Extreme addresses networked-IoT security

Extreme Networks has taken the wraps off a new security application it says will use machine learning and artificial intelligence to help customers effectively monitor, detect and automatically remediate security issues with networked IoT devices.

The application – ExtremeAI security—features machine-learning technology that can understand typical behavior of IoT devices and automatically trigger alerts when endpoints act in unusual or unexpected ways, Extreme said.

Extreme said that the ExtremeAI Security application can tie into all leading threat intelligence feeds, and had close integration with its existing Extreme Workflow Composer to enable automatic threat mitigation and remediation.

The application integrates the company’s ExtremeAnalytics application which lets customers view threats by severity, category, high-risk endpoints and geography.  An automated ticketing feature integrates with variety of popular IT tools such as Slack, Jira, and ServiceNow, and the application interoperates with many popular security tools, including existing network taps, the vendor stated.

There has been an explosion of new endpoints ranging from million-dollar smart MRI machines to five-dollar sensors, which creates a complex and difficult job for network and security administrators, said Abby Strong, vice president of product marketing for Extreme.  “We need smarter, secure and more self-healing networks especially where IT cybersecurity resources are stretched to the limit.”

Extreme is trying to address an issue that is important to enterprise-networking customers: how to get actionable, usable insights as close to real-time as possible, said Rohit Mehra, Vice President of Network Infrastructure at IDC.  “Extreme is melding automation, analytics and security that can look at network traffic patterns and allow the system to take action when needed.”

The ExtremeAI application, which will be available in October,  is but one layer of IoT security Extreme offers.  Already on the market, its Defender for IoT package, which includes a Defender application and adapter, lets customers monitor, set policies and isolate IoT devices across an enterprise.

The Extreme AI and Defender packages are now part of what the company calls Extreme Elements, which is a menu of its new and existing Smart OmniEdge, Automated Campus and Agile Data Center software, hardware and services that customers can order to build a manageable, secure system. 

Aside from the applications, the Elements include Extreme Management Center, the company’s network management software; the company’s x86-based intelligent appliances, including the ExtremeCloud Appliance; and ExtremeSwitching X465 premium, a stackable multi-rate gigabit Ethernet switch.

The switch and applications are just the beginning of a very busy time for Extreme. In its 3Q earnings call this month company CEO Ed Meyercord noted Extreme was in the “early stages of refreshing 70 percent of our products” and seven different products will become generally available this quarter – a record for Extreme, he said.

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