IBM prepares new weapon against IT threats

Launches Security Network IPS appliance.

IBM has unveiled a security appliance that it claims will help organisations create and adopt an IT infrastructure that is "secure by design".

The company said that the continually evolving threat landscape makes it vital that enterprises build security in at the beginning to stay ahead of attacks.

Research by IBM's X-Force Data and Analysis team found that the average IT infrastructure is attacked as many as 60,000 times a day. The attacks target vulnerabilities and can lead to the loss of confidential information.

The IBM Security Network Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) is a hardware appliance pre-loaded with security software and backed by research and information from IBM Security Solutions.

Companies can unify their security resources, according to IBM, and manage a range of typical network tasks. For example, automated patch technology can sense and block threats as they come in, the firm said.

"Effective threat and vulnerability management needs to focus on preventing problems, not responding to them," said Steve Robinson, general manager for IBM Security Solutions.

"Through our new intrusion prevention system, IBM is helping organisations save valuable time and money by giving them a single view of security to better thwart potential threats before their networks can be compromised."

Unifying security on such a platform will let enterprises better manage their network security, client side applications, data security, web applications and in-house applications, IBM said.

Security Network IPS is designed to offer protection against zero-day threats, and should block attacks before they get a chance to cause damage. Support for IPv6 is also included.