Niksun
Encyclopedia
NIKSUN, Inc. is a privately-held multinational corporation headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey,USA, that delivers real-time, forensics-based cybersecurity and performance solutions. NIKSUN was established in 1997 by Dr. Parag Pruthi. NIKSUN products are known for their performance and scalability, notably the NetDetector line of products that detect and reconstruct security breaches by storing, evaluating, and performing network intelligence on all packets moving in or out of the network. NIKSUN’s NetVCR products are also used to monitor, troubleshoot, and identify network performance problems reportedly in all types of networks, such as those of Internet Service Providers and governments, down to the networks of small businesses.
Simultaneously, the network technology industry was experiencing its own issues regarding the depth to which data was captured and how it was stored. Few, if any, in the industry had the foresight to know that packets provide enough information to detect critical errors occurring in mere microseconds, and that analyzing these packets could help resolve actual business-impacting network problems. Pruthi understood this issue and saw an opportunity for radical new technology.
The challenge was implementing a system capable of capturing, storing and analyzing data at extremely high speeds while making the model scalable to different business environments that would support the explosive growth of the Internet. In the early 1990’s, the industry had envisioned that the Internet was to grow by leaps and bounds in the coming years, and for any company to survive playing with data at such high bandwidth levels, the foundation needed to be strong. There was also a challenge in storing what could in essence be infinite data in its entirety, while having the ability to mine it for the necessary information. Pruthi took a sabbatical from Bellcore and wrote a thesis on capturing and modeling data using a new algorithm. His thesis was well received and, with a few other like-minded peers, he created a company, NIKSUN, to test the practicality of his thesis outside the lab and in live corporate networks. Since then, NIKSUN has grown, and has been profitable every year since its 1997 inception.
. Pruthi, who has two children, Nikheel and Sunny, thought of combining his sons’ names to form “NIKSUN”. Thus the name NIKSUN comes from both Nixon’s missing eighteen minutes and his two children. Pruthi has stated that he didn’t “want to miss the eighteen minutes when it came to monitoring networks.”
Coincidentally, in 2000, when Pruthi was in China to meet with the Minister of Information, a reseller in Hong Kong had done a translation of NIKSUN’s data sheets into Chinese, and informed Pruthi that “NIKSUN” roughly translates into “information hunter”, which Pruthi thought appropriate for the purpose of the company.
NIKSUN’s first product was NetVCR, for Network Performance Management, followed by NIKSUN NetDetector, for Cyber Security.
NIKSUN states that some of the core features of their products are:
, Inc., and further expanded its reach into the network forensic marketplace. Sandstorm, based in Malden, Massachusetts, develops software and appliance products for network monitoring, network forensics analysis, and security auditing including telephone line scanning. Sandstorm’s security-oriented product line, best known for the security forensics analysis and visibility tool NetIntercept, enhanced NIKSUN's already strong position in the network security arena.
This market-leading functionality has now been integrated with core NIKSUN technology to create NetDetectorLive, NIKSUN's unique method of reconstructing packets in real-time.
NIKSUN has stated that their acquisition of Sandstorm was primarily driven by its strong customer synergies, technology, and product extension. In addition, NIKSUN selected Sandstorm for the strength and talent of its employees as well as its position as a leader in the network monitoring and phone system industries. Sandstorm’s Malden, Massachusetts, location is now part of NIKSUN’s Innovation Center and serves as NIKSUN’s “Boston Presence”.
History
NIKSUN’s history dates back to founder and CEO Parag Pruthi’s days at the Applied Research Division of Bellcore. Pruthi spent most of his time collecting data for troubleshooting Bellcore products. Over a period of time, he realized that the products were not functioning as desired, because the model had been drawn using faulty data and that the issue was with the method in which the data was collected.Simultaneously, the network technology industry was experiencing its own issues regarding the depth to which data was captured and how it was stored. Few, if any, in the industry had the foresight to know that packets provide enough information to detect critical errors occurring in mere microseconds, and that analyzing these packets could help resolve actual business-impacting network problems. Pruthi understood this issue and saw an opportunity for radical new technology.
