Catbird, provider of the only comprehensive security solution for virtual and physical networks and developer of the V-Agent™ virtual appliance, today announced the launch of VMShield™, the industry’s first dedicated security solution specifically designed to control and secure Virtual Machines (VMs). VMShield is the latest service in Catbird’s V-Security product, which also includes HypervisorShield™ and the V-Agent virtual appliance.

VMShield extends best practice security protection to virtualized machines, detecting both unintentional management error and hostile threats. Delivering continuous, automated 24x7 monitoring with a targeted focus on protecting virtual machines and their critical data, VMShield’s breadth of critical services include change control and secondary control validation; automatic quarantine of unauthorized VMs; server sprawl management; and network data protection against vulnerabilities, known attack signatures and VM-to-VM attacks. VMShield is the only service to proactively secure virtual machines from VM to VM and Hypervisor to VM network threats, covering the critical potential risks of virtualization’s new threat surface.

“Most customers are surprised to learn that they are running naked. Virtual machines are not subject to the same common security best practices, including routine change control and security enforcement, as physical machines. And, unfortunately, existing security devices simply can’t see into the virtual infrastructure,” explained Edmundo Costa, Catbird COO. “By delivering security and regulatory compliance on the virtual network, VMShield is the first line of defense in the battle for the soul of the new machine.”

VMShield is the industry’s only security technology that can monitor and control access to the virtual network, detect malicious network activity directed at VMs from other VMs, detect and control VM sprawl and validate that VMs are configured according to best practices and site security policy. VMShield effectively validates secondary controls and data protection for VMs. Catbird's innovation is forged around key alliances with veteran industry leaders, including inventive use of VMware’s own APIs, enabling deep-dive monitoring of the virtual infrastructure.

At the core of VMShield is the groundbreaking Catbird V-Agent virtual appliance which ensures protection is delivered within the virtual network itself. By contrast, traditional security solutions retrofitted for virtual deployments do not benefit from such direct visibility. Monitoring from the inside yields significantly more effective coverage, providing access to hypervisor and VM information via APIs, and eliminating the need to reroute traffic onto the physical network for validation. Running directly on the virtual network, VMShield will detect unauthorized changes and control VM sprawl, providing immediate quarantine of unauthorized VMs.

VMShield is a component of Catbird’s V-Security, a fully-automated and comprehensive Security-As-A-Service for virtual and physical networks. Unlike conventional host-based solutions, stateful appliances and proprietary hardware solutions, Catbird’s unique, stateless architecture is 100% plug-and-play for both physical and virtual environments. The V-Agent is free and may be easily downloaded and deployed on any virtual network. Catbird’s V-Security is available from any authorized Catbird partner.

For more information about VMShield and Catbird’s full line of stateless enterprise-grade in-the-cloud security solutions, visit the company’s Web site at www.catbird.com.