CUPERTINO, Calif., May 29, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ForeScout Technologies, Inc., a leading provider of real-time network security solutions for Fortune 1000 enterprises and government organizations, today announced it will be a key supporter of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) new Continuous Diagnostics & Mitigation (CDM) initiative. The primary goal is to help federal agencies improve their cybersecurity posture by maintaining ongoing awareness of vulnerabilities and threats to enable more rapid organizational risk management decisions, remediation and reporting. ForeScout has teamed with leading federal system integrators to deliver a comprehensive CDM reference platform that combines best-of-breed security tools and processes.
ForeScout CounterACT™ offers real-time discovery and continuous compliance validation of any device attempting to connect to or on the network. ForeScout CounterACT interfaces with configuration, patch and vulnerability management solutions, such as those from IBM, Microsoft, McAfee, Symantec and Tenable (Nessus), to ensure that devices are dynamically identified, assessed and remediated. ForeScout's platform for endpoint compliance also provides contextual information (who, what, when and where) about all endpoints, their security posture and policy adherence via bi-directional integration with leading SIEM products to assure precise operational intelligence, roles-based enforcement and threat mitigation.
"Whether agencies are applying for CDM funds or not, the administration expects that civilian agencies must and will enhance their cybersecurity posture and improve their Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) score," said Venu Ayala president of Zen Strategics LLC. "The adoption of enterprise-wide continuous monitoring best practices and technologies provides for rapid risk management, improved situational awareness and more efficient risk mitigation efforts."
There is a critical need for federal agencies to identify and protect against the sophisticated cyberthreats encountered daily. However, many civilian agencies do not have the resources (budget, manpower and unified vision) to address this important security concern, and many lack more automated risk mitigation capabilities - factors that have impacted civilian agency FISMA scores. The White House has emphasized the need for continuous monitoring since 2010, and as part of the FY13 Homeland Security Appropriations Bill, DHS is to assist other federal agencies in enhancing their cybersecurity efforts. The CDM initiative gives participating agencies the means to implement continuous monitoring as a service (CMaaS), which is a bundled solution comprised of systems, sensors, risk-status displays and professional consulting services.
"CDM steps up to the challenge of continuous vigilance against modern cyberthreats, not only by keeping the nation's infrastructure as resistant as possible to exploits, but also instantly detecting configuration drifts and vulnerabilities that may increase exposure to attack," said Eric Ogren, founder and principal analyst at The Ogren Group. "Achieving the goals of the program is further complicated by BYOD security challenges, which necessitates automated discovery and control technology that scales for large networks and does not rely on the trustworthiness of mobile endpoints."
"Without the complete network picture, your security control assumptions are flawed. Continuous monitoring programs must be able to see all network devices in real time, both managed and unmanaged, and they must ensure security policies are being followed before access is allowed," said Niels Jensen, vice president of federal sales at ForeScout. "By combining the ForeScout platform with other best-in-class security tools, federal organizations gain complete situational awareness and can better leverage their security resources to more efficiently preempt cybersecurity threats, close exposures and respond to attacks."
Visit http://www.forescout.com/news/webcasts/ to learn more about how ForeScout helps to address the CDM objectives. Federal agencies and their contractors are invited to join a webinar on June 5th, "Achieving Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation: The Why, What and How to Achieve Cybersecurity Readiness."
Relevant Links
Achieving Continuous Diagnostics and Monitoring Webinar
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About ForeScout Technologies, Inc.
ForeScout enables organizations to accelerate productivity and connectivity by allowing users to access corporate network resources where, how and when needed without compromising security. ForeScout's real-time network security platform for access control, mobile security, endpoint compliance and threat prevention empower IT agility while preempting risks and eliminating remediation costs. Because the ForeScout CounterACT solution is easy to deploy, unobtrusive, intelligent and scalable, it has been chosen by more than 1,400 of the world's most secure enterprises and military installations for global deployments spanning 37 countries. Headquartered in Cupertino, California, ForeScout delivers its solutions through its network of authorized partners worldwide. Learn more at www.forescout.com.
© ForeScout Technologies 2013. ForeScout CounterACT is a trademark of ForeScout Technologies, Inc. All names mentioned are trademarks of their respective owners.