ALU Adds NFV-Based Malware Protection Solution

Alcatel-Lucent announced that "Motive is to introduce the Motive Security Guardian (powered by Motive Security Labs, formerly Kindsight Security Labs), a virtualized security solution to optimize both the delivery of services as well as the customer experience by protecting service provider’s networks, machine-to-machine (M2M) communications, and mobile and home devices from malware that can degrade performance, mine information and even steal data minutes.

.. When malware is found on a device, its owner is immediately alerted with step-by-step instructions on how to remove the threat. This intervention can significantly reduce calls to care agents triggered by malware, such as complaints of mobile device batteries draining too quickly; bill shock due to pirated data usage; and unwanted pop-up ads on a laptop.

[Related post - "Kindsight Helps ISPs to Detect, Block and Remove Bots" - here]

.. Residing on an operator’s cloud network, it can identify and pinpoint malware on mobile or home devices without having to be installed on them. The solution can be onboarded and managed using Alcatel-Lucent’s CloudBand™ 2.0 NFV platform and can be rapidly scaled up or down to meet market demand". 

See "Alcatel-Lucent’s Motive to deliver virtualized security solution to help service providers ensure a safe ultra-broadband customer experience" - here.

Security VAS Deployments [272]: TDS [US] Deploys Kindsight for Malware Protection

Alcatel-Lucent and TDS Telecommunications [see "DPI Deployments: TDS Uses Sandvine" - here] announced that ".. Kindsight security technology is powering TDS’ Hacker Alert service. The Kindsight Broadband Security solution enables TDS to continuously analyze Internet traffic for threats, inform subscribers and provide directions on how to remove ‘malware’ or other infections on a device. TDS Hacker is the fastest selling value-added service in the company’s history and already ranks as the second most popular premium service that TDS offers".

See also "Kindsight Helps ISPs to Detect, Block and Remove Bots" - here.

See "TDS Telecommunications Corp. uses Alcatel-Lucent’s Kindsight solution to help protect U.S. customers from malicious hacker attacks on home network" - here.

Kindsight Helps ISPs to Detect, Block and Remove Bots

    

Kindsight announced the "Kindsight Botnet Security service to help Internet service providers detect botnet activity in the network and protect subscribers against bot infections. The Kindsight solution is embedded within the service providers’ networks to analyze Internet traffic for communications between infected devices and the bot masters’ command-and-control (C&C) servers.

See also "Kindsight Adds VAS Opportunities for MNOs; Switches from Advertising to Freemium Business Model" - here.

"The Kindsight Botnet Security service is built upon the network-based malware detection capabilities of the Kindsight Network Intrusion Detection System (NIDS-8800). When it detects a botnet infection from a subscriber, the solution can take action by placing infected devices into a walled garden where subscribers will receive instructions and tools to help them remove the threat. The Kindsight NIDS sensor can also block infected devices from communicating with C&C servers, preventing hackers from sending instructions and launching other attacks".

See "Kindsight Empowers Internet Service Providers to Defend Against Botnets" - here.

Kindsight Adds VAS Opportunities for MNOs; Switches from Advertising to Freemium Business Model

Kindsight released ".. new features for Kindsight Mobile Security to expand the protection mobile operators can offer their subscribers. Mobile operators can now alert users of suspicious apps that would be missed by device-only security apps, block infected devices from communicating with attackers’ command-and-control (C&C) servers, and help the subscriber locate missing phones and remotely lock or wipe data from stolen phones".

Kindsight used to present the business opportunity for operators as a paid Value-added Service or free service with advertising (here). This seems to have changed, and the current model is the freemium concept:

"..Mobile operators can deploy the white-labeled Kindsight Mobile Security solution to launch new value-added services to their subscribers under their own brand. These services can be offered for a monthly fee to generate new revenue or by using a freemium model where some functionality is offered for free and the subscriber can upgrade to the premium features for a fee. Since mobile operators are the only providers who can combine network-based and device-based security, by working with Kindsight they can offer a strongly differentiated offering to their subscribers as compared to off-the-shelf, device-only mobile security solutions".

See "Kindsight Expands Mobile Security Protection" - here.

VAS/Security Deployments [158]: SaskTel Deploys Kindsight Security Service

 
Kindsight announced the ".. rollout of the Kindsight Security Service with SaskTel .. By deploying the network-based security service from Kindsight, SaskTel Internet Threat Detector can detect malware in subscribers’ Internet traffic, send alerts and provide step-by-step instructions on how to remove threats".

".. The Kindsight service is offered as a subscription fee or, like other Internet applications, subscribers have the option to enable the service at no cost through relevant advertising on the ISP’s or partner web sites". In the case of SaskTel, the service is offered "Free - Ad supported (mysask.com and selected partner websites)" or for "$3.95 per month - Security service only - No relevant ads".

At the end of 2011, SaskTel had 594,405 wireless accesses, 514,351 wireline network accesses, 234,676 and Internet accesses.
  
"The Kindsight Security Service is built on a Network-based Intrusion Detection System (NIDS) deployed within the Internet service providers’ network to analyze Internet traffic from subscribers’ home networks for the presence of malware. The system provides accurate detection of malware using exploit and spyware signatures from Kindsight Security Labs and best of breed partners. These signatures are selected to detect botnet command and control communications, Trojan backdoor connections, attempts to infect others, hijacked browsers and spyware infections, hacking and distributed denial of service (DDoS) activity, and excessive email". 

