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Verizon (News - Alert) Business today took the wraps off its Application Vulnerability Scanning solutions, a suite of Software-as-a-Service options that offer businesses a simple and affordable way to better understand, identify and mitigate Web-based, application-security threats. 

 

James Tomlinson, senior security strategist at Verizon Business (News - Alert), notes that Web applications can be weak links in a security framework, which can open a company to breaches by hackers looking to access data for financial gain. Indeed, according to the company’s 2009 Data Breach Investigations Report, SQL injection attacks are responsible for 79 percent of breached records; online data accounts for 99.9 percent of breached records; 79 percent of attacks are against the application layer; 91 percent of all compromised records are linked to organized crime; and 94 percent of records are compromised via hacking.

 

That said, it’s clear customers need to address security. However, the dynamic nature of the Web, custom code, the fact that there are often multiple stakeholders involved in Web site management, the increasing sophistication of attacks and the cost of security consulting fixes can make that a daunting prospect, notes Tomlinson.

 

The Verizon Business AVC, however, enables customers to address security without a heavy investment (no new hardware or configuration changes are required) or heavy lifting in terms of training and management, he says, adding it enables customers to run scans on Web sites on an as-needed basis at the times that work for them. The customer simply logs in, inputs information as to the whereabouts of the application and they receive alerts on potential vulnerabilities and the ability to make adjustments as a result. AVS, which leverages WhiteHat Security’s application vulnerability management SaaS (News - Alert) platform, also helps customers meet the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard security testing requirements. 

 

The service is available today in the U.S., Canada and 13 countries in Europe and Asia-Pacific regions. It comes in three flavors: premium, standard and baseline. Tomlinson says customers decide which of the three is the best fit depending upon the sophistication of the applications they’re running.