Perimeter Debuts Gateway 4.0 for Security-in-the-Cloud

Perimeter Internetworking, a provider of security services, announced at ISPCON today in Baltimore, Md., a new security utility architecture called Gateway 4.0, for IP service providers, ISPs, CLECs, agents and resellers.

Gateway 4.0 is the fourth generation of what the company calls "security-in-the-cloud," its outsourced security service that combines technologies from numerous vendors to deliver traffic policy control, intrusion prevention and malware defense.

Perimeter provides services in two ways. Service provider customers can choose a network-based, "security-in-the-cloud" offering, whereby the service provider connects to Perimeter, and Gateway 4.0 blocks all malicious traffic to and from their networks. Or, service providers can place a multithreat appliance at the client site, which can be used alone or with Perimeter's network-based security service.

“Our clients typically don’t connect directly to the Internet,” says Brad Miller, CEO of Perimeter. “They connect to us instead. We have the security platform of a large company or bank, and they all share that. Traffic has to get in and out through us.”

The Gateway 4.0 offering combines more than 50 security services in six main areas to address every potential threat to the businesses of service provider customers. These are intrusion defense, malicious code defense, secure e-mail services, secure access, automated compliance and network services.

Further, the Perimeter services provide a white-label portal for service providers and their customers to view and monitor alarms, and other relevant security data.

Perimeter also offers a managed IP PBX service, in which several customers share a Cisco Systems Inc. CallManager IP PBX that is managed by Perimeter. The CallManager allows partitioning of customer accounts, except for voice mail, where Perimeter uses an application by Octel to provide secure voice mail. The basic service provides a portal, security services and low costs to drive adoption rates. Service providers and their customers have the option of upgrading to higher levels of service and support.

Perimeter is headquartered in Milford, Conn., with three geographically distributed technical operation centers and two redundant data centers.