Threat-By-Threat: The Zona Research study points that there is a threat-by-threat deployment of security technology in response to the desire for increased control of information in an increasingly hostile environment. The same respondents indicate different levels of security technology deployment. The first and ubiquitous level is the anti-virus technology. Second, access control technologies. This category is broad in definition and includes, from merely deploying passwords on desktops to simply denying whole parts of the enterprise access to internal or external data. Access control can be difficult to scale, and can leave large numbers of both Intranet and extended Intranet clients without access to key information on the BCI. Firewalls too have substantial penetration and multiple firewall brands may be deployed to provide the facade of security. The shopping list of the future would include would include firewalls, intrusion detection, authentication, encryption and digital signature technology. Affirms Ramana, "The security products include software and hardware. Firewall solutions to cater to small-to-extremely large number of connections, hardware-based high performance intrusion detection systems and scanning tools to protect enterprise data. In addition, security policy management systems are required for providing security administrators, with an easy to use tool to define and manage the organisational security policy."

Holistic Security: While threat-by-threat is being seen as an ad hoc security framework, the next generation interactive security solutions will take a holistic approach. Zona Research believes that the next real breakthrough in BCI security will come in the form of an infrastructure through which various point security products can be deployed and managed. This, it predicts, will not only bring coherency to security deployment but will also eliminate the urge to redundantly deploy various security technologies. It also says that the old security objective of "keeping the bad guys out" must evolve to a new objective that also includes "letting the good guys in." In a more integrated environment, security is an enabling and proactive technology, not a reactive cash sink. Security should enable opportunities for the BCI.

Undoubtedly, the march today is towards evolving architectures for holistic security. Probably in the Q2 2001 onwards, there could be a wide range of features added on the security architectures and new platforms evolving. Clear trends in this direction are available. Enterasys Networks, a Cabletron company, announced their holistic security architecture for complex BCIs called Secure Harbour. This architecture has been designed to protect and serve the corporate information ecosystem and claims that its architecture covers the entire information delivery mechanism—access, user, data and application. It has five key elements to secure the BCI—prevention, detection, damage assessment, response, and correction—and spans the new connection paradigm—wireless, remote access, VPN, etc., too. Clearly, the swing is towards new architectures and new products coming up quarter on quarter.

Symatec, a leader in Internet security technology, traditionally strong in the operational security side—intrusion detection, anti-virus, content filtration, etc., was missing from the infrastructure security—PKI, Firewall, VPN, etc. It acquired AXENT, a strong player in the enterprise area. "AXENT acquisition would enable us to deliver holistic solutions," explains Roger Chung, regional product manager, Asia Pacific, Enterprise Solutions division, Symantec. Adds Chung, "With the Enterprise Security framework we are moving from the provision of point solutions to the implementation of an integrated strategy."

Some of the companies from India have also got aggressively into software product development for enterprise security that the networking vendors can quickly absorb and integrate into their product portfolio. For instance, Hyderabad-based Intoto Software (I) Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary of Intoto Inc., USA, has announced an integrated software for network security and connectivity family called iGateway architecture. Elaborates SN Murthy, president and COO, Intoto India, "iGateway architecture provides a secure, reliable, easy-to-use platform for the broadband gateway equipment. It secures network infrastructure from cyber attacks and secures business communications between networks, applications, and users across Internet, Intranets, and Extranets.

The trend is from implementing point solutions, as and when required, to a clearly defined strategy that takes into account all the possible elements of current and future operating requirements.