Outsourced Security On The Rise

Following the recent wave of cyberattacks, providers of managed security services are beefing up firewall, intrusion-detection and risk-assessment offerings.

RIPTech Inc., Exodus Communications and MyCIO.com are readying new services for organizations that lack the internal IT personnel to deal with the latest hacker attacks. Until the attacks exposed vulnerabilities, the companies had not experienced any reason for concern.

The dearth of skilled security experts and limited IT resources prompted companies to outsource security tasks such as firewalls over the past few years. But the recent attacks on major Web sites such as Amazon.com, E-Trade and Yahoo heightened the need for around-the-clock monitoring and analysis, experts said.

The market for security consulting alone should reach $14.8 billion by 2003, up from $6.2 billion last year, said David Tapper, an International Data Corp. analyst.

Indeed, as hackers become more sophisticated, the resources required to combat attacks will increase, said Gartner Group analyst John Pescatore. "As the bad guys get more sophisticated, so do tools" such as intrusion detection, he said.

Kurt Ziegler, chairman of eBSure, a provider of Internet service management software, agreed.

"Just because [an IT administrator] can configure a firewall, doesn't mean he can do diagnosis of IDS [data]," he said.

For its part, RIPTech, an application service provider specializing in network security, next week will launch its eSentry services. It will combine real-time monitoring of firewalls and intrusion-detection systems with continuous analysis from RIPTech's team of security experts.

To shore up perimeter defenses, MyCIO.com, a unit of Network Associates, will roll out managed Firewall ASaP, virtual private networking and virus-protection services in a single hardware appliance for less than $1,000 per month.

Adding to its security services, Exodus added internal vulnerability scans, server hardening and customized risk assessment.

To protect its upcoming e-commerce site, eBSure turned to RIPTech because of the ASP's ability to pull event data from security devices and quickly analyze it to identify and defend against intrusions or attacks.

To perform this level of analysis, an eSentry engine can be configured to pull reporting information from a Cisco PIX firewall or an Internet Security Systems

RealSecure intrusion-detection system, for example, on an hourly basis. The data is then logged into an SQL database, where the log information can undergo deeper analysis, said Amit Yoran, RIPTech's president.

Other companies are also moving to cull data from various security devices and bring that into a single view for IT to better monitor and manage their security profile. For example, systems management vendor Tivoli Systems unveiled the Tivoli SecureWay Risk Manager this week.

Meanwhile, Exodus's new service builds on the security package the company released last year, which included a basic architecture review and security management.

The company now offers Basic-site assessment, Enhanced-site lockdown and Pro-site Shield services.

Companies now have a range of services to choose from, including customized intrusion detection, incident response, server hardening, system configuration, firewall reviews and vulnerability scanning. Pricing ranges from $3,700 to $13,000 per month.

Chuck Moozakis contributed to this story.