February 2, 2016
Macnica Networks Corp.

- - Strategic measures that protect confidential information by calling attackers to a decoy environment and deliberately allowing them to safely attack for forensic analysis -

Macnica Networks Corp., which provides network devices and security solutions (headquarters: 1-5-5 Shin-Yokohama, Kohoku-ku, Yokohama, Japan; President: Masahiro Miyabukuro; hereinafter "Macnica Networks") and Attivo Networks, Inc. (headquarters: Fremont, California, USA; CEO Tushar Kothari; hereinafter "Attivo Networks") announce that they have agreed to conclude a Distributorship Agreement.

With targeted cyber-attacks continuing to increase in complexity and maliciousness, security innovation is now focusing on detecting and intercepting methods of attack such as malware and unauthorized communication. The use of prevention security alone is no longer effective for sophisticated attack methods and to protect companies and organizations new technologies are being developed to detect attackers that have bypassed security prevention and are inside the network.

However, behind cyber-attacks, there are attackers with a high sense of purpose. Even if one attack method is prevented by the security solution installed by the target, such an attacker will persistently continue toward achieving their objective, such as carrying out attacks that will circumvent those solutions, and developing attacking methods that use more sophisticated technology to avoid being detected and intercepted. In other words, even if each attacking method is prevented one by one, we can say it is an endless game of cat-and-mouse with attackers.
Furthermore, many companies and organizations put in place measures on the assumption they will not be intruded, yet measures following intrusion can be seen to be inadequate. Therefore, once an attacker gains entry, he/she can achieve his/her objective with ease, such as in recent cases where confidential information was reportedly stolen within an hour. In the midst of this kind of battle with attackers, it is no longer sufficient to simply provide a solution that only prevents a network intrusion based on known attack methods. Detection of the inside-the-network threat is now required, along with reporting to quickly take care of infected systems and to prevent an attacker from completing their attack.

Macnica Networks will begin supplying a completely new solution from Attivo that uses Deception technology to protect companies from targeted cyber-attacks and from hackers.
By using Deception technology to prepare a decoy environment within a real environment where attackers can be led into, this has the effect of hindering the ability of attackers to achieve their objective smoothly, buying time until they can steal confidential information. Moreover, this technology makes it possible identify the tactics, techniques, procedures (TTP) and objectives of attackers, which could not be identified previously when only detecting and intercepting attacking methods. In other words, from the acquired information, it is possible to examine and achieve extremely strategic measures that put an end to the game of cat and mouse with attackers.

The solution from Attivo can be broadly classified into two parts: the "decoy environment" where attackers are led into, and the "bait" that attracts attackers to the decoy environment. The decoy environment, called "BOTsink", is provided either as an appliance or virtual environment. BOTsink allows you to build a fake file server, authentication server, client environment, etc., in which real operating systems and applications are used to trick attackers into thinking it is the real environment that they are targeting. Also, the bait, called "IRES", can be used to install the authentication information of the decoy environment on real user clients to attract attackers to the decoy environment BOTsink. Once an attacker is led into BOTsink, the mechanism alerts the administrator and prevents attackers from returning to the real network, allowing attackers to freely attempt their attacks while the real environment remains safe. Even if this method temporarily allows the environment to become infected with malware, the amount of time bought from the time of detection of an attack following an intrusion, until the final objective is achieved, allows collection of information to achieve extremely strategic measures that put an end to the cat and mouse game with attackers.

Macnica Networks, by supplying the leading edge security technology of Attivo Networks, is active in helping to safeguard the IT systems of Japanese customers from targeted cyber-attacks and the threat from attackers who carry out those attacks.

Tushar Kothari, Chief Executive Officer at Attivo Networks, Inc., made the following comments.
"We're delighted to be partnering with Macnica Networks, who is a most trusted partner in Japanese security industry. They have established a strong reputation as a leader introducing important security innovations to Japanese market. Attivo will be providing a new approach to countermeasure the cyber attacks and the adversaries; a Deception technology. Together with Macnica Networks, Attivo will be expanding the business in Japan and helping Japanese customer to reliably use Attivo to significantly improve their defenses against the cyber attacks."

Contact for product-related inquiries

Attivo Networks, Inc., Company Overview

Attivo Networks was established in 2011 as a pioneer of Deception technology, used to deceive, detect, and defend against attackers. Attivo Networks provides customers with a completely new approach called Deception, a solution that protects the customers' network, data centers, and cloud from the threat of targeted cyber-attacks without requiring signatures, databases, or complex detection engines. Also, the management of Attivo Networks is a collection of outstanding members with a wealth of experience in the security industry, and the company is receiving funding from current investors, so it is making significant growth day by day.

Inquiries concerning this Press Release

Macnica Networks Corp., https://www.macnica.net/
TEL： 045-476-2010
1-5-5 Shin-Yokohama, Kohoku-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, 222-8562
Corporate communications manager: Takemae
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*The company names and product names used herein are registered trademarks or trademarks of the respective company.