General Dynamics Fidelis Cybersecurity Solutions Continues to Strengthen Threat Intelligence, Detection and Prevention

Enhanced with a new real-time malware threat prevention application of YARA technology, Fidelis XPSTM helps customers reduce costs and downtime associated with threat remediation

WALTHAM, Massachusetts - General Dynamics Fidelis Cybersecurity Solutions today announced its flagship network security solution, Fidelis XPS, now includes a new application of YARA technology, a rule-based malware identification and classification tool, that will increase the real-time prevention of malware attacks by analyzing threats in network traffic. Arming customers with another innovative method to detect malicious traffic as it flows on the network, the continued enhancements to Fidelis XPS help customers reduce remediation costs by blocking malware before it enters the enterprise.

"The addition of YARA will help customers' network teams analyze threats on their network in a more proactive and comprehensive way," said Tom Lyons, vice president of product management at General Dynamics Fidelis Cybersecurity Solutions. "This extends our customers' protection beyond the standard application of scanning suspicious files after they have entered the enterprise."  

Fidelis XPS leverages YARA's capabilities of classifying detected malware and scanning static objects in a file system after they have already entered the network, to extend and support its prevention efforts to scan network sessions in progress.  With organizations placing an increased focus on blocking as much malware as possible before it enters the network, this collaboration  makes advanced threat defense an active component of network defense. In doing so, the costs and downtime associated with remediation after a threat has been detected can be drastically reduced.

"Relying on remediation may not only be cost-prohibitive, but eventually it will slow down or even stall business operations," said Wendy Nather, research director at the 451 Group, who recently published a report on the malware threat detection capabilities of Fidelis XPS. "Enterprises and government agencies can't afford to take a reactive approach to network defense. In order to effectively combat threats, they have to be able to see more and stop more of the malicious traffic."

In addition, Fidelis XPS can augment YARA rules with situational awareness, applying context to the content. The open, non-proprietary nature of YARA allows security analysts to share these rules and learn from their colleagues, continually refining the intelligence of the security community.

Built on General Dynamics Fidelis Cybersecurity Solutions' patented Deep Session Inspection® platform, Fidelis XPS is an industry leading network security appliance that delivers network visibility, analysis and control over all ports and all channels in real-time, to defend against advanced threats and prevent the possibility of a data breach on multi-gigabit-speed networks. Deployed as a context-aware network appliance, Fidelis XPS gives global enterprises and government agencies the ability to see, study and stop advanced threats during all phases of the threat lifecycle. The solution recently earned an overall breach detection rating of 98.4 percent in an independent test conducted by NSS Labs, an information research and advisory company specializing in IT product testing.

General Dynamics Fidelis Cybersecurity Solutions offers a comprehensive portfolio of products, services and expertise to combat today's sophisticated advanced threats and prevent data breaches. Our commercial enterprise and government customers around the globe can face advanced threats with confidence through use of our Network Defense and Forensics Services, delivered by a team of security professionals with decades of hands-on experience, and our award-winning Fidelis XPS Advanced Threat Defense products, which provide visibility and control over the entire threat life cycle. To learn more about General Dynamics Fidelis Cybersecurity Solutions, please visit www.fidelissecurity.com.

General Dynamics Fidelis Cybersecurity Solutions is a part of General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD).

General Dynamics Awarded $188 Million for Abrams Tank Production‏

Photo Credit: Army

Photo Credit: Army

STERLING HEIGHTS, Michigan – General Dynamics Land Systems has been awarded $187.5 million for conversion of 44 M1A1 and 40 M1A2 Abrams tanks to the Saudi M1A2 (M1A2S) configuration for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Foreign Military Sales contract was awarded by the U.S. Army TACOM Life Cycle Management Command on behalf of the Royal Saudi Land Forces.

This new contract continues work started in 2008 to update M1A1 and M1A2 tanks to the M1A2S configuration for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The M1A2S conversion increases the efficiency and capability of the tank.

The work will be performed by current employees at the Joint Systems Manufacturing Center in Lima, Ohio, with an estimated completion date of March 2015.

