xStorm from Softcat to fight cyber crime

Industry News Thu 12th, Apr 2012 by Dave Simpson
IT provider Softcat is launching a new Cloud service – xStorm, a vulnerability scanning service that will help its clients to keep their public infrastructure secure against the threat of hackers and cyber criminals.

The service uses a system that automatically scans a client organisation’s public-facing infrastructure once a month, gathering information about device operating systems, patch levels, anti-virus software and other data that cyber criminals can use to execute successful attacks. It then emails a report to the client, identifying vulnerabilities and providing advice on corrective action. The managed services team at Softcat is on hand to alert clients to critical risks, and offers phone support to address any problems that arise.

Each comprehensive and concise report includes details on the severity of each threat, the potential consequences of exposure, regulatory compliance, and validated patches and fixes.

“A number of our clients are already using the service, and so far the feedback is excellent,” said Simon Walker, managed services director at Softcat. “Customers really want to run these critical scans but just don’t have the time to do it. Our service ensures our customer don’t have to buy and maintain the appliances themselves. The Secure 24 x 7 NOC team takes care of proactively reviewing the results and highlighting critical issues for them. Cloud Softcat’s xStorm service enables our customers to be confident that their external facing infrastructure is patched against the latest vulnerabilities.”

Robert Pooley, IT security business manager at Softcat, added, “Compliance with the ISO 27001 and PCI DSS security standards is important, of course, but plain common sense is the best reason for businesses to  perform vulnerability scans. If you keep your public-facing infrastructure secure, it helps to prevent hackers from stealing your data, your money or your patents. That’s why we are launching this service for our customers.”

Cloud Softcat xStorm is available now.