Application Delivery Networking company F5 Networks has introduced a new cloud-based service that enables organisations to protect their IT network by detecting and stopping access from malicious activity.
The new service identifies relevant IP addresses and leverages intelligence from cloud-context security applications to combine important information on the latest threats with the unified policy enforcement capabilities of the BIG-IP application delivery platform.
F5’s new IP Intelligence service leverages a frequently updated list of threat sources and high-risk IP addresses to deliver contextual awareness and analysis of IP requests, identifying threats from multiple sources across the Internet.
The new cloud-based service evaluates the reputation of Internet hosts and prevents attackers from stealing data, compromising corporate resources or otherwise disrupting business functions.
It also prevents access to IP addresses known to be infected with malware, in contact with malware distribution points and with low reputations.
F5’s IP Intelligence service is deployed as part of the BIG-IP system and it leverages data from multiple sources to gather real-time IP threat information and block connections with those addresses.
It reveals both inbound and outbound communication with malicious IP addresses to enable granular threat reporting and automated blocking.
Even when a BIG-IP device is deployed behind a content delivery network (CDN) or other proxies, the new service provides protection by looking at the real client IP addresses as logged within the X-Forwarded-For (XFF) header.
The IP Intelligence service’s automatic updates keep systems protected and BIG-IP products can be configured to receive real-time updates for security management across the application delivery environment.
F5 Networks Product Management, Security senior director Mark Vondemkamp said, "F5’s IP Intelligence service enables customers to pool disparate threat detection capabilities, block malicious IP addresses, and tailor performance to specific needs by leveraging F5’s powerful BIG-IP Application Security Manager and iRules® technologies."
