SAN JOSE, Calif., September 26, 2000 - Advancing the state of the art for intrusion detection system (IDS) technology, Cisco Systems, Inc. today unveiled an array of robust new products for securing an organization's network perimeter, extranet and vulnerable internal network.

In addition, Cisco announced that Exodus Communications, Inc., a leading provider of Internet hosting services, plans to deploy Cisco Secure IDS products as part of a new managed security offering, the Cyber Attack Management Services (CAMS), that it will provide to its customers. Exodus expects to begin rollout for the new services in October 2000.

Today's announcements further deliver on the vision of Cisco AVVID the Cisco Architecture for Voice, Video and Integrated Data and its SAFE blueprint for secure e-Business by providing comprehensive IDS capabilities that can be easily integrated into any e-Business infrastructure.

Cisco's new intrusion detection products include:

• The Catalyst 6000 IDS Module, a new IDS card for the Catalyst 6000 switch. Intrusion detection is the ability to analyze data in real time to detect, log and stop misuse or attacks as they occur. The Catalyst 6000 IDS Module addresses the critical need for IDS capabilities in switched network environments by making it possible for the first time to monitor network traffic directly from the switch's backplane instead of from IDS sensors connected to SPAN ports. This new approach provides a more granular, accurate and efficient read on network traffic and overcomes many of the resource limitations associated with using external IDS sensors.

• The Cisco Secure IDS-4210 Sensor, an entry-level version of Cisco's market leading Cisco Secure Intrusion Detection System. The IDS-4210 detects unauthorized traffic traversing the network, such as hacking activity, by analyzing traffic in real-time, enabling users to quickly respond to any security breach. When unauthorized traffic is detected, the sensor can send alarms to a management console with details of the activity and can control other systems, such as routers, to end the unauthorized session. The Cisco Secure IDS-4210 Sensor is optimized to monitor 45 Mbps environments, and it is ideally suited for monitoring multiple T1/E1, T3 and Ethernet environments.

• Cisco Secure Policy Manager (CSPM) version 2.2, the latest edition of Cisco's powerful, policy-based security management system. Already a robust and flexible policy management tool, CSPM 2.2 now gives customers the ability to manage their Cisco Secure IDS tools from the same console as their Cisco firewalls and virtual private network (VPN) routers.

"Exodus is pleased to support the robust and comprehensive Cisco Secure IDS family of products within its Exodus Internet Data Centers," said Dr. Bill Hancock, vice president, security and chief security officer for Exodus. "Our new Cyber Attack Management Services assist customers in evaluating, responding to and resolving Internet security threats and violations on a 24x7 basis. Through its relationship with Cisco, Exodus can provide customers with hardware, installation and configuration as part of its security service."

Cisco's IDS-4210 is certainly on the cutting edge of IDS technology, but its Catalyst 6000 IDS Module is pushing the envelope and taking IDS technology where it's never been. Until now, most intrusion detection was performed at the network's perimeter, either with software or dedicated appliances. But with the growth of the Internet economy and the resulting change in most business models, that's no longer the case.

" Demand for higher network performance is spurring a migration from shared networks to switched environments," said Joel McFarland, product line manager for intrusion detection systems at Cisco. "As a result, it's becoming much more challenging for administrators to implement intrusion detection technology across the network. The Catalyst 6000 IDS Module addresses this by simplifying and clarifying the processing of rooting-out hackers from switched networks."

The IDS Module can be easily and fully integrated into the Catalyst 6000 Series of switches, and it performs the same IDS functions as IDS appliances without affecting switch performance. Administrators just plug it into a Catalyst 6000 Series switch and, using the Catalyst operating system's Command Line Interface (CLI), do some simple configuration to activate the IDS Module. IDS configuration and policies are then set using Cisco Secure Policy Manager v 2.2.

Similar to the Cisco Secure Intrusion Detection System, the Catalyst 6000 IDS Module seeks out and identifies suspicious network traffic in real-time, forwards alarms to a Cisco Secure Intrusion Detection management console and removes the offender from the network.

With the IDS Module, customers can use the same management console as the Cisco Secure IDS Sensor. This gives them the option of deploying both appliance sensors and the IDS Module to monitor important subnets throughout the enterprise. In addition, the IDS Module enables customers to perform both security monitoring and switching functions within the same chassis. As such, customers can deploy intrusion detection pervasively throughout their switched networks without having to overcome the integration issues that often exist with other IDS products.

Pricing and Availability

The Cisco Secure IDS-4210 will be available in the fourth quarter of calendar 2000 at a list price of $8,000 USD. The Catalyst 6000 IDS Module will be available in the fourth quarter at a list price of $14,995 USD.