Blue Lane Announces Industry's First Inline Patch Proxy to Instantly Fix Enterprise Server Vulnerabilities
Mitigates operational risks of patching now and security risk of patching later
CUPERTINO, Calif.--Sept. 14, 2005-- Blue Lane(TM) Technologies Inc. today announced the PatchPoint(TM) System, a breakthrough product that delivers the industry's first inline patch proxy for enterprise servers. PatchPoint instantly fixes software vulnerabilities and preserves business uptime while eliminating the cost and operational risks associated with unscheduled security patching.
"The value proposition of the Blue Lane inline patch proxy to enterprises is tremendously appealing," said Rich Ptak, principal of Ptak, Noel & Associates. "It's risky for an enterprise to deploy an untested patch because it might break something, but it's also risky to delay installation while the testing takes place. For the first time, enterprises have the ability to instantly protect their servers without the operational risk involved with unscheduled vendor patches. The Blue Lane solution gives enterprises a completely new approach to the patching dilemma, one that was not available until now."
Like the software vendor's security patch, the PatchPoint System fixes application-specific software vulnerabilities at the root cause, checking for the same conditions and applying the same corrective action as the vendor's patch. However, because PatchPoint resides in the network in front of the server, it requires zero changes to server software and does not risk disturbing the server and its applications.
PatchPoint provides enterprises with a viable alternative to their current dilemma of "patch now or patch later" and the resulting downside risk of either decision. With PatchPoint, enterprises can immediately secure their servers and later deploy the vendor's patch when convenient, and thus lower the frequency and cost of unscheduled patch deployments.
The PatchPoint System is currently available and shipping to customers.
"The best way to mitigate application vulnerabilities is, without question, to install the vendor's security patch," said Fred Kost, vice president of marketing for Blue Lane. "That's why our goal was to provide a solution that emulates the functionality of the software vendor's patch but without requiring any server changes, thus enabling an enterprise to protect itself and buy time until they are ready to deploy the vendor patch. We are pleased to say that PatchPoint is delivering on that today for our customers."
The PatchPoint Technology
The PatchPoint System features the scalable, high-performance PatchPoint Gateway, the PatchPoint Enterprise Manager, and the PatchPoint ActiveUpdate Service.
The Gateway is an inline appliance that consists of three core technologies that work together to analyze and fix traffic on selected network segments. The first of these core technologies is the PatchPoint ActiveFix which is the inline, functional equivalent of a software vendor security patch that mimics the corrective action of the patch to address the vulnerability at the root cause. The Gateway also utilizes Transparent Application Proxies which function as stateful, end-point-aware proxies for enterprise applications that transparently monitor client/server transactions, verify conditions of application vulnerability, and deterministically apply the relevant ActiveFix. The Dynamic Transformation Engine of the Gateway provides the ability to manipulate the data stream inline, up to the application protocol, while managing sessions and preserving the connection between client and server.
The system is managed by the PatchPoint Enterprise Manager, which is a dedicated appliance that also provides the enterprise-class configuration and reporting services for the PatchPoint System. ActiveFix updates corresponding to vendor patch releases are published by the PatchPoint ActiveUpdate Service as they are made available and can be automatically deployed by the PatchPoint Enterprise Manager to the appropriate PatchPoint Gateways.
Configuration, Price, and Availability
The PatchPoint Gateway is available in two configurations. The G/450 is primarily recommended for larger network deployments where redundancy and throughput are the top priorities and can support up to 200 servers. The G/250 is primarily recommended for smaller network deployments such as remote offices and can support up to 30 servers. The PatchPoint System is available immediately through Blue Lane starting at $30,500 depending upon configuration. ActiveFix coverage currently includes: Microsoft(R) Windows(R) server operating systems, Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft Internet Information Server, Microsoft SQL server; Sun(TM) Solaris(TM) operating system; Oracle(R) database; Apache; Samba WU-FTP; BIND; and Sendmail.
About Blue Lane Technologies Inc.
Blue Lane provides the industry's first inline patch proxy for enterprise servers that fixes application-specific vulnerabilities at the root cause by checking for the same conditions and applying the same corrective action as the software vendor security patch. For more information, contact the company at http://www.bluelane.com.