IPolicy Networks is bolstering its intrusion-prevention firewalls to provide IT managers with more relevant information about security events that threaten an organization. The vendor this week is expected to detail new features, including network-based antivirus filtering, data correlation, and inspection and blocking of port-based applications.

The upgraded iPolicy intrusion-prevention firewall appliances will be able to run integrated McAfee antivirus software to weed out malware at the gateway level, says Gajraj Singh, vice president of marketing at the Fremont, Calif., vendor.

IPolicy also plans to add support for Nessus and eEye Digital Security vulnerability assessment scanners so that its appliances can deliver prioritized threat information to security managers. Competitors Internet Security Systems and Sourcefire have already added similar data-correlation capabilities to their intrusion-prevention appliances to improve the relevancy of security alerts based on specific equipment and applications.

New support for the detection and blocking of applications is also on tap from iPolicy. The vendor says its intrusion-prevention firewall appliances will be able to detect and block about three dozen applications, including voice-over-IP and point-to-point applications such as Kazaa and Gnutella, when the upgraded devices make their debut in December. Prices will range from $5,000 to $100,000.