Company integrates Finjan technology into its firewall product
San Mateo (07/26/97) — In an effort to allay users’ fears about hostile Java and ActiveX applets, Cisco Systems Inc. will next week announce plans to integrate security technology from Finjan into its Pix Firewall product line. Cisco will also announce it has joined Finjan Inc.’s Java Security Alliance (JSA).
Finjan’s products include one desktop and two gateway checkpoints for guarding against unwanted or dangerous Java or ActiveX applets that might be pushed through a firewall.
When an applet is detected, the Finjan program examines it and reports what kind of applet it is. It is then either judged against a manager’s criteria for acceptance or sent to the manager for approval before it can be passed on to the user’s PC.
“What Cisco gets by implementing [Finjan’s technology] is they get compliance with the Java Development Kit 1.2 and they get support for Java-applet security, so organizations now have a way to securely deploy Java,” said Penny Leavy, senior vice president of sales and marketing at Finjan.
Analysts commented that Cisco’s JSA membership could help give credibility to 1-year-old Finjan.
“This appears to be a major endorsement for Finjan from a major networking and security powerhouse,” said Ira Machefsky, vice president of Giga Information Group, in Santa Clara, CA.
Cisco is the 10th member to join the alliance, which includes companies such as Digital, Raptor Systems, AltaVista, and Secure.
Finjan is capitalizing on IS managers’ fears that applets may be getting through firewalls without being properly identified.
“Some companies are so concerned about the possibility of an evil Java applet coming in that they won’t even activate their Java to accept applets,” said Frank Roys, director of product marketing in the Internet appliances and applications business unit at Cisco.
Cisco joined the alliance after meeting with Finjan and then questioning its customers regarding applets’ security.
“We had not really caught the signals, so [Finjan] really did us a favor,” Roys said. “It’s proving once again that small, nimble, agile companies are right out there feeling the edge of reality vs. the marketing hype.”
Finjan officials said they expect the technology to be available on Cisco’s firewalls by the year’s end.
Finjan Inc., in Santa Clara, California, is at (408) 727-8120. Cisco Systems Inc., in San Jose, CA, is at https://www.cisco.com.
