Steganography is a method of obscuring information by hiding it within another file

April 23, 2010

4 Min Read

PRESS RELEASE

WALTHAM, MA & FAIRMONT, WV " April 20, 2010 " Fidelis Security Systems, the market leader in comprehensive information protection solutions for the prevention of data breaches, today announced a partnership with Backbone Security, a world class digital steganography research and development company, to give Fidelis' customers the ability to detect the applications used to create steganography on their networks.

Steganography is a method of obscuring information by hiding it within another file. Instead of protecting data the way encryption does, steganography hides the very existence of the data and it is undetectable under traditional traffic-pattern analysis. Steganography is most often used for malicious purposes such as stealing information or concealing criminal or terrorist activity. Steganography applications are used to hide information in a file by appending it to, or embedding it within, another file.

Through this partnership and technology integration, Fidelis' flagship session-level network security solution, Fidelis XPS, will be capable of analyzing and detecting steganography applications through Backbone's Steganography Application Fingerprint Database (SAFDB). SAFDB is the world's largest commercially available hash set exclusive to digital steganography applications and can be used to determine whether files traversing the network can be associated with a particular digital steganography or other data-hiding application. Developed in Backbone's Steganography Analysis and Research Center (SARC), SAFDB contains seven different fingerprints, or hash values, of each file artifact associated with all 812 digital steganography applications in the database.

The joint solution will consist of a set of Fidelis XPS profiles or "fingerprints" derived from SAFDB. Fidelis XPS customers will be able to license the fingerprint set directly from Backbone Security on a subscription basis

"With our data set, Fidelis XPS customers have the capability to counter the growing threat from insider use of steganography to exfiltrate sensitive information." said Jim Wingate, Vice President of Backbone and Director of the SARC. "We are excited to be working with the experts in Fidelis Security Systems who are leading the way in deploying next-generation network security solutions to detect malicious insiders attempting to use steganography to steal sensitive information."

Additionally, Backbone Security has joined the Fidelis Technology Partnership Program which is designed to enable the development of joint solutions that combine Fidelis technology with partners' technologies in support of customer requirements. The program enables Fidelis technology partners to leverage Fidelis' leading-edge technology including sophisticated document decoding, content analysis and policy engines.

"Again, Fidelis XPS is leading the industry as the first and only network security solution capable of detecting the latest in emerging and evolving threats such as steganography applications," said Peter George, CEO of Fidelis Security Systems. "Through this partnership with Backbone Security, we are pleased to be able to give our customers yet another way to protect their most valued information from data exfiltration and defend their networks from threats, whatever their origin."

Upcoming Webinar

Learn more about the new evolving threats on your network, including steganography, by attending the "Data Exfiltration Issues in Your Network Today" at 1:00 p.m. EST on April 29, 2010. Please visit www.fidelissecurity.com/webinars to register.

About Fidelis Security Systems Fidelis Security Systems provides organizations with the power to leverage their sensitive information while protecting it from data leakage and cyber attacks. Built on a patented deep session inspection, platform, the Fidelis Extrusion Prevention System' is the industry's only next-generation network security solution with the visibility and control necessary to stop data breaches by uniquely working at the session-level. Fidelis enables their government, military, and commercial enterprise customers around the globe to achieve comprehensive information protection in real time on multi-gigabit speed networks—allowing them to protect content, control application activity, enforce encryption policy, and mitigate threats. Learn more about Fidelis Security Systems by visiting www.FidelisSecurity.com.

About Backbone Security

Backbone Security provides world-class digital steganography research and development in their Steganography Analysis and Research Center (SARC). The SARC has created the world's largest commercially available hash set exclusive to steganography applications and is the leading provider of world-class forensic tools and techniques for detecting the presence or use of steganography applications and extracting information hidden with those applications. Backbone is also a PCI Data Security Standard (DSS) Approved Scanning Vendor that provides automated PCI DSS compliance assessment services with their industry leading One-Stop Scanning Solution as well as real-time intrusion monitoring, certification and accreditation, business continuity planning, and disaster recovery planning services. Learn more about Backbone Security by visiting www.backbonesecurity.com.

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