Imperva launches cloud-based DDoS protection

Data center security company Imperva has launched a new cloud-based platform designed to protect enterprises from distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks.

The subscription-based service, called Imperva Cloud DDoS Protection, can protect both cloud-based enterprises as well as firms that host everything themselves. The platform provides a defense against all types of DDoS threats, including network-based attacks and application attacks that attempt to overwhelm server resources, according to the company.

“The greatest benefit is that a cloud-based service can cost-effectively prevent DDoS attacks,” said Kasey Cross, senior product marketing manager at Imperva. “The only alternative for enterprises is over-provisioning bandwidth and purchasing and managing extra networking equipment and Web servers to handle large DDoS attacks.”

The company’s cloud-based approach is a benefit to enterprises because of what can be learned from the experience of other users and how quickly approaches can be adapted, according to Imperva. The Imperva Security Operations Center tunes policies using collective knowledge about DDoS threats, including new and emerging attack methods and known malicious users. When under attack, the Imperva SOC monitors application performance in order to keep protected websites accessible.

“Being cloud-based allows us to leverage experience from various customers,” Cross said. “For example, if we see one type of attack pointed at one customer, we can tune the defenses of all customers.”

All sized enterprises are targets, according to Cross, and the company is selling through its channel partners. “Pricing starts at $12,000 annually, which makes this service consumable by SMBs,” she said.