IDS mailing list archives

RE: IDS, IPS or just rubbish?


From: "Rob Shein" <shoten () starpower net>
Date: Tue, 24 Jun 2003 23:39:11 -0400

Moderator:  forgive the levity, I thought that we could all use a little
laugh after some of the heat on this list lately...

<sarcasm>
"Oh, is this what the Gartner report was talking about?  Cool, I'll buy
three!"
</sarcasm>

-----Original Message-----
From: Jack Ryan [mailto:jackryan () thedoghousemail com] 
Sent: Monday, June 23, 2003 12:31 AM
To: focus-ids () securityfocus com
Subject: IDS, IPS or just rubbish?


I went to the local product launch of Checkpoint FW-1 Next 
Generation *Artificial Intelligence* the other day and was 
interested to see that this technology is nothing more than a 
signature-based IDS that can pass stuff on to the firewall. 
Funnily enough they call it "Active Defense" which is the 
same name NAI used to describe Cybercop talking to Gauntlet 
before they dropped/sold the products.

Checkpoint are pushing this patch to NG FP3 FW-1 as an 
all-in-one solution whereby you wouldn't need an IDS as well 
as a firewall. In Hong Kong they have over 70% of the 
firewall market - their market penetration is similar 
worldwide - in order to gain competitive advantage they are 
trying to crush the IDS/IPS market. Maybe they've been 
partying with Gartner.

What's more they are lying through their teeth. I sat there 
and listened to them pull out terms like zero-day and 
protocol anomaly detection which is simply them jumping on 
the bandwagon of quality solutions. It is signature-based, 
and though Checkpoint will apparently notify you of any new 
threats you will still need to edit a text file so that the 
firewall knows what they are.

Their big push is that they are doing application-layer stuff 
now which anyone who knows firewalls will know is what 
Sidewinder, Gauntlet and Axent (Symantec) have been doing for 
years. FW-1 is a stateful packet filter - and probably the 
best there is in terms of enterprise management. However they 
are not analysing traffic at the application layer asides 
from a handful of signatures. They were saying that FW-1 NG 
AI is the only gateway solution of its kind. Symantec have 
had signature-based IDS combined with the *real* layer 7 
Raptor firewall in their SGS box for ages. (performance 
aside.........) 

They kept telling me about SQL Slammer and how this solution 
will stop it. What utter crap. Can anyone on this list tell 
me of a signature-based IDS which picked Slammer up in the 
2-odd hours it needed to propogate? 

There has been a lot of discussion here about the future of 
IDS - I think I've seen Checkpoint's vision....... Treat us 
all like fools. 

Zero-day detection my ****. 




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-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Attend the Black Hat Briefings & Training, July 28 - 31 in Las Vegas, the
world's premier technical IT security event! 10 tracks, 15 training sessions,
1,800 delegates from 30 nations including all of the top experts, from CSO's to
"underground" security specialists.  See for yourself what the buzz is about!
Early-bird registration ends July 3.  This event will sell out. www.blackhat.com
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