The challenge was implementing a system capable of capturing, storing and analyzing data at extremely high speeds while making the model scalable to different business environments that would support the explosive growth of the Internet. In the early 1990’s, the industry had envisioned that the Internet was to grow by leaps and bounds in the coming years, and for any company to survive playing with data at such high bandwidth levels, the foundation needed to be strong. There was also a challenge in storing what could in essence be infinite data in its entirety, while having the ability to mine it for the necessary information. Pruthi took a sabbatical from Bellcore and wrote a thesis on capturing and modeling data using a new algorithm. His thesis was well received and, with a few other like-minded peers, he created a company, NIKSUN, to test the practicality of his thesis outside the lab and in live corporate networks. Since then, NIKSUN has grown, and has been profitable every year since its 1997 inception.
The name
The name “NIKSUN” actually comes from two sources. Pruthi and his father, Satish Pruthi, were discussing naming the company "Nixon" after the Watergate scandalWatergate scandal
The Watergate scandal was a political scandal during the 1970s in the United States resulting from the break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C., and the Nixon administration's attempted cover-up of its involvement...
. Pruthi, who has two children, Nikheel and Sunny, thought of combining his sons’ names to form “NIKSUN”. Thus the name NIKSUN comes from both Nixon’s missing eighteen minutes and his two children. Pruthi has stated that he didn’t “want to miss the eighteen minutes when it came to monitoring networks.”
Coincidentally, in 2000, when Pruthi was in China to meet with the Minister of Information, a reseller in Hong Kong had done a translation of NIKSUN’s data sheets into Chinese, and informed Pruthi that “NIKSUN” roughly translates into “information hunter”, which Pruthi thought appropriate for the purpose of the company.
Products
NIKSUN products have often been compared to security cameras for networks, performing in a manner that NIKSUN calls a “Camera on the Network” that views, records, and stores everything that crosses a packet network, such as Internet traffic or a private LAN. By leveraging techniques and methodologies from various fields such as chaos theory, fractal analytics, data warehousing and data mining, the company has changed the way networks, applications, and services are secured and managed. Through the combination of these seemingly unrelated disciplines, NIKSUN technology has significantly increased efficiency and scalability in the field of network analysis. Since its inception, NIKSUN has captured the market through its unique methods and powerful solutions. NIKSUN products are all built on a single engine that non-invasively plugs in via a Span or Port Tap, with no impact to network performance or traffic flow.NIKSUN’s first product was NetVCR, for Network Performance Management, followed by NIKSUN NetDetector, for Cyber Security.
NIKSUN states that some of the core features of their products are:
- Network security surveillance
- Mobile application security
- External and Internal Policy compliance verification
- Availability of network services, applications and underlying network infrastructure
- Voice and video over IP security and management
- Intelligent analytics
- Enterprise network visibility and fast incident response time
Sandstorm Enterprises
On January 12, 2010, NIKSUN acquired Sandstorm EnterprisesSandstorm Enterprises
Sandstorm Enterprises is a computer security software vendor founded in 1998 by Simson Garfinkel, James van Bokkelen, and Dan Geer. In January 2010, it was purchased by Niksun Enterprises.Sandstorm is located in the greater Boston Area...
, Inc., and further expanded its reach into the network forensic marketplace. Sandstorm, based in Malden, Massachusetts, develops software and appliance products for network monitoring, network forensics analysis, and security auditing including telephone line scanning. Sandstorm’s security-oriented product line, best known for the security forensics analysis and visibility tool NetIntercept, enhanced NIKSUN's already strong position in the network security arena.
This market-leading functionality has now been integrated with core NIKSUN technology to create NetDetectorLive, NIKSUN's unique method of reconstructing packets in real-time.
NIKSUN has stated that their acquisition of Sandstorm was primarily driven by its strong customer synergies, technology, and product extension. In addition, NIKSUN selected Sandstorm for the strength and talent of its employees as well as its position as a leader in the network monitoring and phone system industries. Sandstorm’s Malden, Massachusetts, location is now part of NIKSUN’s Innovation Center and serves as NIKSUN’s “Boston Presence”.
Awards
NIKSUN products have been well-received in worldwide reviews :- SC magazine awarded NIKSUN’s NetDetector and NetVCR Alpine 4.0 products 5 stars across the board. They also declared NIKSUN’s technology to be an SC Magazine “Best Buy”.
- NIKSUN was selected as one of the 10 Most Promising Companies in 2009 and as a Top 10 Networking Company in 2010 by Indian technology magazine SiliconIndia.
- NetVCR won InfoWorld’s coveted Product of the Year award in both 2004 and 2006.
- VAR magazine also gave NIKSUN technology 5 stars.