ProxySG Appliances Offer Granular Control of Skype to the Individual User;
Innovation Protects Against Information Leakage, Malware and Unauthorized
Bandwidth Use
SAN JOSE, Calif., RSA Conference, Feb. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Blue
Coat(R) Systems (Nasdaq: BCSI), the leader in secure content and application
delivery, today announced its ProxySG(TM) appliances have the ability to
control Skype to protect against information leakage and unauthorized "back
channel" communications as well as potential future malware. Using ProxySG
appliances, organizations can allow or deny access to Skype in total or based
on network user name and/or group.
Skype has more than 60 million registered users worldwide and is growing
very rapidly. In most cases, Skype is not a network application or
communications channel authorized by the organization. In many cases, Skype
is used without the knowledge of the IT organization, leaving it without means
to control or monitor information leakage or protect against malware. Just as
potent malware security threats are beginning to come through unofficial
enterprise use of instant messaging (IM), corporations are becoming
increasingly concerned about eventual Skype-borne worms, viruses and other
threats. Without control, organizations are powerless to stop a potential
pandemic.
Blue Coat's Skype control makes use of its recently introduced SSL proxy
technology, which enables visibility and control of encrypted Secure Sockets
Layer (SSL) communications between internal enterprise users and external
Internet applications. The ProxySG appliances can differentiate between SSL
traffic and other encrypted traffic that uses the firewall's fully open port
80 (HTTP) or 443 (HTTPS).
"Enterprises now have the means to effectively control Skype and other
backdoor avenues of communication as well as protect against threats that will
undoubtedly come," said Steve Mullaney, vice president of marketing for Blue
Coat Systems. "For some organizations, Skype could represent a highly
flexible and affordable means of communications, while others see Skype as
undermining their ability to control information flow and a new route for
security vulnerabilities."
The Skype controlling capabilities can be enacted by adding a simple
policy to ProxySG. The pre-written policy is described in a new tech brief
from Blue Coat available on the corporate Website:
http://www.bluecoat.com/downloads/support/tb_skype.pdf . The capability also
requires a license for Blue Coat's recently introduced SSL proxy option for
ProxySG.
About Blue Coat Systems
Blue Coat helps organizations make the Web safe and productive for
business. Blue Coat proxy appliances provide visibility and control of Web
communications to protect against risks from spyware, Web viruses,
inappropriate Web surfing, instant messaging (IM), video streaming, and
peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing -- while actually improving Web performance.
Trusted by many of the world's largest organizations, Blue Coat has shipped
more than 25,000 proxy appliances. Blue Coat is headquartered in Sunnyvale,
California, and can be reached at (408) 220-2200 or http://www.bluecoat.com.
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS: The statements contained in this press
release that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements,
including statements regarding Blue Coat Systems' expectations, beliefs,
intentions or strategies regarding the future, and including statements
regarding the capabilities and expected performance of Blue Coat Systems'
products. All forward-looking statements included in this press release are
based upon information available to Blue Coat Systems as of the date hereof,
and Blue Coat Systems assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking
statements. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, which
could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. These
and other risks relating to Blue Coat Systems' business are set forth in Blue
Coat Systems' most recently filed Form 10-Q for the quarter ended October 31,
2005 and Form 10-K for the year ended April 30, 2005, and other reports filed
from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
NOTE: All trademarks, trade names or service marks used or mentioned
herein belong to their respective owners.
SOURCE Blue Coat Systems
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Related links:
http://www.bluecoat.com
CONTACT:
media, Steve Schick, +1-408-220-2076, or
steve.schick@bluecoat.com, or investors, Carla Chun,
+1-408-220-2318, or carla.chun@bluecoat.com, both of Blue Coat
Systems; or Kevin Kosh of CHEN PR, +1-781-672-3111, or
kkosh@chenpr.com, for Blue Coat Systems
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