SEO Client Dell Teams with FireEye Against Advanced Persistent Threats

While on the verge of Dell’s private buy back, BKV SEO client SecureWorks, the IT security services arm of Dell, Inc. teams up with FireEye to provide a more robust line of defense against advanced persistent threats. The deal has not gone through yet, but Michael Dell and a few rich guys will buy out publicly traded Dell, Inc. for $24.4 billion in order to make nimble moves necessary to retool it toward mobile and tablet devices. 2 months prior to this move, Dell SecureWorks which has been steadily expanding its industry leadership role in information security services teamed up with FireEye, an advance malware appliance provider.  SecureWorks has had great success using FireEye appliances to detect advanced persistent threats, so they decided to bundle the security services as a complete solution of SecureWorks personnel and FireEye appliances.

What are Advanced Persistent Threats?

Advanced persistent threats, or APTs are a term used to describe a funded organization with a goal to obtain secure data from a specific targeted party.  For example, this could be a funded terrorist group bent on breaking into and defiling the official website of another country.  Or it could be a factory of workers continually sending spam phishing emails  in order to steal financial records from a particular investment firm or steal electronic healthcare records from a hospital database.

What is FireEye?

FireEye Malware Protection System is an advanced family of email and web security appliances.  These appliances detect custom or new malware or viruses that anti-virus software does not yet recognize.  Known viruses are a cyber threat.  However, at some point, every virus was new, without an easy defense to recognize it and prevent intrusion.  Advanced threats are those that are newly developed and can get passed anti-virus software.  FireEye appliances go beyond known virus definitions to detect malware without signatures.  These appliances require highly trained people to administer, maintain and monitor them.