Barracuda

Barracuda Networks, Inc, the worldwide leader in email and Web security appliances, has launched the Barracuda Application Gateway NC 500 AG, the first and only enterprise-class Web Application Controller available for small and medium businesses (SMBs). Ideal for SMBs on a tight IT budget, this is the first appliance to fully secure Web applications and ensure compliance with regulations, such as Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) for $10,000.

“We are essentially bringing plug-and-play PCI compliance to the mass market,” said Stephen Pao, vice president of product management for Barracuda Networks. “Until now, most businesses in the SMB space were facing very expensive and time-consuming audits of their Web infrastructures in order to achieve PCI compliance. Further, these audits would be required every time the organization makes a change to their Web applications, so it is very possible that such costs could very quickly overwhelm a business.

“With the Barracuda Application Gateway NC 500 AG, SMBs will no longer have to worry about the recurring costs of application source code audits and instead they can achieve PCI DSS compliance without breaking the budget,” added Pao.

As the June 30, 2008 deadline mandating e-commerce businesses of all sizes be compliant with requirement 6.6 of PCI DSS quickly approaches, many SMB organizations have been left with no choice but to prepare for very expensive and very detailed custom application code reviews. The Barracuda Application Gateway NC 500 AG now provides these organizations with a cost-effective and powerful solution that will protect and maintain their Web infrastructure as well as satisfy PCI DSS requirements.

Barracuda Networks Inc, email and Web security appliances provider, today announced that it has completed the acquisition of NetContinuum, provider of Web Application Firewalls.

The addition of NetContinuum's products to Barracuda Networks' product portfolio puts the company in a strong position to expand customer adoption of Application Delivery Controllers (ADC), Barracuda Networks said in a statement.

"NetContinuum is a recognized leader in the ADC market and this acquisition will enable Barracuda Networks to offer easy-to-use appliances that secure Web sites," said Dean Drako, president and CEO of Barracuda Networks. "By combining Barracuda Networks' strengths and sales channel reach with very mature and highly acclaimed NetContinuum products, we are confident that we will deliver industry-leading capabilities to a set of customers who had previously been unable to deploy Web site security solutions."

"We are finding that a large number of e-commerce providers are not protecting their Web sites, leaving their Web sites vulnerable to attacks that gain unauthorized access, steal customer data, or deface the Web site itself," said Stephen Pao, vice president of product management for Barracuda Networks.

As part of the acquisition, Barracuda Networks plans to maintain support for NetContinuum's existing products as well as to increase investment in product development in the ADC product category. In addition, the majority of NetContinuum's 75 employees have also joined the Barracuda Networks team.

Barracuda Networks will continue to work with all NetContinuum sales channel partners.