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TippingPoint Achieves Highest Throughput and Lowest Latency in ICSA Labs' Network IPS Certification Testing; TippingPoint 5000E Becomes World's Only Multi-Gigabit ICSA Labs Certified Network IPS

Posted on: Wednesday, 12 July 2006, 09:00 CDT

TippingPoint, a division of 3Com, today announced that the TippingPoint(TM) 5000E Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) was one of only three products to pass the first-ever network IPS certification testing administered by ICSA Labs, an independent division of Cybertrust. TippingPoint passed 100 percent of all security, performance and administrative criteria and achieved a high throughput rating (3.0 Gbps) and remarkably low latency (84 microseconds).

ICSA Labs, the leading independent authority for certification of security products, created the worldwide certification specifically to test network IPS products and services based on criteria created by industry experts, corporate end user feedback and input from a consortium of 17 Network IPS vendors. To achieve certification, products must pass rigorous tests including vulnerability-driven testing, evasion testing, denial-of-service testing, administrative testing and latency testing. The certification is granted only to those products that pass 100 percent of the tests administered by ICSA Labs. Of the 10 vendors tested, TippingPoint proved to be the only vendor to attain the certification for multi-gigabit speeds with latency under 100 microseconds.

"To be effective in an enterprise network environment, in-line network security devices must possess three qualities: low latency, high throughput and blocking effectiveness," said Richard Stiennon, IT-Harvest's chief research analyst. "Excelling in third party evaluations such as ICSA Labs' IPS certification should give customers the confidence that a device is ready to support the rigors of network security."

To qualify for certification, an IPS device must satisfy in its entirety the latest version of the ICSA Labs Network IPS Corporate Certification Testing Criteria. The test suite is comprised of hundreds of individual test cases focusing on three main areas security coverage, network performance and administrative ability:

-- Security Coverage Tests: To achieve certification, the IPS candidate had to repeatedly block attacks while under much stress. The device had to block attacks while 80 percent of rated throughput (the vendor-specified throughput at which the device was tested) was consumed by real background traffic. ICSA Labs used a vulnerability set comprised of 219 recent, remotely-exploitable, medium-to-high severity vulnerabilities for which there are known exploits and worms. In a real-world setting, these tests demonstrated the IPS device's ability to proactively protect against exploits of vulnerabilities rather than its ability to reactively protect against specific attacks with filters written after the vulnerability is exposed. TippingPoint's vulnerability filters are written to protect against any attack seeking to exploit the vulnerability, offering much broader and more thorough protection than filters written for specific attacks.

-- Network Performance Tests: Verifying consistent throughput and low latency of the device while passing real-world traffic and blocking attacks is another requirement for certification. The TippingPoint 5000E achieved a throughput of 3.0 Gbps and a low latency of only 84 microseconds.

-- Administrative Tests: Verifying the IPS device's logging and reporting capabilities and its automatic protection update functionality is another requirement for certification. ICSA Labs also evaluated the documentation accompanying the device for its ability to accurately guide an end user in both the set up process and in performing various administrative functions.

"We are extremely impressed that TippingPoint received ICSA Labs Network IPS certification as we know it was a very tough test that only a select few products passed," said Craig Froelich, senior vice president of enterprise security at Countrywide Financial Corporation.

Corporate end users can visit the ICSA Labs Web site for a certified network intrusion prevention product list and detailed comparison matrix at: http://www.icsalabs.com/icsa/ topic.php?tid=e6cb$36ebf2b4-fe67b635$6cb5-d675a991. (Due to the length of this URL, it may be necessary to copy and paste it into your Internet browser's URL address field. You may also need to remove an extra space in the URL if one exists.)

About TippingPoint, a division of 3Com

TippingPoint, a division of 3Com, is the leading provider of network-based intrusion prevention systems. The TippingPoint IPS is the most decorated in its industry. For a full list of awards, visit http://www.tippingpoint.com/products_certifications.html. Our innovative approach offers customers unmatched network-based security with ultra-high performance, scalability and reliability. TippingPoint is based in Austin, Texas, and can be contacted through its Web site at www.tippingpoint.com or by telephone at 1-888-TRUE-IPS.

About 3Com Corporation

3Com Corporation (NASDAQ: COMS) is a leading provider of secure, converged voice and data networking solutions for enterprises of all sizes. 3Com offers a broad line of innovative products backed by world class sales, service and support, which excel at delivering business value for its customers. Through its TippingPoint division, 3Com is the leading provider of network-based intrusion prevention systems that deliver in-depth application protection, infrastructure protection, and performance protection. 3Com also is the majority owner of Huawei-3Com Co., Ltd. (H-3C), a China-based joint venture formed by 3Com and Huawei in November 2003. H-3C brings innovative and cost-effective product development and manufacturing and a strong footprint in one of the world's most dynamic markets. For further information, please visit www.3com.com, or the press site www.3com.com/pressbox.

About Cybertrust

Cybertrust is the global information security specialist, delivering services that secure critical data, protect identities and help customers demonstrate ongoing compliance. Headquartered in Herndon, Virginia, United States, with more than 30 offices around the globe, Cybertrust is one of the world's largest providers of information security and is recognized as the global market leader in managed security services. For more information, visit www.cybertrust.com.

About ICSA Labs

ICSA Labs, an independent division of Cybertrust, Inc., offers vendor-agnostic testing and certification of security products. Hundreds of the world's top security vendors submit their products for testing and certification at ICSA Labs. The end-users of security technologies rely on ICSA Labs to authoritatively set and apply objective testing and certification criteria for measuring product compliance and reliability. The organization tests products in key technology categories such as anti-virus, anti-spyware, firewall, IPSec VPN, cryptography, intrusion prevention, PC firewall, SSL-VPN, application firewall, anti-SPAM and Wireless LAN. For more information about ICSA Labs, please visit: http://www.icsalabs.com.

Cybertrust and ICSA Labs are registered trademarks of Cybertrust Holdings, Inc. and/or its affiliates. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.

Copyright (C) 2006 3Com Corporation. 3Com and the 3Com logo are registered trademarks and TippingPoint is a trademark of 3Com Corporation or its subsidiaries. All other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective holders.

Source: Business Wire

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