Cisco ASA 5500 wins gold

Each year, Information Security magazine asks readers to vote and determine the best security products for its annual Readers’ Choice Awards. More than 1,500 readers participated this year, rating products in 14 separate categories.

The Cisco ASA 5500 Series Adaptive Security Appliance was the gold winner in the Unified Threat Management appliance category. Read the article below and find out why this device won top honours.

Cisco ASA 5500 Series Adaptive Security Appliance

The Cisco ASA 5500 Series Adaptive Security Appliance received top honors in this year’s contest, winning high scores from readers for breadth of security functions and features, as well as for form factor effectiveness. The UTM also earned points for the depth of security provided by its individual functions, versus a standalone product. Readers also liked the vendor service and support Cisco provides with the appliance.

The Cisco appliance integrates firewall protection, VPN technology, intrusion prevention, content security and unified communications security. It’s designed to stop attacks before they breach the network perimeter, control network and application activity and protect corporate resources. The product features what Cisco calls “context-aware” firewall protection to provide deeper security insight by correlating real-time global threat intelligence with in-depth local network context. The firewall works to determine who is trying to gain access and what content they’re trying to access.

The Cisco ASA 5500 Series Adaptive Security Appliance also provides fast throughput and high connection setup rates, and its architecture enables customized security services deployment. The product’s remote access capability is integrated with IPS and Web security to ensure secure mobility.

“Cisco ASA 5500 Series Adaptive Security Appliance”, Information Security Magazine, September 2011, pg 37