A recent article from Washington Technology outlines the cyber needs of many federal agencies as they work to shore up their networks.

Fittingly, the FBI places security among its top priorities as it seeks to create an agile, flexible and secure network infrastructure to aid its crime-fighting efforts.

Symantec announced this week that its Clearwell eDiscovery Platform was selected by the FBI to help agents manage and analyze documents. Symantec said the platform includes the ability to search, review, tag and export documents for exchange, adding that it shortens the time of electronic discovery investigations and saving resources.

“With the massive volumes of electronically stored information generated today, eDiscovery can be a complex and costly process for both corporations and government agencies alike,” said Brian Dye, vice president of product management for Symantec’s information management group. “Implementing Symantec’s Clearwell eDiscovery Platform to assist case agents in managing and analyzing documents enables the FBI to significantly streamline the eDiscovery process.”

The Defense Department has increased its cybersecurity efforts and maintains the Unified Capabilities Approved Products List, consisting of security providers and products that meet the Pentagon’s criteria.

McAfee said this week that its Network Security Platform and Network Security Manager version 6.1 product lines were added to the UC APL. The company said in a release it was the first time one of its network intrusion prevention products had completed the approval process.

“The new unified certification is directly reflective of the reputation of the proven security technology McAfee has delivered for the Department of Defense,” said Scott Montgomery, McAfee vice president of public sector solutions. “We are looking forward to educating the DoD about the comprehensiveness of the McAfee Network Security Platform for world-class intrusion prevention and how it can deliver benefits across the DoD architecture.”

McClure indicated that the two companies have already integrated NitroView enterprise security manager with McAfee ePolicy orchestrator. He also pointed out that NitroSecurity has been a partner in McAfee’s security innovation alliance for the past three years.

NitroSecurity is a security and information management security vendor. In its release, McAfee noted a Gartner report that the SIEM market hit $987 million in 2010 and indicated the move will help it establish a foothold in that market.

McClure will discuss the acquisition further in a webcast on Tuesday, where he will speak with Ken Levine, NitroSecurity’s president and CEO.

The alliance, led by Lockheed, was formed in 2009 as a way to develop and introduce new technology to combat electronic hacking attempts.

The U.S. has seen a dramatic increase  in cyber attacks throughout the last several years, emerging to the forefront as one of the nation’s leading security concerns.

According to a study released by the U.S. Government Accountability Office, in March 2011, the number of cybersecurity incidents reported by federal agencies over the last five years has increased from 5,503 in fiscal year 2006 to around 41,776 in fiscal year 2010, a more than 650 percent increase.

The alliance, composed of 16 companies from the cybersecurity sector, is headquartered in Lockheed’s NexGen Cyber Innovation and Technology Center. The facility provides a workplace for alliance members to collaborate and share information, while assisting with research and development.

In the interview, Aubley said the alliance is working very closely to develop new joint solutions they feel will help their customers.

Some of the alliance companies include: APC by Schneider Electric, CA, Cisco, Dell, EMC Corporation and its RSA security division, HP, Intel, Juniper Networks, McAfee, Microsoft, NetApp, Symantec and VMware.

Hacktivism is less defined in McAfee’s Threats Report: Third Quarter 2011 findings, but Android users should be weary since it was the recipient of nearly all new mobile malware threats. The company raised its previous prediction of malware samples from 70 million to 75 million. In the same way Android threats are increasing, Mac malware has seen small growth this period demonstrating that as platforms grow in popularity, so too does the malware threat.

The phone threats that topped the list in popularity were SMS-sending Trojans that collect personal information and steal money and a newly reported method of spreading malware where an attacker records phone conversations and forwards them back to themselves. However, the “commonplace attacks” are holding onto their presence. The company found Fake Anti-Virus, AutoRun and password-stealing trojans to be back on the rise, while use of bad sites to have dropped from 7,300 in Q2 to 6,500 in Q3. 

Botnets and spam remain sophisticated, but have seen a drop, according to McAfee. However, botnets are on the rise in counties such as Russia, Venezuela, Argentina and Indonesia, with Cutwail, Festi and Lethic leading the botnet pack. The company also indicated that attackers have demonstrated “insight into what works in different cultures and regions – not just globally but also seasonally.”

Vincent Weafer, senior vice president of McAfee Labs, labeled this quarter as a“very steady quarter in terms of threats, as both general and mobile malware are more prevalent than ever. 

“So far this year, we’ve seen many interesting yet challenging trends that are affecting the threat landscape, including heightened levels of sophistication and high-profile hacktivist attacks,” he said.

Vincent Weafer, senior vice president of McAfee Labs, says that security experts need to understand “what the next-generation threats are,” amidst an interconnected technology world that has led to new types of security threats and data and privacy concerns.

As new platforms gain traction and visibility at the attacker level, now is the time to examine these threats and inform organizations and individuals on how they can protect themselves.”

While the company authored report details cyber threat evolution, it also indicates the need for a more inclusive security strategy that takes into account, “the human link,” mobility, cloud based apps and data, as those are areas left vulnerable to attacks.

As the company clearly states there needs to be a less myopic examination of the cyber landscape, it also honed in on the inconsistencies in Americans’ perceptions on safe online practices.

The 2011 National Cyber Security Alliance -McAfee Online Safety Study, released by both the NCSA and McAfee, found that few Americans check social networking privacy settings, about half of Americans don’t back up their data regularly, and 25 percent surveyed said they don’t change their password unless prompted to do so. 

