SOUTHFIELD ? CA has unified its CA PestPatrol Anti-Spyware Corporate Edition and CA AntiVirus to create CA Integrated Threat Management r8, an integrated solution that provides comprehensive, scalable protection against malware, spyware, root kits, blended threats, and other forms of malicious code across the enterprise.

CA Integrated Threat Management r8 runs through a centralized web-based console that enables administrators to find and resolve threats from anywhere on the network.

“Instead of needing multiple solutions and several technicians to combat viruses and spyware ? and managing updates for several different security solutions ? we now have a single staff member taking care of our entire 5000+ node user network,” said Chuck Slenker, systems engineer at Hartford Hospital, one of the largest medical centers in New England. “With CA Integrated Threat Management r8, we have been able to reduce operational costs by more than 10 percent while fully protecting our critical systems.”

CA Integrated Threat Management r8 automatically alerts security technicians as soon as any new threat is detected in their environment. Seventy-five detailed, graphical reports ? including a ?Top 10? virus and spyware list ? enable security teams to quickly isolate problems and respond to emerging changes in threat activity.

“CA Integrated Threat Management, release 8, has enabled us to have an integrated, secure virus and spyware strategy for the first time,” said Mark Callaby, IT security officer at Associated Newspapers, one of the top national newspaper groups in the U.K., with titles including the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday, Evening Standard, and Metro. “We can now effectively protect our environment from a full range of threats, without typing up essential staff resources, required elsewhere.”

Administrators can easily and automatically update protection on systems with any necessary version updates, patches, virus signatures and files in different ways ? prioritizing updates according to business needs. Additional capabilities include:

Improved agent communications that provide real-time visibility into enterprise computing assets and expanded spyware detection and removal.

Automated, bandwidth-saving signature updates that provide fast protection from the latest threats to every desktop.

A new ?phone home? feature that helps ensure all desktops are updated by enabling PCs to broadcast their status to a central management console.

?With CA Integrated Threat Management r8, we can provide all of our customers with state-of-the-art protection from malicious code that they can either administer themselves or allow us to provide them as a turnkey service,? said Gertrud Pillay, senior director, category marketing at PC Mall, a rapid response supplier of technology solutions for business, government and educational institutions and consumers. ?That flexibility is important to companies that need to reduce their exposure to IT-related risks, but may have limited internal staff resources.?

CA Integrated Threat Management r8 supports Network Admission Control (NAC), the Cisco-sponsored industry initiative that uses network infrastructure to enforce security policy compliance on all networked resources. Administrators can deploy CA Integrated Threat Management r8 via Unicenter Software Delivery, Microsoft SMS and other third-party solutions.

CA Integrated Threat Management r8 is supported by the CA Security Advisor Team, which operates a worldwide network of rapid response centers that are staffed 24 x 7 by expert security researchers and certified support professionals who identify and automatically isolate the latest viruses, malware, spyware and vulnerabilities.

?With new virus and spyware strains emerging every day and spreading with increased rapidity, the vigilant defense of desktops with immediate distribution of up-to-date signatures is essential to the security of the enterprise,? said Sam Curry, vice president of threat management at CA. ?By unifying malware and spyware protection, CA Integrated Threat Management r8 ? in conjunction with the global CA Security Advisor Team ? enables customers to maintain this defense without putting undue strain on their overburdened security and desktop management staffs.?

Pricing and Availability

CA Integrated Threat Management r8 is available through authorized partners and through CA in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish and Japanese, with pricing starting at $60.