Top 10 Reasons to Upgrade to NGX
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The NGX platform delivers new features and extended functionality to over thirty Check Point products, delivering stronger protection and smarter management to address the most challenging security problems. Critical new security features offer deeper security, protecting more network and application types from more threats than any other solution. NGX is the platform that enables the sharing of common security technologies, Unified Security management, and Universal Updateability across all Check Point solutions. It represents a unique approach to enterprise-wide information security by enabling a unified security architecture across an entire security system.
While there are hundreds of reasons to upgrade your Check Point products to NGX versions, we've compiled the top 10 reasons how customers like you are taking advantage of the NGX platform for more effective security.
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Increase security effectiveness by gaining control of perimeter, internal, Web and endpoint defenses
A key prerequisite of effective security is ensuring policies and defenses are up-to-date without creating unnecessary administrative burden. Check Point enables this by allowing administrators to centrally manage Check Point gateways and endpoints – VPN-1 Power, VPN-1 UTM, VPN-1 VSX, InterSpect, Connectra, UTM-1 Edge and Check Point Endpoint Security -- from a single console. Additionally, an enhanced SmartUpdate provides administrators with clear visibility and control of new releases and available Hot Fixes.
Ensure confidentiality and availability of VoIP communications
The NGX platform gives VPN-1 Power and VPN-1 UTM gateways advanced security features to protect VoIP networks from threats such as call hijacking, call theft, network hacking, Denial of Service (DoS), and more to ensure confidentiality and availability of voice communications.The most popular VoIP protocols and multiple networking configurations are supported, including application layer filtering of SIP, H.323 v3/v4, MGCP and SCCP packets to enable flexible VoIP networking configurations and solutions.
Gain better insights into your network and security operations
SmartCenter and Provider-1 now provide centralized logging, tracking, monitoring, updating and reporting for all Check Point products, providing users with a unified view of log data for better understanding of the status of their network and security deployments. Eventia Reporter captures Check Point Endpoint Security event data – as well as data from all Check Point products – providing administrators and CISOs with end-to-end visibility and automated reports to validate and audit security effectiveness.
Ensure consistent and comprehensive defense updates against new threats
A new SmartDefense Services console provides administrators with the ability to globally update security configurations and defenses from a single, unified interface. The single location for all SmartDefense Services streamlines deployment of security updates and enables administrators to quickly ensure that defenses for VPN-1, Connectra and InterSpect are consistent and comprehensive. Each gateway can have different defense settings and SmartDefense attributes. All of these defense profiles on all gateways can be centrally managed through the SmartDashboard. In addition, global SmartDefense updates for Provider-1 enable service providers and large enterprises to easily push policy to end users.SmartDefense now provides better protections for an increased number of protocols, including DNS, unicast and multicast routing, mail, peer-to-peer, and DCE-RPC. For example, administrators now have more granular control over MSN Messenger functions such as file transfers, application sharing and white boarding.
Quickly and easily extend remote access for employees
Organizations can now increase security efficiently at branch offices or throughout a mid-sized business by deploying VPN-1 UTM gateways or UTM-1 Edge integrated security appliances and using SmartCenter to centrally manage the complete security policy. With integrated firewall, VPN, intrusion prevention, and antivirus, these solutions take advantage of the unified security architecture to deliver intelligent security across all sizes of organizations without increasing management costs.
Simplify VPN deployment in Dynamic Environments
Administrators can quickly establish VPNs between sites with rapidly changing infrastructures by using the route-based VPN capabilities of VPN-1 Power. Combined with support for dynamic routing protocols such as OSPF, VPN-1 Power makes it simple to provision stable and reliable service across a distributed environment.
Quickly and easily extend remote access for employees
SSL Network Extender now enables administrators to quickly and easily provide remote access without installing remote-access clients on end users’ machines. This browser-based solution can be centrally managed from within SmartCenter and is integrated with Check Point Check Point Endpoint Security Clientless Security to ensure that only safe PCs are allowed access to the network, protecting them and your critical network resources from remote threats.
Protect web applications against advanced hacking techniques
Web Intelligence enables companies to better protect Web servers against increasingly complex and aggressive attacks - including buffer overflows, SQL injections, cross-site scripting attacks and more – by using Web Intelligence capabilities which are tightly integrated into VPN-1 Power and Connectra gateways. Web Intelligence has also been expanded to protect against new attacks such as LDAP injections and to conceal Web server error messages from users, thwarting reconnaissance efforts by hackers and ensuring the confidentiality and integrity of business data.
Support Multicast Applications across a Distributed Environment
Organizations can now encrypt multicast applications such as video and audio conferencing through VPN-1, enabling the secure distribution of content to all locations. Administrators can also control access of multicast traffic to specific groups, ensuring that multicast applications are not inadvertently broadcast to outside groups.
Extend visibility of security administration to technical support staff or auditors
SmartPortal is a Web-based GUI for SmartCenter that provides a read-only view of the organization’s security policy, enabling non-administrative users to troubleshoot security issues without the danger of changing policies or security rules. Internal teams can now work together seamlessly in mitigating attacks and troubleshooting network and security issues – without compromising security policy.
Learn More About the Check Point NGX Platform
Find out how you can take advantage of these top 10 reasons and hundreds more with Check Point NGX by ordering you NGX Upgrade Kit today. Then visit the rest of our Upgrade Center to learn about important information, tools, and resources available to make upgrading your Check Point products to the NGX platform simple and easy.