Websense in Content Security Market’s Sweet Spot

Wednesday, 27 February 2008 10:34

SYDNEY, 27 FEBRUARY 2008— Websense, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBSN) today announced that independent analyst firm Forrester Research, Inc. has recognised Websense for having one of the most comprehensive content security portfolios on the market. 
The December 2007 Forrester report, Content Security is Becoming a Competition Among Suites, states that the increasingly common occurrence of threats involving multiple channels is shaping the content security market, and that a silo-based approach to e-mail and Web filtering will respond poorly to such threats.  Therefore, a comprehensive content security portfolio should include Web filtering, e-mail filtering, cross-channel analysis, application control (such as instant messaging or peer-to-peer), and the ability to prevent information loss across all channels. 

The increase in blended threats is driven, in part, by the growing popularity of Web 2.0, as users are able to control and generate the content of blogs, wikis, mashups and social networking sites and potentially embed malicious code in those applications.  Due to the constantly changing nature of these Web 2.0 applications, traditional security solutions are unable to protect organisations from these emerging threats.  Only Websense provides Essential Information Protection™ from blended threats across multiple channels through its integrated portfolio of Web security, messaging security, and data loss prevention solutions to protect organisations from both inbound Internet-based threats and outbound data leaks. 

Integrated Protection from Inbound and Outbound Threats

In a separate report, industry analyst firm Gartner, Inc. states that “A surge in adoption of Web applications and social networking sites has increased malware risk for companies and prompted new acceptable-use policies…The market is demanding a solution that provides not only traditional URL-filtering, but also malicious software (malware) filtering, as well as application control for Web applications such as instant messaging (IM).” The report goes on to say, “Buyers [will seek] solutions that scan both inbound traffic across protocols (for example, instant messaging, HTTP and SMTP) for malicious code and outbound content across these protocols for compliance and leakage concerns.”2

“Attackers are upping the ante with blended threats, attacks on Web 2.0 applications and information-stealing code,” said Leo Cole, vice president of marketing, Websense. “Our security researchers discovered for the first time in history that the number of legitimate Web sites compromised by attackers has surpassed those purposefully created by attackers.  Traditional security solutions weren’t designed with these type of attacks on content in mind.  Only Websense has the essential components required for comprehensive content protection.”

About Websense, Inc.

Websense, Inc. (NASDAQ: WBSN), a global leader in integrated Web, messaging and data protection technologies, provides Essential Information Protection™ for more than 42 million employees at more than 50,000 organisations worldwide. Distributed through its global network of channel partners, Websense software and hosted security solutions help organisations block malicious code, prevent the loss of confidential information and enforce Internet use and security policies. For more information, visit www.websense.com.