With a more clear understanding of security importance demonstrated, but a lack of understanding on how to do so, McAfee has attempted to shed some overall light in all these dark areas.

Mobile applications are on the rise and something the company has taken into consideration when examining security on the whole. Mobile malware is still low, according to McAfee, but it is an area seeing growth and in need of security.

“We’ve seen approximately 200 malicious apps versus tens of thousands of good apps,” said Weafer. “However, with mobile devices becoming a targeted platform for malware, it’s becoming more common for cybercriminals to attempt to corrupt a legitimate app.”

McAfee suggests that users be aware that mobile malware is a reality, research apps before downloading, purchase from reputable app sources, pay attention to what you permit access to and use antivirus software on your phone and as Weafer puts it, “ the best advice for users is to be careful, protect the mobile device and the mobile apps that reside on the device.”

“Offering comprehensive security capabilities from both Intel and McAfee, we are developing and investing in technology that makes it possible for businesses to more confidently use and trust the Cloud, and subsequently benefit from the savings it can offer, ” said Marc Olesen, senior vice president, general manger, content and cloud security at McAfee.

According to the company, many businesses cite the fear of the potential data loss as a reason to not use cloud computing. In order to address this issue, the enhanced McAfee Cloud Security Platform includes the following services: 

• expanded integration with SAML aware, traditional log-in cloud applications and enhanced end user use with SSO Portal for centralized access
• consolidation of the secure computing email gateway platform with the McAfee email and web security appliance platform,  new advanced encryption features, including push and pull, and the ability to view encrypted messages from mobile devices
• SaaS email protection with enhanced DLP capabilities through file fingerprinting
• support for IBM MQ and Splunk for reporting, and high-assurance security certifications while expanding security for REST Web services with new policy controls, support for Salesforce.com APIs and SAML for identity processing
• safeguards for information moving to the cloud, including virtual machine support for organizations to leverage their on-premise or cloud infrastructures and data classification capabilities
• McAfee Web Gateway version 7.1.6 offers enhanced features to limit corporate liability and exposure, enforces corporate Web usage policies for increased security and includes an app using AppPrism database for granular control of over 1,000 apps.

The solution can be deployed as  an on-premise appliance,  Software-as-a-Service or a hybrid. It also provides improved integration into McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator platform.

In addition, McAfee will be showcasing the updated platform at the 9^th International Cloud Computing Expo in Santa Clara, Calif. this week, while Scott Chasin, chief technology officer, McAfee content and cloud security will give a keynote address entitled “Identity Driven Security in the Cloud.”

The council meets on a quarterly basis and concluded its second meeting Friday in Santa Clara, Calif., home of Sprint’s Open Solutions Conference.

The council’s aims are to assess the current mobile security landscape, define an ideal state of security across the industry; influence baseline security standards for the industry in the areas of device, software and network; increase the level of awareness of security issues and options for the end user; and encourage strong participation from industry players.

Of three software capability areas including application infrastructure, backup and storage, and security, DHS chose immixGroup’s offering to supply McAfee software in the security area. The agreement with immixGroup is a GSA schedule-based Blanket Purchase Agreement for a term of up to seven years.

This agreement is mandatory for use vehicle at DHS headquarters and all DHS components looking to buy McAfee products for enterprise virus and malware protection; identity and access management; firewall; and database, application, Web server, and mobile security; among others.

The conference, taking place on Nov. 7 at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, Calif., focuses on the emerging opportunities the cloud computing market holds. The four featured speakers presentations will focus on the evolving role of the channel in the cloud while defining best practices to create successful and profitable partnerships.

Additional keynote speeches include a kick-off speech by Stephen Cho, director of channels and business development at Google Enterprise, Ron Huddleston, senior vice president of ISV alliances at Salesforce.com, as well as a presentation entitled, “The Cloud Era of Channel Success: Is Your Organization Partner-Ready?” presented by Rick Nucci, CTO, and Diane Ruth, executive director of business development, at Dell Boomi.

Executives from Amazon Web Services, OpSource and SugarCRM are among 25 industry leaders who will provide their perspectives in a series of roundtable panel discussions.  THINKstrategies reported that registered attendees include executives form  AT&T, Cisco Systems, Intel Corporation, McAfee, Oracle, Pitney Bowes, Savvis, Symantec, VMware and Zenith Infotech among others.

“The strong interest we’ve received in the summit by leading players in the Cloud and channel industries is a clear indication of the timeliness and importance of determining the emerging channel opportunities in the Cloud,” said Jeffrey M. Kaplan, founder and managing director of THINKstrategies. “Our goal is to create a forum where industry executives will be able to share their experiences building effective Cloud/channel partnerships and collaborate on best practices for success.”

Rene LaVigne, Iron Bow

McAfee has recently named Iron Bow Technologies the 2011 federal solution provider of the year. McAfee recognized Iron Bow for its growth with McAfee and the competencies of its information security practice. Iron Bow is a long time partner of McAfee and employs McAfee certified engineers in the practice.

“Iron Bow’s partnership with McAfee enables the company to deliver the world’s leading security solutions to our customers, and provides them with the protection needed to weather today’s dynamic and hostile security environment,” said Rene LaVigne, president and CEO of Iron Bow.