Check Point Software Technologies has announced that its security gateways are now available to customers through Amazon Web Services, enabling organizations to extend their security to the cloud with a full range of protections, or Check Point software blades, such as Firewall, Intrusion Prevention, Application Control, URL Filtering and many more.

With a few simple steps, customers can easily deploy a Check Point virtual appliance – a security gateway for virtual environments – in the Amazon Cloud to activate protections that prevent network attacks and data breaches, while enabling secure connectivity in dynamic cloud computing environments.

As the adoption of cloud computing brings enterprises many benefits, including business continuity, flexible computing power and cost savings, businesses are increasingly leveraging the cloud to spend less time managing IT resources, and more time focusing on core business objectives. To keep an organization’s infrastructure and business secure, organizations must enforce the appropriate levels of protection both on premise and in the cloud.

“Infrastructure in the cloud is a reality. As many businesses plan to manage their IT infrastructure in the cloud, it’s important to protect both cloud and on-premise infrastructure to ensure that all corporate assets remain secure,” said Oded Gonda, vice president of network security products at Check Point Software Technologies. “One of the best ways to achieve this is to enforce a consistent security policy across the organization.”

With Check Point’s virtual appliances, customers can embrace the benefits of cloud computing with confidence. Whether an organization runs their entire business operations on AWS or utilizes AWS for flexible scaling needs, customers can enable advanced security with a few simple steps, implementing a unified policy that protects all corporate assets residing in either on-premise infrastructure or in the cloud. For example, businesses, such as online retailers or educational institutions, can leverage the Amazon Cloud to run production workloads and manage seasonal peaks in web traffic and customer orders, while the Check Point virtual appliance further reinforces protection in the cloud infrastructure – ensuring all data and channels of business communication remain secure.

“Security gateways in cloud environments are equally as important as they are in on premise locations, therefore unifying their policies and reporting capabilities in a centralized way are critical to ensuring both the security and compliance mandates of enterprises worldwide,” said Lawrence Pingree, research director at Gartner.

To mitigate sophisticated threats and prevent sensitive information from being exposed in the cloud, Check Point customers can now benefit from the same flexible and comprehensive security solutions available for on-premise networks with over 30 software blade protections, including Firewall, IPS, Virtual Private Network (VPN), Application Control, URL Filtering, Mobile Access and Data Loss Prevention (DLP), without additional hardware or management complexity.

“We offer a shared-responsibility security model that enables customers to choose a security solution that best meets their application’s needs, while AWS remains focused on providing a safe and secure infrastructure,” said Stephen Schmidt, chief information security officer at Amazon Web Services. “We are excited that Check Point has embraced this model and is providing an innovative solution for customers.”

Key Features and Benefits:

Security for the cloud – Select Check Point Software Blades to enable a solution that meets an organization’s exact cloud security needs. Businesses can protect assets in the cloud with Firewall, IPS, Application Control and URL Filtering; enable secure connectivity and mobility with VPN and Mobile Access; and prevent all data and corporate resources from loss with Check Point DLP.

Fast Deployment – Through Amazon Web Services, customers can simply click on the Check Point virtual appliance to begin enabling software blades in the cloud.

Unified Management and Reporting – Manage a virtual appliance in Amazon Cloud using industry leading security management. Customers can simplify compliance and audits with unified logs and reporting, while enforcing consistent security across the organization.

“From start-ups to large enterprises, the cloud creates a lot of new opportunities for companies to grow their businesses in a cost-effective way. We are pleased to be working with Amazon Web Services to help our customers safeguard corporate assets and enforce consistent security policies throughout their organization,” concluded Gonda.