Java Solaris Communities About Sun How to Buy United States Worldwide

Active Tab Press Room
Begin Product Tab Sub Links Active Sub Link Press Releases Press Kits Blogs Executive Bios Photos Event Calendar Press Contacts

SUN MICROSYSTEMS CHIEF SECURITY OFFICER WHIT DIFFIE CALLS INDUSTRY TO ACTION

SUN MICROSYSTEMS CHIEF SECURITY OFFICER WHIT DIFFIE CALLS INDUSTRY TO ACTION

Announces Secure Products, Solutions, and Services

SAN FRANCISCO -- SunNetwork 2002 Conference and Pavilion -- September 19, 2002 -- Building on its reputation as a security leader, Sun Microsystems, Inc. today added to its existing world-class security portfolio with over 10 new customer-ready security products, solutions, and services. In a keynote speech made today at the SunNetwork 2002 Conference and Pavilion at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, Whitfield Diffie, Sun's chief security officer, provocatively suggested that -- rather than being an insurance policy -- secure systems are a critical enabler to the future of business and Net commerce.

"Today's announcements underscore the security strategy Sun has followed since its inception -- open, trusted, comprehensive and built-in to all Sun products and technologies," said Diffie. "Sun has never accepted security as an afterthought and our customers must be proactive in making security part of their networks. We don't just make security products -- we build security into everything we make -- always have, always will. Sun's security solutions are easy enough for e-commerce and secure enough for homeland security."

Michael Rasmussen, director of research for information security at Giga Information Group, further validates the importance of integrating security into the core of enterprise systems in his recent report, "To Achieve Security, It Needs to Be Integrated," September 2002. "In the past, organizations and software vendors typically (but not universally) have taken a bandage approach to security - something to place on top of their systems. This approach is one destined for failure," Rasmussen said. "Achieving a level of confidence in security requires that it be integrated from the ground up in the systems organizations deploy."

Earlier this year, Sun announced the formation of the Global Security Program Office, led by Joanne Masters, whose charter is to be an advocate for Sun's industry-leading security offerings with customers and partners and educate them on key technology security issues; expand Sun's relationship with key national and international security organizations; and anticipate and address future customer security requirements by a coordinated process across all of Sun Microsystems' research, product development assessment, marketing, and sales. For more information, please visit http://www.sun.com/security.

Today's announcements deliver on the objectives Sun outlined earlier this year and build upon Sun's commitment to security since the company's inception in 1982. Sun today announced it is open sourcing its Elliptic Curve Cryptographic (ECC) technologies to the OpenSSL Project; its new and updated iForce Security Solutions: Perimeter and Secure Web Server; a new iForce Solutions partner program; growing partner momentumaround the Sun ONE Platform for Network Identity; new consulting services and a new, enhanced security training curriculum; the Secure Management Index; and security best practices and reference architectures.

Technology Announcements

  • Open source contribution of Elliptic Curve Cryptographic technologies to the OpenSSL Project (http://www.openssl.org/): OpenSSL provides an open source implementation of the Secure Socket Layer (SSL), the dominant security protocol used on the Web today.
  • SuperNets: A secure enterprise network built out of an unsecure, general purpose, network infrastructure -- like the Internet. SuperNets give users first class access to enterprise networks from anywhere.
  • SAML: Now included in the Sun ONE architecture, the Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) is an XML-based framework for exchanging security information.

Solutions Announcements

  • iForce Solution for Security: Perimeter Security: An open, integrated security solution designed to help enterprises and service providers detect, prevent and respond quickly to today's threats. The solution combines software from Sun, Check Point, Symantec, Trend Micro, Tripwire, e-Security, and Sanctum. For more information, http://www.sun.com/smi/Press/sunflash/2002-09/sunflash.20020919.3.html.
  • iForce Solution for Security: Secure Web Server: A comprehensive, web server solution to better secure vital websites and transactions; partners include PentaSafe, Sanctum, and Ubizen.

Sun's Professional Services Security Practice

  • Security Policy Workshop and Security Policy Development Service: Help customers tie their business and technical requirements to their security principles to build a solid foundation for their systems design. Sun's security consultants will work with customers to develop customized policy templates that cover everything from asset classification and controls to information management and maintenance.
  • Enhanced Educational Services: A new training curriculum focused on security, which extends through perimeter defense and secure eCommerce applications. Core offerings include platform hardening, data integrity, and security policy.

Processes Announcements

  • Security Management Index: Sun today announced its relationship with the Human Firewall Council to jointly develop initiatives for security management assessment that span people, processes and technology. The first initiative Sun is sponsoring is the Security Management Index, the assessment tool that benchmarks security management practices against international standards outlined in ISO 17799. Co-sponsors include PentaSafe Security Technologies, Inc., the Information Systems Security Association (ISSA), and the British Standards Institute (BSI).

    The free online Security Management Index survey, based on ISO 17799, covers ten critical security functions including Policy, Access, Intrusion Prevention, and Business Continuity. Participants will receive an overall score against the ISO 17799 best practices standard and their ranking relative to peers. Participants may also request more information about their particular results, as well as ways to improve security management practices. More information at http://www.humanfirewall.org/smi.
  • Best Practices: The Sun Security Blueprints/best practices are being consolidated into a new book by Alex Noordergraaf from Prentice Hall Publishing, to be published soon.

Partner Announcements

  • iForce Security Solutions Program: A channel and partner program that provides an array of marketing resources to help Sun's partners sell security solutions based on the Sun platform. Covers perimeter security; secure identity; secure access; and secure Web services. Partners include Cable & Wireless, Dewpoint, Diamond Micro Solutions, DirSec, EDS, Entology, inSolutions, MG Solutions LLC, NeXL and Trusted Computer Solutions. More information can be found at http://www.sun.com/iforce/security
  • Partner Integration's with the Sun ONE Platform for Network Identity: Five additional security partners -- Banyan Systems France, Business Layers, Entrust, Passlogix and Persistent Co. -- are integrating their solutions with the Sun ONE Platform for Network Identity, a combined hardware, software and services offering that helps organizations rapidly establish an open, end-to-end network identity infrastructure.

About SunNetwork 2002

The SunNetwork 2002 Conference and Pavilion is the only conference dedicated to showcasing end-to-end solutions from Sun and its partners that have revolutionized the Internet, networking and computing industries. SunNetwork 2002 has over 7,000 attendees at its inaugural event this week participating in over 100 technical sessions and bird of a feather sessions addressing Sun system architecture, network and computing management, services development tools and techniques. SunNetwork 2002 has been co-sponsored by SAP, Sybase, MatrixONE, PTC, Vignette and JNI Corporation and has over 140 technology exhibits demonstrating how Sun's technology is solving real-world technology and network challenges. For more information on all related announcements, please visit the SunNetwork 2002 website at http://sunnetwork.sun.com/

About Sun Microsystems, Inc.

Since its inception in 1982, a singular vision -- "The Network Is The Computer" -- has propelled Sun Microsystems, Inc. (Nasdaq: SUNW) to its position as a leading provider of industrial-strength hardware, software and services that make the Net work. Sun can be found in more than 170 countries and on the World Wide Web at http://sun.com

Sun, Sun Microsystems, the Sun Logo, iForce, Sun ONE, and The Network Is The Computer are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States and other countries.

PR Contacts for Press and Analysts:

Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Brett Smith
(408) 276-6143
brett.smith@sun.com
 
Press Release Finder

 
 
 
Contact About Sun News & Events Employment Site Map Privacy Terms of Use Trademarks Copyright 1994-2008 Sun Microsystems, Inc.