See "Kindsight Security Service Protects Home Networks in Saskatchewan" - here.

Announcements: Kindsight's Security Analytics and VAS platform

      

More on the growing DPI based analytics for security purposes market (see also yesterday's post on Solera Networks).


Kindsight (subsidiary of Alcatel-Lucent; CEO is Basil Alwan, President of the Alcatel-Lucent IPDivision and Head of Portfolio Strategy for the Alcatel-Lucent Networks Group) announced ".. Kindsight Security Analytics, a new platform for service providers to analyze network traffic for malware and aggregate security statistics onto a single web-based dashboard. The new platform provides unparalleled insights into subscriber infections, enabling Internet service providers and mobile operators to reduce risk within the network and diminish the malicious consumption of network resources".

See previous coverage - "DPI Solution: KindSight's Security VAS" - here. 

Brendan Ziolo (pictured), VP, Marketing, said: "Our new platform provides huge benefits to Internet service providers and mobile operators by giving them real-time, actionable security insights which can reduce network risk and improve the overall service experience.  These service providers may also launch value-added security services using this same platform, which can alert subscribers and help them remove malware from their home networks or mobile devices"

".. Kindsight Security Analytics analyzes Internet traffic for malware and generates aggregated statistics. It is comprised of four key components: Network Intrusion Detection System (NIDS-8800), Alert Reporting Cluster (ARC), Security Analytics Dashboard and Signature Update Service".

See "Kindsight Launches Security Analytics to Help Service Providers Better Protect their Networks and Subscribers" - here.

[WSJ] Carrier Ad-Insertion Returns!

 
While the FCC goes back to its Net Neutrality plans (see "FCC Moving on Net Neutrality?" - here), the Wall Street Journal had a front page (at least in its iPad edition) story on ad-insertion, or behavioral advertising, a revenue generation opportunity for carriers

I covered this space in the past, about companies that disappeared (Nebuad & Phorm - here and here) and those that are still there (Xerocole - here, Kindsight - here). The basic concept was targeted advertising, based on subscribers’ behavior with revenues shared by the vendor and the carrier.

DPI is needed for the ad-insertion process in order to analyze subscribers' traffic and make it more efficient by re-directing only relevant traffic to the behavioral processing. Privacy problem, and lack of disclosure made some of the players go away - and brought an investigation against BT that was secretly using Phorm back in 2006 (see "BT's Phorm trial lands UK Government in court" - here).


Source: Wall Street Journal



Now, the Wall Street Journal (see "Shunned Profiling Method On the Verge of Comeback" - here) reports that business sees a comeback (following Japan? - here). I guess the choice of the word "profiling" (not allowed in the US) shows the authors' sentiment for the move. Some quotes, from a rather long article:

Now, two U.S. companies, Kindsight Inc. and Phorm Inc., are pitching deep packet inspection services as a way for Internet service providers to claim a share of the lucrative online ad market.

Kindsight and Phorm say they protect people's privacy with steps that include obtaining their consent. They also say they don't use the full power of the technology, and refrain from reading email and analyzing sensitive online activities Two large ISPs in Brazil—Oi, a unit of Tele Norte Leste Participacoes SA, and Telefonica SA—currently have deals with Phorm 

Mr. Gassewitz [top picture] says six ISPs have tested Kindsight's security service on subscriber groups as big as 200,000. Mr. Gassewitz says, "There was no profiling occurring, no advertising occurring, no data collection occurring."

Oi's Mr. Pedro Ripper, Oi's strategy and technology believes that the technology's time has come. "The Internet is becoming more and more a platform to deliver very targeted messages," he says. As for deep packet inspection, "Everyone is going to get there. It's just a matter of timing"

DPI Solution: KindSight's Security VAS

  

French web site PC INpact reported last week that Orange France is going to offer a new anti-identity theft service, using a solution from KindSight. They assumed that based on some KindSight slides showing Orange's logo (see below). Today, PC INpact reported that KindSight said they do not have an agreement with Orange.

See the first report (French) from "Orange : lutter contre l’usurpation d’identité en échange de publicités" (Orange: Fight against identity theft in return for advertising) - here and the denial - "Publicité et DPI : KindSight conteste tout accord avec Orange" - here. See also

In any case, this is a good opportunity to review another aspect of DPI, which maybe used as a VAS by ISP for ARPU increase.

Kindsight's solution is an ISP installed s/w, and uses DPI to detect security threats. According to the limited information in the site "It detects threats in your Internet traffic, sends you alerts and shows you step-by-step how to remove these threats that put your personal information at risk. Kindsight is always-on, always-up-to-date and can not be disabled by criminals since it’s embedded in your service provider’s network."

The French reports were particularly concerned by the following statement: "The Kindsight service is offered for a monthly fee (3.95 euro/month in the "Orange Slide") or, like many other Internet applications, at no-cost through relevant advertising ("Orange" free option)". The free option says that the service will track web sites accessed and searches performed by the subscriber but will not store the information (known as anonymous behavioral analysis).

Related posts:

• Japan - ISPs May Use DPI for Behavioral Advertising - here
   
• The Legality of DPI - Paper by Angela Daly - here