Palo Alto Networks Partner Program Aims to Provide Integrated Network Security
Palo Alto Networks unveiled its technology partner program, a partnership of technology vendors committed to arming mutual customers with integrated solutions that fundamentally improve network security and risk management for enterprises. The extent to which Palo Alto Networks customers have gained visibility and control over their network traffic has spawned a desire to extend this functionality into adjacent areas of security and risk management. Palo Alto Networks' initial technology partners are: Arcsight, an HP Company; NetWitness Corporation; Q1 Labs; RSA, an EMC Company; Secure Passage; Solera Networks; Splunk; and Tufin Technologies.
"Companies are responding to technology changes at so many levels — from social media and IT consumerization to cloud-based services and new data center networks — that it's an ideal time for network security teams to be more in alignment with the business' objectives," said Punit Minocha, vice president of business and corporate development at Palo Alto Networks. "The application-based traffic that we illuminate for enterprises can now be leveraged through strategic partnerships with many of the most innovative companies in our industry."
Palo Alto Networks' next-generation firewall provides policy-based visibility and control over applications, users and content to more than 3,000 enterprises worldwide. Only Palo Alto Networks customers can safely enable applications while scanning this content for threats and potential data leakage.
Palo Alto Networks has fixed the problems associated with traditional firewalls by combining three identification technologies that provide visibility and control over applications, users and content.
- App-ID identifies exactly which applications are running on the network, as well as the associated risks, so administrators can deploy comprehensive application usage control policies for inbound and outbound traffic.
- User-ID integrates with enterprise directory services (e.g. Microsoft Active Directory and other LDAP directories) to link network activity to users and groups – not just IP addresses – for application visibility, policy creation, logging and reporting.
- Content-ID combines a real-time threat prevention engine with a comprehensive URL database to detect and block a wide range of threats, limit unauthorized transfer of files and data, and control non-work related Web surfing.
"Today's threat environment requires organizations to know everything that is happening on their networks and implement effective application controls," said Brian Girardi, vice president of product management at NetWitness Corporation. "The joint solution of NetWitness and Palo Alto Networks provides our mutual customers the precision, actionable intelligence, and technical agility needed to respond proactively to any emerging threat."