Barracuda Networks Launches First Enterprise-Class Web Application Controller for SMB Market

CAMPBELL, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Barracuda Networks, Inc., the worldwide leader in email and Web security appliances, today launched the Barracuda Application Gateway NC 500 AG, the first and only enterprise-class Web Application Controller available for small and medium businesses. Ideal for SMBs on a tight IT budget, this is the first appliance to fully secure Web applications and ensure compliance with regulations, such as Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) for $10,000.

“With the launch of the new Barracuda Application Gateway NC 500 AG we are combining Web application security, traffic management and SSL acceleration into an easy to use and affordable solution for protecting Web sites of all sizes.”

“We are essentially bringing plug-and-play PCI compliance to the mass market,” said Stephen Pao, vice president of product management for Barracuda Networks. “Until now, most businesses in the SMB space were facing very expensive and time-consuming audits of their Web infrastructures in order to achieve PCI compliance. Further, these audits would be required every time the organization makes a change to their Web applications, so it is very possible that such costs could very quickly overwhelm a business.

“With the Barracuda Application Gateway NC 500 AG small and medium businesses will no longer have to worry about the recurring costs of application source code audits and instead they can achieve PCI DSS compliance without breaking the budget,” added Pao.

As the June 30, 2008 deadline mandating e-commerce businesses of all sizes be compliant with requirement 6.6 of PCI DSS quickly approaches, many SMB organizations have been left with no choice but to prepare for very expensive and very detailed custom application code reviews. The Barracuda Application Gateway NC 500 AG now provides these organizations with a cost-effective and powerful solution that will protect and maintain their Web infrastructure as well as satisfy PCI DSS requirements.

Comprehensive Web site Protection

The Barracuda Application Gateway NC 500 AG brings the same award-winning protection from Web site threats, such as unauthorized access, data theft, denial of service or defacement, offered in the full Barracuda Web Application Controller line. The Barracuda Application Gateway NC 500 AG secures against all common Web application threats including SQL injections, cross-site scripting attacks, session tampering and buffer overflows. Operating as a full proxy the Barracuda Application Gateway NC 500 AG inspects both request and response traffic, providing the capabilities to not only block inbound attacks, but also to shield SMB business Web sites from hackers and to filter outbound traffic, preventing sensitive data leakage, such as Social Security and credit card numbers. In addition the Barracuda Application Gateway NC 500 AG integrates traffic management capabilities including caching, compression and load balancing, enabling Web application security as well as an increase in performance and availability of the applications. Incorporating these features into the Barracuda Application Gateway NC 500 AG eliminates the need for multiple devices on the network, which ultimately brings down the user’s total cost of ownership.

The Barracuda Application Gateway NC 500 AG is the first model to be added to the Barracuda Web Application Controller product line since Barracuda Networks completed the acquisition of NetContinuum, the leading provider of Web Application Firewalls, in September 2007.

“One of our goals in acquiring NetContinuum was to deliver industry-leading capabilities to a set of customers who had previously been unable to deploy Web site security solutions,” said Pao. “With the launch of the new Barracuda Application Gateway NC 500 AG we are combining Web application security, traffic management and SSL acceleration into an easy to use and affordable solution for protecting Web sites of all sizes.”

Pricing and Availability

The Barracuda Application Gateway NC 500 AG is currently available and priced at $10,000. International pricing varies by region. For more information, visit www.barracuda.com.

About Barracuda Web Application Controllers

Barracuda Web Application Controllers, including both the Barracuda Web Application Firewall and Barracuda Application Gateway, protect Web sites from attackers leveraging protocol or application vulnerabilities to instigate unauthorized access, data theft, denial of service or defacement. Designed to deliver comprehensive Web security, Barracuda Web Application Controllers act as a proxy for Web traffic to insulate Web servers from direct access by hackers, enforces data security standards, such as the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), and secures Web sites against the top 10 major Web vulnerabilities compiled by Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP). Available in two models, the Barracuda Web Application Firewall provides Web applications and Web services with complete protection against malicious attacks. The Barracuda Application Gateway, also available in three models, enhances the powerful Barracuda Web Application Firewall to integrate traffic management capabilities for increased performance and availability.

About Barracuda Networks Inc.

Barracuda Networks Inc. is the worldwide leader in email and Web security appliances. Barracuda Networks also provides world-class IM protection, application server load balancing and message archiving appliances. More than 50,000 companies, including Coca-Cola, FedEx, Harvard University, IBM, L'Oreal, NASA and Europcar, are protecting their networks with Barracuda Networks’ solutions. Barracuda Networks' success is due to its ability to deliver easy to use, comprehensive solutions that solve the most serious issues facing customer networks without unnecessary add-ons, maintenance, lengthy installations or per user license fees. Barracuda Networks is privately held with its headquarters in Campbell, Calif. Barracuda Networks has offices in eight international locations and distributors in more than 80 countries worldwide. For more information, please visit www.barracuda.com.