Freescale and Kaspersky Lab Collaborate to Boost Network Security and Performance

Dual-Core Freescale Processor Based on Power Architecture™ Technology Enables Network Anti-Malware Protection Using the Kaspersky® SafeStream Database

AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Collaboration between Freescale Semiconductor, the communications processor leader, and Kaspersky Lab, a leading developer of secure content management solutions, has produced a high-performance network antivirus solution to help lower OEM costs and speed time to market.

The platform tightly couples Freescale’s MPC8572E PowerQUICC™ III dual-core processor featuring world class hardware-based pattern matching technology with the Kaspersky SafeStream database. It enables the rapid development of high-performance and cost-effective network security devices that feature robust antivirus functionality.

The financial impact of malware is mounting as attacks increasingly shift from exploitation of operating system vulnerabilities to targeted attacks on specific enterprises and devices. According to analyst firm Computer Economics, the cost of these attacks grew from just over $6 billion in 1998 to more than $14 billion in 2005. Meanwhile, malware propagation time has dropped from hours to mere minutes.

Network-based antivirus software is designed to stop malware before it reaches host computers. This approach mitigates the impact of new outbreaks, since updating a relatively few number of network antivirus devices is much faster than updating all the PCs and servers on the enterprise. But addressing antivirus tasks at the software level on an enterprise scale can impede overall system performance. Better performance can be realized by running antivirus software on a hardware-based pattern matching technology, but this approach previously required incorporation of several discrete and proprietary processors, thereby raising the bill of materials.

The Freescale/Kaspersky Lab solution solves these challenges by combining the MPC8572E processor and its integrated hardware pattern matching block with Kaspersky Lab’s industry-first stream-based anti-malware protection. As a result, the platform offers multi-Gbps line rate performance and a single-processor solution that helps to lower overall system cost. In addition, Freescale’s pattern matcher can support fast, incremental, online updates to help reduce response time to new outbreaks.

“The Freescale/Kaspersky Lab platform represents the first solution that utilizes Kaspersky SafeStream on a System-on-Chip (SoC) dual-core CPU featuring fully integrated and highly advanced hardware pattern matching technology,” said Jeff Timbs, marketing director for Freescale’s Digital Systems Division. “This solution represents a significant step forward for securing high-speed networks.”

Freescale's dual core MPC8572E provides the CPU cycles and flexibility to perform a broad range of packet- and application-aware processing. Its integrated hardware blocks—Crypto Security, Table Lookup Unit, Deflate Engine and Pattern Matcher—accelerate operations that are highly CPU-intensive with low power dissipation. Furthermore, the processor’s highly optimized internal interconnect architecture ensures high bandwidth, low latency and efficient pipeline operation. The MPC8572E PowerQUICC III processor, which integrates major processing and I/O elements, enables a simple, elegant system design with low system cost and a short design cycle.

“Kaspersky SafeStream allows organizations to protect previously unprotected assets such as high-speed networks and embedded and proprietary platforms, as well as other systems where, due to limitations in architecture, processing power or memory, traditional antivirus software is not operable,” said Peter Laakkonen, president of Customized Solutions for Kaspersky Lab. “Our collaboration with Freescale makes this technology available as a pre-integrated solution with high performance and cost efficiency.”

About Freescale Semiconductor

Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. is a global leader in the design and manufacture of embedded semiconductors for the automotive, consumer, industrial, networking and wireless markets. The privately held company is based in Austin, Texas, and has design, research and development, manufacturing or sales operations in more than 30 countries. Freescale is one of the world's largest semiconductor companies with sales of $6.2 billion (USD) for the most recently reported four quarters. www.freescale.com

About Kaspersky Lab

Kaspersky Lab delivers the world’s most immediate protection against IT security threats, including viruses, spyware, crimeware, hackers, phishing, and spam. Kaspersky Lab products provide superior detection rates and the industry’s fastest outbreak response time for home users, SMBs, large enterprises and the mobile computing environment. Kaspersky® technology is also used worldwide inside the products and services of the industry’s leading IT security solution providers. Learn more at www.kaspersky.com. For the latest on anti-virus, anti-spyware, anti-spam and other IT security issues and trends, visit www.viruslist.com.

Freescale™ and the Freescale logo are trademarks of Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. All other product or service names are the property of their respective owners. © Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. 2007.