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M1CUK > INFO 12.10.02 04:35l 80 Lines 3808 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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From: M1CUK@GB7FCR.#16.GBR.EU
To : INFO@WW
Websense hopes to filter more than just the Web
By ComputerWire
Posted: 09/10/2002 at 07:19 GMT
Websense Inc wants to help companies go beyond the web browser when it
comes to regulating their employees' computing habits, writes Kevin
Murphy. The company yesterday outlined its plans to enable central control
of applications, bandwidth and legal liability.
Websense Enterprise v5, due to ship in January, will become a policy
management platform into which customers will be able to plug optional
modules, built by Websense and its partners. The first named partner is
digital rights management software developer Macrovision Inc, which will
help Websense users control pirate material.
"Our product was really a one-trick pony for a while," said Websense
spokesperson Ted Ladd. "But we're transforming it into a platform that
customers can add on modules... We're extending it beyond just how
employees use web browsers, to manage the entire relationship between the
employee and their computing environment."
The first deliverable modules, due January, will be for application
control and bandwidth optimization. This will be followed in the second
half by a module built with Macrovision that will allow pirated files to
be identified, for the company paranoid about legal liability of having
illegal content on its network.
Macrovision specializes in fingerprint and watermark-based DRM that allows
copyrighted digital files to be protected and pirated files to be
identified. It is expected that the Macrovision-Websense product will
compare files on a user desktop against databases of blacklisted
fingerprints.
Whereas Websense is currently a proxy server proposition, the application
control and liability modules will require desktop components that take
their policy cues from the server. Websense-maintained databases of
application and file fingerprints will be available for customers to
create complex white-list or black-list policies.
The bandwidth control module will use the same policy engine, and will
allow companies to manage how much bandwidth is used where, by who, and
when. Companies will be able to restrict certain types of traffic, based
on protocol, to certain times of the day or to certain employees, for
example.
Advancing "employee internet management" to the point where it deserves to
be named such, rather than just "filterware", is a priority for companies
such as Websense and those it competes with, primarily London-based
SurfControl Plc, which announced its bandwidth prioritization features in
March.
Judging by recent announcements, SurfControl is also introducing more
functionality in terms of email control, having recently introduced
anti-virus (partnered with Network Associates Inc) and anti-spam modules
for its Email Filter product. Websense is not eager to enter this market.
In a separate announcement yesterday, Websense announced it signed a
reciprocal deal with email management software specialist Tumbleweed
Communications Corp, under which both companies will refer the other to
customers as a preferred partner. Websense evidently doesn't see moving
into email as an immediate priority.
"[Email filtering] is very niche," said Ladd, explaining why the company
chose to "best of breed" partner rather than build the feature in house.
"Only about 5% to 10% of our customers ask us for email filtering. As far
as we can tell, it's not a high growth market."
-----------------------------------------------
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Trev, m1cuk@gb7fcr.#16.gbr.eu
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