McAfee, Inc. announced it is extending its industry VirusScan Enterprise product line to protect mission-critical enterprise applications. McAfee continuously researches new potential areas for attacks and will be the first to protect these new vectors. Virtualization is being widely deployed in enterprise environments. Enhanced security is as important in a virtual environment as it is in a physical one. McAfee will be the first to introduce a purpose-built security solution for virtual environments.

    McAfee's VirusScan family will include three new products: McAfee VirusScan Enterprise for Offline Virtual Images, McAfee VirusScan Enterprise for use with the SAP NetWeaver platform, and McAfee VirusScan Enterprise for Storage. McAfee will deliver an enterprise-class security solution that is available for use with SAP solutions. Many mission-critical functions within an organization, such as human resources, rely on SAP applications to gather and store external information.

    "Customers look to VMware virtualization to help them deploy IT environments that are scalable, cost-effective, energy-efficient and secure. We look forward to McAfee's new solution that complements the robust security inherent in the VMware platform, and provides customers consistent protection for mission-critical applications running in VMware virtual machines," stated Brian Byun, vice president of global partners and solutions at VMware.

    Industry research indicates that there are as many as five offline virtual images for every one online image. McAfee VirusScan Enterprise for Offline Virtual Images is specifically designed to secure offline virtual images that could become unpatched and out-of-date while they are inactive. The new product automatically updates and patches the offline virtual images periodically so they no longer pose a security risk to the virtual environment when they are activated.

    "Virtualization-enabled data center consolidation delivers amazing cost-savings but requires careful review of existing security solutions as servers are virtualized," commented Peter Christy, principal analyst at Internet Research Group. "McAfee is a market leader in terms of understanding these changing requirements and adapting their product offerings to provide effective security solutions in a virtualized environment."

    Cut your risks from virus attacks and put a plan in place that reduces the financial impact of security breaches and virus outbreaks. We’ll assess your current defenses and provide you with realistic solutions for improving your security posture. Now that you’ve chosen McAfee E-Business Server for industry-standard 128-bit PGP data encryption and authentication, our consultants will help you get the most out of it. From start to finish, we work with you to embed E-Business Server’s defenses into your critical business applications and processes.