Security: In the Zone

1:25 M -- In sports or gaming, there comes a time when a player is so focused, so totally into the game that he or she takes the competition to a whole new level. Such a player is said to be "in a zone" — performing beyond all normal expectations.

The security industry was in a zone this week.

Much of the action was happening in San Francisco, where more than 15,000 attendees packed into the annual RSA conference — a new record for the show. While last year's RSA was a relatively quiet affair, this year's show floor was so crowded that some exhibitors had to yell their way through their product demos. Clearly, enterprises are on the hunt for new security tools.

And vendors are responding. The conference spun with product announcements, discussions, and demonstrations of emerging technologies such as database security, network access control (NAC), and insider threat prevention. (See Vendors Prep for Database Security War, NAC: Can't Get No Satisfaction, and RSA Preview: Shutting Down Insiders.) They addressed key issues in identity management and authentication. (See ID Management: A Matter of Entitlement and To Enter, Act Like Yourself.)

Want to know what the big vendors are doing? The top execs were all there at the RSA conference, keynoting and sharing their views. Bill Gates and Craig Mundie waxed philosophical about Microsoft's directions. (See Microsoft Vision Raises Questions.) Art Coviello offered RSA's views on the convergence of security and mainstream IT. (See So Long, Security Silos .) EMC executives outlined the storage company's plans. (See EMC's Long Road to Security.) Tom Noonan, chief of IBM's ISS security unit, discussed the unit's ramp-up plans. (See IBM's Stealthy Security Play.) Cisco executives outlined new product directions. (See Cisco to Integrate Security Tools.)

But RSA wasn't security's only moment to shine this week. In fact, the whole world got a chance to see the need for secure technology when attackers targeted Internet root servers with a denial of service attack. (See DOS Attack Cripples Internet Root Servers.) Although previously-implemented security measures limited the impact of this week's attack, many experts say there could be more such exploits waiting in the wings. (See DNS Attack: Only a Warning Shot?.)

These highlights are just the tip of the iceberg. Between RSA and the DNS root server attacks, there were literally dozens more product announcements, published studies, and keynote addresses by major vendors. If you don't normally do it, take the time to scroll through Dark Reading's news analysis and news feeds sections this week. There was more material than we could handle, but we've done our best to provide the right links for you to follow.

The net of all this activity? Security, it seems, is hot. Whether you're evaluating new technologies, developing new policies, or planning new architectures, you've likely received a whole smorgasbord of food for thought this week.

And maybe, with all of this ammunition, you're ready to get yourself — and your security organization — into a zone, too.

— Tim Wilson, Site Editor, Dark Reading