Cisco, Lucent, Network Associates and Sun Microsystems Form Security Research Alliance
New Group to Pursue Joint Security Research Contracts, Educate IT Decision-Makers Through Annual Security Research 'Crystal Ball' Symposium
SAN JOSE, Calif., Jan. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Four of the world's largest information security and networking vendors -- Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO), Lucent Technologies (NYSE: LU), Network Associates (Nasdaq: NETA) and Sun Microsystems (Nasdaq: SUNW) -- have joined together to establish the Security Research Alliance.
Through the Alliance, the organizations engaged in advanced security research at member companies will work together to help secure the desktops and networks of the future and will collaborate to sponsor educational forums and pursue enhanced funding and development opportunities.
The Alliance will also seek to give senior corporate IT decision-makers a window into the world of advanced security research, the field of research dedicated to next-generation security technology. By opening a direct communication channel between the advanced security research community and IT professionals, the Alliance will enable more informed long-term decision-making for those designing today's networks.
The first such educational forum, the Security Research "Crystal Ball" Symposium, will take place April 13 and will be jointly sponsored by the Alliance charter members.
"This vendor-neutral alliance creates a significant opportunity to evolve the information security market," said Chris Christiansen, program director at International Data Corporation. "By enhancing communication between their research organizations, and establishing a forum to discuss security results with real-world customers, Alliance members will create a real-time feedback loop between all concerned parties. This will benefit both security customers and vendors."
The charter members of the Alliance have been responsible for many of the industry's major advances in security research. Each member has an established internally and/or externally funded research practice, which assesses and then solves information security challenges posed by various advanced networking models two to five years before they come into common usage. The Alliance, which is open to new members, provides unprecedented opportunities for teaming and shared research between top information security technology developers.
Stated goals of the new organization include:
* IT Community Education -- provide better communication of advanced
security research projects and findings to IT decision-makers through an
annual symposium and upcoming Alliance web site.
* Information Collaboration -- conduct regular peer review meetings to
disseminate information among members about their advanced security
research -- allowing greater opportunities for collaboration on existing
research, and joint bids on new research contracts sponsored by U.S.
government agencies and other funding sources.
* Faster Technology Transfer -- collaborate on research projects to
increase the odds that substantial research innovations are transferred
into widely available commercial security products.
The first annual Security Research "Crystal Ball" Symposium will be in Los Angeles the day before the opening of Spring Internet World '99. The one-day event will include presentations from world-renowned security researchers describing some of the year's most important research, both in terms of technical detail and of its relevance to today's IT professional.
The symposium will also feature an open panel with security researchers from each of the charter Alliance member organizations. A keynote speech will be delivered by a representative from the U.S. Government's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the organization which funded development of the Internet in the 1970s and which continues to chart the course for many of the government's most demanding advanced security research projects.
The Security Research Alliance will be chaired by a representative from one of the member organizations on a rotating basis, with each chairperson to serve a one-year term. The organization's first chairperson will be Dr. Terry Benzel, vice president of the NAI Labs Advanced Security Research Division at Network Associates, Inc.
"This alliance fills the need for a way for commercial vendors to discuss blue-sky research with customers," said Kevin Ziese, manager of network security research for Cisco Systems. "The Alliance should result in new technology being implemented by more informed IT professionals."
"Networked systems of tomorrow will face unprecedented security challenges, and addressing those challenges will require significant advances in secure-systems technology," said Dr. Arun Netravali, executive vice president of Bell Labs, Lucent's research and development arm. "We look forward to working with our Alliance colleagues to advance this technology."
"These organizations have displayed considerable leadership in forging this relationship," said Dr. Terry Benzel of NAI Labs at Network Associates. "We hope to push forward and continue to build on each lab's success while benefiting from our affiliation with the larger group."
"Increased awareness of advanced security research trends will help security administrators make more informed decisions about how they protect their networks from the threats of today and tomorrow," said Stephen Borcich, director of network security products for Sun Microsystems. "We are pleased to be a part of this exciting effort to raise the awareness of security research trends and challenges."
For more information on the Security Research Alliance, visit securityresearch.com. To discuss membership, contact Chris Williams of NAI Labs at 408-346-3858.
Cisco Systems, Inc. is the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet. News and information are available at cisco.com.
Lucent Technologies designs, builds and delivers a wide range of public and private networks, communications systems and software, business telephone systems and microelectronics components. Bell Labs is the company's research and development arm. More information about Lucent Technologies, headquartered in Murray Hill, N.J., is available on its web site at lucent.com. Information about Bell Labs is available at bell-labs.com.
With headquarters in Santa Clara, California, Network Associates, Inc. is a leading supplier of enterprise network security and management software. Network Associates' Net Tools Secure and Net Tools Manager offer best-of-breed, suite-based network security and management solutions. Net Tools Secure and Net Tools Manager suites combine to create Net Tools which centralizes these point solutions within an easy-to-use, integrated systems management environment. For more information, Network Associates can be reached at 408-988-3832 or on the Internet at nai.com.
Since its inception in 1982, a singular vision, "The Network Is The Computer," has propelled Sun Microsystems, Inc., to its position as a leading provider of high quality hardware, software and services for establishing enterprise-wide intranets and expanding the power of the Internet. With more than $10 billion in annual revenues, Sun can be found in more than 150 countries and on the World Wide Web at sun.com.
NOTE: Net Tools is a registered trademark of Network Associates, Inc. in the United States and other countries. Sun, Sun Microsystems and "The Network is the Computer" are trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks in this release are the property of their respective owners.
SOURCE Network Associates, Inc.
CO: Network Associates, Inc.; Sun Microsystems; Cisco Systems; Lucent Technologies
ST: California, New Jersey
IN: CPR MLM
SU: CON
01/27/99 12:21 EST prnewswire.com |
