Enterprise security outfit Check Point has updated its SandBlast Mobile offering to version 3.0, and it has become the first in its category to offer features made not only to mitigate threats that have already hit devices, but also to prevent devices from becoming compromised in the first place. The new SandBlast Mobile 3.0 suite is designed to protect against threats to devices, networks and of course sensitive data that can possibly use a mobile device as an entry point. To this end, there are protections in place that can detect malicious code on a page or other resource, or detect malware already on a device, and restrict the device’s activity in order to keep sensitive data safe and other devices on the network uninfected.
SandBlast Mobile 3.0 can look at pages, apps and other resources a device is accessing or attempting to access in order to prevent phishing. On a similar note, it can prevent users from taking devices onto sites containing malicious code where they will likely end up infected. If a device is infected, SandBlast Mobile 3.0 can lock its access to sensitive corporate data, applications and resources, and can also detect when a compromised device is trying to send information somewhere it shouldn’t, such as a botnet, and keep that from happening. All of these things happen without any user involvement; the point of the suite is to both prevent threats and minimize damage, all without asking any real tech skill of the user. As a testament to the utility of the new suite, it won out for highest threat detection rate in a recent independent assessment by Miercom.
Check Point’s vice president of product management, Itai Greenberg, spoke about how the company approached developing the new security suite and what was considered. He said that mobile devices and the apps that make them useful are cornerstones of the modern IT loadout for just about any company, and that they have not received the same protections in the past as heavier equipment like laptops and servers. In order to correct this, the company not only added new capabilities to SandBlast Mobile 3.0, but also designed it to tie into its Infinity security architecture so that it can easily be managed.