Cisco bolsters security of networked apps

Cisco Systems on Monday is expected to unveil several enhancements to its security line-up that are designed to bolster its management offerings and the ability to secure applications that reside on the network.

Cisco, as part of its adaptive security efforts to monitor and secure access to applications on the network, is debuting its Content Security and Control Security Services Module. This module, designed for the Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) 5500 series, aims to deliver Anti-X services which combine antivirus, anti-spyware, file blocking, anti-spam, URL blocking and content filtering.

Cisco is also expected to unveil a software upgrade for the ASA 5500 series. The Cisco ASA 5500 series 7.1 software, in conjunction with the appliances, aims to allow up to 5,000 concurrent SSL VPN sessions per device, providing remote and mobile workers the ability to access applications and network resources securely.

Jayshree Ullal, senior vice president of Cisco's DataCenter, Switching and Security Technology Group, said: "Adaptive security is one of our most ambitious tasks."

In the area of managing the network, Cisco is also introducing a new version of the Cisco Security Manager and an upgraded version of its Cisco Security Monitoring, Analysis, and Response System (Mars). Both of these enhancements can also be combined into a Cisco security management suite.

The Cisco Security Manager 3.0 is designed to provide IT administrators with the capability to separate a policy - such as allowing only certain employees to access sensitive data - from the devices that are enforcing those policies. The goal is to allow other devices in the network to share and apply those policies.

Mars version 4.2, meanwhile, is designed to collect, correlate and report security incidents that occur within Cisco and non-Cisco devices. This upgrade, which will begin shipping in the second quarter, will start at $15,000 and is designed to be part of the suite or can stand alone.

Dawn Kawamoto writes for CNET News.com