INTRODUCTION

Devices offering a range of security functions in a single box, managed by a single user interface, are an attractive proposition to many. In addition to the obvious small business market, large corporates are buying Secure Content Appliance (SCA) devices to deploy in both head office and branch office networks which already have firewalls installed, keeping on-site administration and troubleshooting requirements to a minimum.  

For the purposes of the NSS test, a SCA device is defined as a single appliance combining the following possible functions: 

• Anti Malware - gateway Anti Malware (often including Anti Virus, Anti Spyware, Anti Adware and Anti Phishing capabilities) prevents inbound malware traffic at the edge of the network, thus reinforcing desktop security solutions and blocking malware before it reaches the desktop. This solution can also prevent infected machines from propagating malware outside the corporate network.

• Anti Spam - gateway Anti Spam can tag inbound e-mail, allowing it to be handled more effectively by desktop filtering solutions, or can block suspected spam mails completely. This solution can also prevent internal hosts from sending spam mail outside the corporate network.

• Web Filtering - using a constantly-updated database of categorised URLs, a gateway Web Filtering solution can prevent employees from accessing objectionable or inappropriate Web sites from the corporate network

• Content Filtering - by scanning Web and mail traffic for specific content, a gateway Content Filtering solution can prevent objectionable or inappropriate material from passing into, or out of, the corporate network. 

Note that many of these functions are shared with the class of device known as Unified Threat Management (UTM), which would also typically include firewall, IPS and VPN functionality.  

The SCA appliance is thus ideal for those organisations which already have dedicated firewall/VPN and IPS appliances, and who thus require only the malware and content filtering capabilities, coupled with the convenience of a transparent bridge appliance which can be inserted anywhere in the network without disrupting existing routing and IP addressing schemes. 

The NSS tests are designed to determine the suitability of a particular SCA product for use as a basic, all-in-one gateway security device and will focus on the effects of combining multiple security technologies (as listed above) in a single appliance.  

Thus, the overall focus of the tests will be on the manageability, performance and capabilities of the appliance as a basic firewall or transparent bridge, and how the performance is affected by enabling or disabling the additional security functions.   

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