Quarry detects increasing opportunity in detection

Quarry Technologies' timing couldn’t get much better. Just as PC users and service providers around the world are jumpy over the latest viruses, the company released a new intrusion detection system (IDS) for its iQ series platform.

  While not linked, the new IDS lets service providers offer network intrusion detection services on a per-subscriber basis. The recent spate of denial-of-service attacks has also helped bolster the company’s argument that security for the majority of corporations needs to be taken out of the customer premises and put back into the network.

  “The cost of the breaches is increasing exponentially,” said Greg Whelan, director of solutions for Quarry. “What’s required is an end-to-end security architecture.”

Quarry's solution is based around its iQ-series Security Service Routers, which allow tens of thousands of secure connections to be partitioned. The partitioning not only allows carriers to offer security services on a per-subscriber basis, it also allows for customization. Quarry also has integrated Sniper IDS technology from Korean partner WINS Technet, perhaps a factor in its first announced customer, Korean carrier Dacom.

The challenge for Quarry will be in the U.S., where it must convince carriers to roll out intrusion detection services for larger enterprises. In previous deployments—and in many of the current managed service offerings—carriers have focused on the small and medium business market.

“Focusing on the SMB was a [mistake] in the early days of security services,” Whelan said. “They don’t have much of an IT staff. They also don’t have a lot of money and certainly aren’t willing to pay for these types of services. It’s definitely a large enterprise market.”