General Dynamics Land Systems is a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD). More information about General Dynamics is available online at www.generaldynamics.com.

General Dynamics Announces Electric Boat, Bath Iron Works Leadership Changes

FALLS CHURCH, Va -- General Dynamics (NYSE: GD) today announced that Jeffrey S. Geiger, president of General Dynamics Bath Iron Works, will become president of General Dynamics Electric Boat effective November 4, 2013, following the retirement of Kevin J. Poitras. Geiger will continue reporting to John P. Casey, executive vice president of Marine Systems for General Dynamics.

In addition, Frederick J. Harris will remain as president of General Dynamics NASSCO and will also serve as president of Bath Iron Works. Bath Iron Works and NASSCO will remain as wholly owned and separate General Dynamics subsidiaries. Michael J. Mulligan, president of General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products, will remain a vice president of the corporation and will become vice president and general manager of Bath Iron Works; Kevin M. Graney, currently vice president of operations at NASSCO, will become vice president and general manager of NASSCO.  Mulligan and Graney will report to Harris; Harris will continue reporting to Casey.

In announcing the changes Casey said, "Kevin Poitras has demonstrated his capabilities over a 40-year career with Electric Boat. We appreciate his many accomplishments and his dedicated service, and wish him well in retirement."

Casey continued, "This transition is an opportunity for us to review how General Dynamics' surface-ship businesses operate, to ensure we are capturing all possible efficiencies as we support our primary customer, the U.S. Navy. 

"Fred Harris, as president of NASSCO over the past seven years, has led his team in identifying and implementing creative ways to cost-effectively deliver state-of-the-art surface vessels. I'm confident that he, Mike Mulligan, Kevin Graney and the teams at Bath Iron Works and NASSCO will find new opportunities to gain additional efficiencies across these already high-performance organizations," Casey said.

Poitras, 61, became president of Electric Boat in May 2012. Previously he was senior vice president of engineering, design and business development since September 2010. He joined Electric Boat in 1973 as a construction support engineer and held positions of increasing responsibility within the engineering and operations departments before becoming vice president, engineering and design programs in 2005. He earned a bachelor's degree in marine engineering from the Maine Maritime Academy.

Geiger, 52, became president of Bath Iron Works in 2009. He joined the shipyard in 1984 as a production planner and held a series of progressively more-responsible positions in production, engineering, manufacturing, planning and quality assurance. He has had responsibility for all engineering, design, material procurement, planning, quality control, strategic planning, communications and business development at the shipyard. Geiger is a graduate of the University of Michigan where he earned bachelor's and master's degrees in naval architecture.

Graney, 49, became vice president of Operations for NASSCO in January 2013. He oversees the manufacturing execution of NASSCO's ship construction programs. He previously served as NASSCO's vice president of programs since March 2010; he also has served as a program manager with Electric Boat, and was a submariner in the U.S. Navy.  Graney holds a bachelor's degree in marine engineering and nuclear science from SUNY Maritime College.

Harris, 68, became president of NASSCO in 2006. He had been senior vice president of programs at General Dynamics Electric Boat where he was responsible for the execution of all submarine design and construction programs. Harris joined the company in 1973 as a senior engineer on the Trident ballistic missile submarine program. He graduated from the Maine Maritime Academy in 1967 with a bachelor's degree in marine engineering and holds a master's degree in business administration from Babson College.

Mulligan, 50, became president of General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products in November 2006. He had joined Armament and Technical Products in July 2006 as the vice president of operations after 20 years at General Dynamics Electric Boat in a variety of capacities in the design, development and production of nuclear submarines. Mulligan holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Lowell, a master's degree in mechanical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a master's degree in business administration from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

General Dynamics, headquartered in Falls Church, Va., employs approximately 90,000 people worldwide. The company is a market leader in business aviation; land and expeditionary combat systems, armaments and munitions; shipbuilding and marine systems; and information systems and technologies. More information about the company is available at www.generaldynamics.com.