Check Point adds unified threat management appliances 29 November, 2005 By Dave Chappelle

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"So far, our channel partners have expressed a great deal of optimism about this new product line to help them solve the security problems facing small businesses," said Liran Eshel, CEO of SofaWare Technologies, a Check Point company.

"The channel is ready for a much more affordable solution that truly integrates enterprise-level security. But the appliance also has to be easy to use. VARs don't have time to waste on complex configurations for every little policy change."

The multi-purpose network security appliances feature a firewall, VPN, anti-virus, intrusion prevention, traffic shaping, and Web filtering. The Safe@Office 500W integrates a 108Mbps extended range wireless access point with wireless security and guest hotspot capabilities.

"This gives VARS a new level of features now affordable for even very small businesses," said Eshel. "The new Safe@Office 500 series also supports new embedded gateway antivirus and intrusion prevention services, allowing VARs to take advantage of recurring income streams."

SofaWare Technologies took the well known Check Point Firewall-1 and VPN-1, adapted them to fit embedded layered network security hardware devices, and then integrated multiple features.

The Safe@Office 500 series supports additional online services, including antivirus, security, and firmware updates. It is intended to provide zero hour protection against threats without user intervention. It also has built-in interfaces to allow outsourcing security management to a third party.

"To the best of our knowledge, no one else on the market offers such a rich set of features in this price range, while maintaining ease of use and the flexibility to scale the network," Eshel said.

Based on the new Check Point Embedded NGX 6.0, Safe@Office provides a high-throughput network based anti-virus scanner for e-mail, Web, file downloads, or any other user-defined port. It protects the network against worms and denial of service attacks and allows fine control over instant messaging and peer-to-peer applications. Built-in traffic monitoring and packet capture tools control and monitor incoming and outgoing traffic

"Threats don't discriminate based upon the size of your network," said Eshel.

"Even the retail store down the street needs the most industrial-strength security ... they just need to scaled to fit their size. Check Point is the leader in enterprise security. We know how to protect major corporations. Now, with the help of Sofaware, Check Point has integrated that same level of protection into an appliance specifically made for small businesses. We're very excited about this."

Safe@Office 500 series appliances should be available in December 2005. Pricing starts at $299 (U.S.) for the appliance, and $10 (U.S.) annually per user for the firewall and anti-virus subscriptions. The Check Point SecuRemote VPN Client is bundled with the product.

"Customers benefit from the ability to take advantage of the power of broadband without risking their private data and company resources," Eshel said. "And the peace of mind that comes with the knowledge that they are protected."