Websense brands new ThreatSeeker technology

Websense releases a collection of tools to help firms shore up security

Web security specialist Websense has announced a new collection of technologies designed to identify web-based threats before attacks are launched, and new versions of its Web Security Suite.

Websense ThreatSeeker is a combination of over 100 processes and systems developed by the firm's Security Labs over the past five years and built into its products to provide proactive threat protection, according to Websense's European senior product manager Ross Paul.

"We identified early on that legacy solutions such as firewalls and anti-virus tools which people relied on had fallen behind the threats because they were reactive," he explained. "Things like anti-virus are designed to prevent or cleanup a malicious payload but our [products] are designed to prevent infection at the source."

ThreatSeeker capabilities will continue to grow and support new products including the new range of outbound data protection tools planned for next year, he added.

Alan Rodger of analyst Butler Group said that ThreatSeeker would be useful for firms to have but he added that rivals such as Symantec are also investing significant resources in research and threat prevention.

"It's certainly adds value but whether it excites IT professionals is [another matter]," he argued. "The problem is how to target your [security] investments to match the risks coming from the business."

Web Security Suite and Lockdown Edition versions 6.3 were also launched last week, featuring better threat identification capabilities, integration with Citrix Presentation Server and reporting enhancements.