Reuters Gets Trend Micro Deep Security Protection

International news agency Thomson Reuters is replacing its existing virtual desktop infrastructure with a new 6,000-desktop deployment based on VMware and Trend Micro’s Deep Security solution.

Deep Security is a server security platform that works with VMware’s vShield Endpoint platform to provide agentless anti-malware, integrity monitoring, firewall, intrusion prevention and web application protection. The technology was recently awarded Common Criteria Evaluation Assurance Level 4 augmented certification – the highest assurance level, recognised by European and Global governments.

Security at the hypervisor level

With most desktop security products, a virus has to enter the system before it can be detected. “It’s like having a bullet-proof vest, but slightly under your skin,” said Dave Wright, VMware’s vice president of technology services in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

However, Trend’s chief technology officer Andy Dancer explained that Deep Security has the advantage of being able to address problems before they even reach the operating system. “Once the malware is detected, all of the PCs in that virtual array can be immediately protected,” Dancer told eWEEK Europe.

Andrew Haschka, virtualisation architect at Thomson Reuters, said that providing security at the hypervisor level rather than on individual client computers is also massively more efficient than running security agents within each operating system. In the past, all the virtualised desktops would attempt to run their own virus scan at the same time, clogging the network and even causing it to crash. With Trend’s agentless solution, that duplication is eliminated.

Trend Micro Deep Security is being deployed by Thomson Reuters in pre-production in October and will be expanded out over the next six months.

VMware is also working with security company Symantec to offer desktop-as-a-service applications with integrated security and management. The offering combines Symantec Endpoint Protection and the Altiris Client Management Suite with VMware’s virtual desktop and cloud products.