Network Associates to Launch Security Seminar Tour

Network Associates, Inc. (Nasdaq: NETA) is taking an e-commerce security seminar series on the road this month, bringing product demos and security advice to 26 American cities.

According to Network Associates, the tour will feature two focused tracks -- "Active Security Solutions for E-Business" and "Sniffer Total Network Visibility Solutions for E-Business" - which are designed to "inform business decision-makers about key industry trends and practical examples of how they can proactively monitor and secure network activity in an increasingly interconnected world."

The Tracks

The Active Security Solutions track -- working on the premise that "within five years, every business will be an e-business" -- will use proactive security management topics to introduce several of the company's solutions, such as the CyberCop intrusion detection, Event Orchestrator authentication, Gauntlet Firewall, McAfee anti-virus and PGP encryption products.

The "Sniffer" track will focus upon efficient and cost-effective e-commerce site management, discussing applications management and capacity planning and also featuring product demos of Network Informant, Predictor and Sniffer. Sniffer offers a suite of analysis tools for e-commerce and provides proactive network monitoring services.

Network Associates is addressing a lack of consumer trust in e-commerce expressed by recent studies conducted by both Rockbridge Associates and Jupiter Communications. The first seminars, beginning October 12th, will be held in Atlanta, Boston, Detroit and Los Angeles. Reservation information is available through Network Associates.

Out-of-the-Box Secure E-Commerce

Network Associates recently debuted its new e-commerce appliance line. The products will integrate anti-virus, firewall and virtual private network (VPN) software with a hardware solution intended to accelerate online business by simplifying the process of establishing a secure Web site.

"Network Associates' new e-ppliance will provide companies with an integrated, easy-to-manage security solution designed specifically for the needs of Internet-based business applications," said Tim Lyons, director of business development for Network Associates. The initial e-ppliance product line will consist of two models -- the WebShield 100 and 300 -- offering remote management and out-of-the-box scalable security. Santa Clara, California-based Network Associates is a provider of enterprise network security and management software.

There's More to Life, Love & Computing Than Y2K

According to some secure experts, systems administrators who are more concerned with Y2K issues and network growth may be ignoring critical security issues. "Many enterprises, for the last year or so, have been mired down in their year 2000 initiatives," observed Bob Heard, senior vice president of marketing and business development for Entrust Technologies, in an interview with the E-Commerce Times.

Network Associates added that "as corporations begin shifting focus from Y2K preparedness to funding e-business initiatives, ensuring Internet security and availability will become increasingly mission critical." Part of a successful strategy shift will involve addressing some alarming possibilities.

"Taking a myopic approach only to the Y2K issue that does not involve diligent attention to security could lead to severe consequences," stated Jeff Moss, director of assessment services at Secure Computing and organizer of the annual Black Hat security conference. "Being Y2K compliant really won't matter for much if an organization's network is rendered ineffective" by security breaches.