Palo Alto sniffs out credit card, Social Security numbers

It's not data-leak prevention, but it can meet some regulations

For small businesses that can't afford data-loss prevention software, Palo Alto Networks has added a slice of DLP technology to its application-aware firewall.

With the latest version of PAN-OS operating system for its firewall appliances, Palo Alto supports filtering traffic that contains Social Security numbers and credit card numbers.

This feature can go a long way toward satisfying one requirement of the Payment Card Industry standard that forbids unencrypted transfer of personally identifiable information, says John Kindervag, an analyst with Forrester Research.

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For small businesses that can't afford data-loss prevention software, Palo Alto Networks has added a slice of DLP technology to its application-aware firewall.

With the latest version of PAN-OS operating system for its firewall appliances, Palo Alto supports filtering traffic that contains Social Security numbers and credit card numbers.

This feature can go a long way toward satisfying one requirement of the Payment Card Industry standard that forbids unencrypted transfer of personally identifiable information, says John Kindervag, an analyst with Forrester Research.

It is very narrow DLP coverage, but can be suitable for businesses that store customers' credit card information and want to prevent it from being taken outside corporate network, Palo Alto says. "This is not for stopping the formula for Coke from leaving the building," says Chris King, director of product marketing for Palo Alto.

Because Palo Alto appliances can terminate SSL sessions, they can search for these numbers within SSL connections, the company says.

The 2.1 version of PAN-OS is available now.

Read more about security in Network World's Security section.