ISS upgrades vulnerability service

Company equips customers with external and internal scans for immediate protection from threats.

Internet Security Services this week is set to make available a service that the company says can help customers track vulnerabilities from detection through remediation.

ISS' Vulnerability Management Service (VMS) scans customer networks from the outside, as well as from within via an on-site appliance, the company says. The additional capabilities with this service, as opposed to ISS' previous scanning service, is that the company can walk customers through the remediation process, as well as automatically apply fixes, depending on the level of service, says Jason Hilling, product manager in the managed security services division at ISS.

"The dynamic protection aspect of VMS works with other services, and helps staff in the security operations center respond to vulnerabilities with a more controlled change management process, instead of haphazardly pushing out a fix," Hilling says. ISS says it built its years of experience responding to security vulnerabilities into the best practices laid out in this service, which customers can use at their desired frequency - weekly, monthly, quarterly or annually.

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Internet Security Services this week is set to make available a service that the company says can help customers track vulnerabilities from detection through remediation.

ISS' Vulnerability Management Service (VMS) scans customer networks from the outside, as well as from within via an on-site appliance, the company says. The additional capabilities with this service, as opposed to ISS' previous scanning service, is that the company can walk customers through the remediation process, as well as automatically apply fixes, depending on the level of service, says Jason Hilling, product manager in the managed security services division at ISS.

"The dynamic protection aspect of VMS works with other services, and helps staff in the security operations center respond to vulnerabilities with a more controlled change management process, instead of haphazardly pushing out a fix," Hilling says. ISS says it built its years of experience responding to security vulnerabilities into the best practices laid out in this service, which customers can use at their desired frequency - weekly, monthly, quarterly or annually.

The external scan portion of VMS is delivered over the Internet via a 128-bit encrypted connection between ISS data centers and the customer environment. Customers wanting the internal scanning feature install a scanning agent, or a purpose-built device, in their DMZ or internal network that can manage up to 10,000 IP addresses. The scanning agent communicates with ISS data centers, and customers control the service, monitor activity and generate reports through a Web portal using a secure ID and password.

ISS' VMS competes with similar service offerings from McAfee Foundstone and Qualys. Industry watchers say the real value of VMS comes when customers couple this scanning service with other ISS products and services, such as patch remediation.

"The remediation feature in which ISS can apply a virtual patch following a vulnerability scan, or apply a signature to a network security device to block an attack, will appeal to customers," says Phebe Waterfield, a senior analyst with The Yankee Group. "Vendors are addressing the needs beyond scanning. They are getting into managing changes and configurations on top of simply scanning."

Customers can get started with the service for about $200 per month, depending on the number of IP addresses and level of scanning, ISS says.

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