Protocol abuse targets vulnerabilities in many types of devices and applications, from firewalls, VoIP controllers and VPN gateways to intrusion-prevention systems and other perimeter defense. Despite the considerable investments made in security infrastructure, many vulnerabilities remain undetected. To alleviate protocol abuse, a new class of product - the security analyzer - can help IT departments assess the security of IP-based products, service or applications. A security analyzer utilizes a rigorous process, complete with an audit trail and remediation scripts, to find and fix vulnerabilities before deploying systems and software into production networks.

A security analyzer connects to a system and emulates hacking by generalizing techniques hackers employ and applying these as a comprehensive set of protocol attack vectors in a systematic, repeatable fashion. Unlike source code analyzers and vulnerability assessment tools, security analyzers can be used by nonexperts to assess systems and applications in a lab environment.

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