BusinessWire
June 23, 2008 07:00 AM Pacific Daylight Time

Mocana’s New NanoDefender™ Stops Malware and Viruses on Devices

Comprehensive Security & Intrusion Prevention Solution for Embedded Device Designers

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mocana, a software company that delivers comprehensive embedded security solutions for non-PC devices attached to the network, today announced general availability of NanoDefender, a comprehensive intrusion prevention solution designed specifically for constrained device environments. The introduction of NanoDefender expands Mocana’s Device Security Framework™ with a unique approach to intrusion detection and prevention that secures all aspects of a device without hindering quality-of-service.

For the past few years, corporate IT and security staff have been waging an all-out war against the rising tide of malware that threatens to invade and take over business systems by stealing, corrupting and destroying sensitive and critical data. While PCs remain the primary target for hackers, security threats exist in anything that connects to the network – including routers and switches, handheld computing devices like smartphones and PDAs, wired handsets, network gateways, modems, printers. Other “everyday” devices like home appliances, GPS systems, automobiles, HVAC systems, DVRs, power meters and cash registers are coming online every day and facing increasingly sophisticated attacks.

Traditional tools such as firewalls, anti-virus, anti-spam, VPNs, ID and access management systems usually do a poor job addressing the unique security challenges posed by these devices. The security solutions that often work well for PCs – especially popular open source packages like OpenSSH or OpenSSL – either simply won’t fit, or eat up processor cycles, memory and electrical power – three things in short supply for inexpensive “infrastructure” devices like cell phones. Further, prohibitive costs often prevent enterprises and carriers from deploying network-based intrusion detection systems at the perimeter of the network in the first place – and this is where devices connect.

“The impact of security threats on the PC front is widely documented and is being addressed on multiple levels,” said Kitty Weldon, Principal Analyst with Current Analysis. “Yet, security for devices has been sorely lacking and lacks a clear strategic defense. With so much reliance on electronics for both business and everyday living, devices like DVRs, smartphones and printers are a giant, flashing target for malware creators.”

Mocana NanoDefender effectively “immunizes” devices at the edge of the network, preventing any possible attacks from subverting protected devices and applications on those devices. Mocana’s release of NanoDefender represents a new approach to device security that prevents any known or unknown threats from exploiting weaknesses inherent in device applications. Unlike other security processes, NanoDefender evaluates a device’s application activity against a rules base of acceptable behaviors and functions. If an application’s function or behavior is not deemed acceptable, the application is terminated before the malware can damage or corrupt its host, spread to other hosts and/or cross into the corporate infrastructure. Using a rules base of acceptable behavior ensures a very comprehensive level of device security because it captures any and all deviant activity versus blocking only known threats.

Further, Mocana’s NanoDefender software is designed to be embedded into a device’s operating system or application, so it does not depend on the device logging onto the corporate network to get the latest security patches. This helps enterprise IT departments remain focused on core business initiatives by eliminating the need for expensive and time-consuming updates to thousands of remote devices.

“While existing intrusion prevention systems are often used to monitor and protect enterprise systems, they were not appropriate or effective for devices. Device manufacturers needed a better way to keep their products secure and operational,” said Adrian Turner, CEO for Mocana. “NanoDefender is a new approach offering these device manufacturers and their customers the highest level of ongoing device security with minimal impact at runtime.”

Pricing and Availability

Mocana NanoDefender is designed for the needs of device designers, engineers and new product developers, and is now shipping. Developers can register for a free source code evaluation of NanoDefender at www.mocana.com/evaluate.html. For pricing and purchase information, please email sales@mocana.com or call 866-213-1273.

About Mocana

Mocana securely enables Internet-scale applications and services for connected devices. Mocana's industry-leading infrastructure software solutions ensure that wired and wireless devices, networks and services perform and scale with the utmost security – a necessary foundation for a networked society. Customers include Philips, Dell, Cisco, Nortel Networks, Harris, Honeywell, Symbol, Net.com and Radvision, among others. Mocana was founded in 2002, is privately held, and headquartered in San Francisco, California. The company was recently named one of Red Herring’s “Top 100 Privately-Held Technology Companies in North America. Other awards include Frost & Sullivan’s Innovation of the Year and InfoSecurity’s Tomorrow’s Technology Today. For more information, visit www.mocana.com.