News > SARC Press Releases
Backbone Security Announces the World's First Real-Time Steganalysis Capability
Network Security Appliance Detects Steganography Artifacts and Signatures in Real-Time
PRESS RELEASE
November 6, 2006
GAITHERSBURG, MD - Backbone Security announced a new addition to the Steganography
Analyzer (StegAlyzer) family of products today at the Techno Forensics 2006 conference
in Gaithersburg, MD. The Steganography Analyzer Real-Time Scanner (StegAlyzerRTS)
is the world’s first network security appliance capable of detecting steganography
in real-time.
With StegAlyzerRTS it is possible to detect attempts by trusted insiders to download
steganography applications widely available as freeware or shareware on the Internet
as well as commercially available steganography applications. Detection of steganography
application downloads can provide an early warning that the trusted insider will
likely use steganography to steal sensitive, proprietary, intellectual property,
or trade secret information.
StegAlyzerRTS can also detect attempts by trusted insiders to use steganography
applications that may have been installed on the network prior to deployment of
StegAlyzerRTS. Using an exclusive signature scanning approach developed in Backbone’s
Steganography Analysis and Research Center (SARC), StegAlyzerRTS can detect trusted
insider attempts to upload carrier files containing hidden information onto external
websites, send files containing hidden information as an e-mail attachment, and
even detect use of a technique known as spam mimicry to conceal information by converting
it into a form that appears to be spam.
“Any company, large or small, with any intellectual property to protect should consider
the threat from insider use of steganography to steal the company’s crown jewels.
For the first time, a real-time countermeasure to this threat is now available,”
stated Glenn Watt, President and CEO of Backbone Security. “If you stop and think
about it for a moment, it should be intuitively obvious that as computer forensics
techniques and procedures continue to improve and more digital evidence is uncovered
resulting in more prosecutions and convictions, those with nefarious intent will
be driven to use more technically sophisticated information hiding tools… tools
such as the hundreds of steganography applications on the Internet. And, it doesn’t
take a rocket scientist to find, download, install, and use these applications—many
offer the now common “drag and drop” functionality to hide information.”
StegAlyzerRTS can be easily added to an existing suite of enterprise security appliances
and tools and can be configured to permit or deny suspicious files from entering
or leaving the enterprise network.
About the SARC - The SARC is a Center of Excellence in digital steganography research and development within Backbone Security. The SARC has established the worlds largest commercially available repository of digital steganography applications, fingerprints, and signatures and has developed industry leading computer forensics and network security steganalysis tools for detecting and extracting information hidden with digital steganography applications.
About Backbone Security - In addition to the world class digital steganography research and development conducted in the SARC, Backbone is an Approved Scanning Vender (ASV) certified by the Payment Card Industry-(PCI) Security Standards Council to conduct automated PCI Data Security Standard compliance assessments with a One-Stop Scanning Solution.