spectrum Business and TM Forum: Zero Touch, Business-Ready NaaS 3.0 with vCPE over an Elastic Network

By demonstrating ”Business-Ready Zero Touch Network-as-a-Service with Elastic Network in the Cloud,” this PoC showed a radically simplified B2B self-care user experience for ordering a complex connectivity service, with zero-touch orchestration, end-to-end performance assurance and full integration with critical business and operations processes over an SDN/NFV-enabled network architecture, including vCPE, vPE and elastic Carrier Ethernet network.
This showcase demonstrated many innovations aligned to CE 2.0, LSO, SDN and NFV business requirements and technical specifications. It included an end-to-end live demonstration of a customer web portal, along with a service provider BSS/OSS operations environment; a wholesale partner BSS/OSS operations environment; service provider performance management operations environment; live vCPE residing in a data center; and live vPE routers residing in a data center.

9. PCCW Global: Inter-Domain Cloud Federation

This PoC demonstrated PCCW Global’s capability for full service Lifecycle Service Orchestration (LSO) from order to service provisioning and self management. It also showed how PCCW Global adopts full orchestration on its private network and cloud platforms to enhance the agility, flexibility of speed of the entire lifecycle, from order to server. The PoC showcased online ordering and auto provisioning network connectivity to cloud platforms through orchestration.
Using multiple screens, PCCW Global showed the user interface to the company’s live online service portal, including price quotation, ordering process and provisioning status. The demo also explored video streaming and data backup running in the cloud. A key element was the process flow and systems architecture that PCCW Global offers to support inter-domain cloud federation.

10. RAD, with Sandvine and CenturyLink: Application Aware Business Services with SLA Assurance

This PoC demonstrated how service providers can deploy Application-Aware Network Policy Control (Layer 7) in conjunction with Layer 2/Layer 3 SLA Assured services for a richer, more reliable, and more intelligently-managed business application experience.
The demo showed service providers can enhance both their MEF CE 2.0 and IP/MPLS based services. This was achieved through traditional layer 2 and layer 3 performance monitoring tools combined with control and monitoring of application usage (layer 7) to protect and align business-critical application performance with business productivity objectives. Furthermore, the demo explained how application-based classification helps address the growing BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) trend, and how application reporting, blocking, prioritization and boosting further improves QoE.

11. WebNMS with Omnitron Systems and Veryx: Life Cycle Orchestration of SDN Managed Data Center and CE 2.0 WAN Network

This showcase demonstrated LSO, based on MEF’s Third Network Vision and strategy, by enabling agile networks to deliver dynamic connectivity among virtual and physical service end points orchestrated in an on-demand, automated and assured manner. This type of capability enables service providers to rapidly introduce new, on-demand services, via cloud-based customer portal. It leverages ITU-T Y.1564, MEF SAT (MEF 48) and CE 2.0 based dynamic Service Activation and Y.1731-based performance-assured services. It also uses MEF standardized APIs with LSO functionalities for existing WAN network and SDN managed by an OpenStack SDN controller.
The network architecture consisted of Omnitron CE2.0 certified compliant NIDs (1G and 10G) connected via two G.8032 ERPS Rings and an G.8031 ELPS access link, with MEF EVCs (EPL, EVPL) pre-provisioned between the end points. Veryx SAMTEST controller was connected to Omnitron NIDs through the Test Probes to initiate tests, validate connectivity and gather statistics.
WebNMS Symphony Orchestration Platform communicated via NetConf on the southbound, with the network to assure services and manage the Omnitron NID. The WebNMS Symphony Orchestrator Platform pulled activation reports from the Veryx controller, which is made available to the enterprise customer through a cloud based customer portal.

12. Wedge Networks with Lightwave: Security for Cloud Connected Enterprises Delivered as a SecaaS (Security as a Service)

This PoC was a working example of using NFV to drive agile, scalable and on-demand security services. The demonstration showed an actual functioning install of Wedge Networks’ Cloud Network Defense (CND) with a mid-sized Texas-based carrier delivering NFV-based security from its data center to protect a critical web server located within a customer’s own server closet. The CND install was at the carrier data center, and thanks to NFV, intercepted the traffic between the client’s web traffic and the Internet, applying a series of web security services including advanced threat protection, anti-spam, anti-virus and data loss prevention.
The CND solution intercepted or “lifted” traffic between the client and server, routed it to the CND instance (in this case, in the carrier’s private cloud) and applied security controls to that traffic without introducing latency. A key element of this is CND’s Elastic Security Services Orchestration, where security services were initiated on demand through a virtualized stack of security NFVs. As traffic increased and decreased, new NFV instances were spun up or shut down dynamically using auto-scaling and end-to-end orchestration.

For the full article, please visit Telecomkh.com.

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