Network Associates Acquires Trusted Information
Systems
(02/23/98; 2:29 p.m. EST)
By Rutrell Yasin, InternetWeek
In its quest to offer one-stop shopping in the security arena,
Network Associates lacked one vital component -- a solid
firewall product.
Today, the company formerly known as McAfee, moved to
fill that gap when it agreed to buy Trusted Information
Systems (TIS), developer of the Gauntlet Firewall, for $300
million.
In one fell swoop, Network Associates has picked up the
second most widely used firewall in Fortune 500
corporations, Bill Larson, CEO of Network Associates, said
during a telephone briefing this morning.
Check Point Software Technologies' Firewall-1 is the most
widely used firewall, followed by Gauntlet, Cisco's PIX
Firewall, and Raptors Systems' Eagle line, according to a
recent survey conducted by the Computer Security Institute.
The same survey reports that 60 percent of the corporate
sites surveyed use antivirus software from Network
Associates.
With the TIS acquisition, the company adds another
intrusion detection system, the Stalker line, to its portfolio.
TIS obtained the system through its acquisition of Haystack
last year. Through its merger with Network General last year,
Network Associates also picked up the CyberCop intrusion
detection system, which monitors networks for suspicious
activity.
Intrusion detection systems are hot-ticket items these days
for many security companies. The market for these high-tech
burglar alarms is expected to reach $100 million this year,
according to the Aberdeen Group. Cisco Systems entered the
market last week when it purchased The WheelGroup for $124
million.
Network Associates also adds TIS' Gauntlet Global Virtual
Private Networks system for securing electronic
communications worldwide and Key Recovery encryption
technology to its product line. The encryption technology
will complement the e-mail and file encryption tools Network
Associates inherited when it bought Pretty Good Privacy for
$36 million in December.
Network Associates is now in a good position to provide
users with an integrated policy management system across
antivirus software, encryption technology, intrusion
detection systems, and firewalls, Larson said. |
