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Cato's network security feature on the hunt for threats

Cato Networks added a network security feature that detects and identifies threats within customer networks. The capability is built into Cato's SD-WAN platform, Cato Cloud.

Jennifer English
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Published: 30 May 2018

Cato Networks last week upped its SD-WAN-as-a-service offering Cato Cloud with the Cato Threat Hunting System, a network security feature built into the software-defined WAN platform to detect threats and minimize the time it takes to remove them.

The Cato Threat Hunting System offers full visibility into network traffic, and can access and identify real-time traffic that any endpoint initiates, Cato said in a statement. This means Cato can see IP addresses, session and flow information and application types within the network.

Additionally, Cato said it uses machine learning algorithms to "mine the network" for suspicious activity. If the network security feature deems something is a risk, human analysts from Cato inspect and confirm the alerts and notify the customers of the threat. Customers can also use the security operations center to deploy policies to contain exposed endpoints. 

Cato said the Threat Hunting System differs in its approach by eliminating the need to install additional monitoring tools or sensors within the network. Instead, it is integrated into Cato's SD-WAN platform. Cato already offers network security features, including next-generation firewalls, secure web gateways and advanced threat protection.

Masergy offers adjustable bandwidth for public connectivity

Masergy recently updated its managed SD-WAN offering to let customers adjust WAN bandwidth as-needed. Masergy previously offered the ability to scale bandwidth in private networks, but the recent update targets networks using public connectivity like broadband internet.

Customers can control their global SD-WAN bandwidth consumption in real-time through Masergy's Intelligent Service Control portal, according to a company statement. Based on location, adjustments can be made to appropriately designate bandwidth and prepare for data consumption spikes or plunges, Masergy said. The update also allows customers to schedule automatic bandwidth adjustments for upcoming projects.

The update supports uses that require atypical bandwidth usage, such as data backups, multisite video conferences and disaster recovery measures, Masergy said. Customers are billed incrementally for specific increases of bandwidth consumption. The feature is available now as a built-in option in Masergy's Intelligent Service Control portal.

Verizon SDN deployment growth report results

Enterprises see the value of software-defined networking deployment to help scale network functionality, according to a recent report sponsored by Verizon.

In a survey of 165 senior IT leaders, 49% said they considered the imperative to scale -- to increase network agility in order to deliver services more efficiently -- a major trigger for SDN deployment. Following closely at 47% was the need to address network security issues and the desire to reduce costs by deploying SDN. In conjunction with network security, respondents said they thought increased network security was a major SDN benefit, in addition to better application performance.

The top concern about SDN deployment included the potential for disruption during implementation. These included concerns about the complexity of migrating existing services. A full 62% of respondents indicated they were concerned they might lack the right in-house IT skills to handle the migration.

In terms of actual deployment, 57% of respondents replied they expect to deploy SDN within the next two years; 15% reported they had already deployed it or were currently in the process of implementation.

London-based Longitude, a research firm acquired by the Financial Times, conducted the survey in the first quarter of 2018.

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