Table of Contents

Product Overview
Key Features and Benefits
Specifications
Ordering Information

Cisco Secure Scanner (Formerly NetSonar)

Product Overview

Proactive, Preventative Security. The Cisco Secure Scanner (formerly Cisco NetSonar Security Scanner) allows users to measure security, manage risk, and eliminate security vulnerabilities enabling more secure network environments. Secure Scanner is an enterprise-class software tool offering superior network system identification, innovative data management, flexible user-defined vulnerability rules, comprehensive security reporting capabilities, and Cisco 24 x 7 worldwide support. The Secure Scanner is a key component in Cisco`s comprehensive network security solutions.

The Secure Scanner offers the following capabilities to help users stay appraised of the network security posture:

• Network Mapping — compiles an electronic inventory of the systems and the services on your network

• Security Vulnerability Assessment — identifies security holes by probing for and confirming vulnerabilities

• Risk Management — enables effective management of vulnerability data through innovative data browsing technology

• Decision Support — communicates results through comprehensive reports and charts, and make effective decisions to improve the organization`s security posture

• Security Policies Validation — defines, and enforces valid security policies when used during security device installation and certification

Key Features and Benefits

• Flexible Licensing

  The Scanner incorporates a unique licensing approach designed to serve the changing needs of customers and to provide unprecedented scanning flexibility. Its licenses are not tied to a specific address range or IP address. This flexibility allows users to use the product for various IP address ranges - no need to identify specific IP addresses at the time of purchase

• Easy-To-Use, Intuitive User Interface

  The Scanner point-and-click interface is designed for maximum efficiency, allowing users to quickly configure a network scan without preexisting knowledge of the network or security vulnerabilities using expert templates. The scheduling feature enables proactive monitoring and automatically launches a Secure Scanner scan at a set or random time. All features within the Secure Scanner are GUI driven, removing the need for command line interface control.

• Host and Service Discovery

  The Scanner comprehensive scanning engine gathers detailed information from all devices attached to the surveyed network: network servers including firewalls, Web servers, e-mail servers, and FTP servers and network infrastructure devices, including routers, switches and remote access servers. This capability allows users to quickly compile an electronic inventory of hosts and devices on the network. The Secure Scanner accurately maps the active services on the network using both TCP/UDP port interrogation and SNMP query techniques. This information is critical for developing or verifying security policies.

• Security Vulnerability Identification

  The heart of the Secure Scanner is the patent-pending structured security language and active probe technology. The scanner uses both passive analysis and active probing methods to identify security vulnerabilities, increasing the efficiency of security vulnerability identification and reducing false positive results. The comprehensive list of vulnerability checks interrogates any TCP/IP device, including routers and printers, Windows and UNIX servers and workstations, as well as infrastructure devices such as Cisco routers.

• Innovative Data Management and Presentation

  The flexible Secure Scanner data analysis and reporting capabilities allow users to easily highlight problems within a specific network and effectively communicate issues and results to management. The unique, patent-pending Cisco database and matrix browser display technology offer unparalleled flexibility, enabling users to easily navigate through data by allowing them to vary the perspective or level of detail. Users can also "drill down" and "pivot" to gather host-specific information about their networks.

• Comprehensive Reporting Capabilities

  The Secure Scanner incorporates a report wizard that quickly generates highly hyperlinked, customized, editable reports that include charts and graphs grouped by target audience: executive, management, or technical. In fact, the standard report templates can be customized for data flexibility in presentation for various audiences. Extensive graphics-generating features allow users to chart the scan results in default or user-defined formats.

• Custom User-Defined Vulnerability Rules

  The Secure Scanner patent-pending rules language allows users to identify unique devices and vulnerabilities by writing their own rules. These customized rule files can be distributed throughout an enterprise to ensure consistent vulnerability identification.

• Regular Vulnerability Updates

  The flexibility of Vulnerability Descriptive Language (VDL) and Vulnerability Exploit Language (VEL) supports Web-based updates. This flexibility removes the dependency of vulnerability updates on product releases, allowing Secure Scanner customers to download new rules and probes from the Cisco Web site on a routine, bi-monthly basis. The Cisco Countermeasure Research Team (C-CRT) constantly develops new security vulnerability rules and probes to keep ahead of hackers. This allows Cisco customers to stay current in a rapidly changing security environment.

• Network Security Database

  Scanner customers gain unique insight about security vulnerabilities using the Network Security Database (NSDB). This extensive security database: Contains descriptions of security problems and options to improve or fix them Provides severity ratings and on-line links for more extensive technical resources Maintained by the Cisco Countermeasure Research Team, the NSDB is continually updated as each new vulnerability check is added.

Specifications

For more information about Cisco Secure Scanner, visit Cisco Connection Online at

http://www.cisco.com/go/scanner

Ordering Information

Posted: Wed Sep 27 05:15:07 PDT 2000
Copyright 1989-2000©Cisco Systems Inc.