Wiresoft is reportedly launching quite an intriguing program. “Hack us if you can” starts November 16th 2009. Just sign up for the contest and Wiresoft will fork over $24,000 if you can breach their security in 24 hours. A bold statement indeed. The taunting gesture comes at the launch of their new Unified Threat Management device, “Firegate.” Here’s the deal on Firegate and the SMB implications.

The VAR Guy is always wary when companies taunt hackers to give it their best shot. There’s a lot of legalities involved and it feels much like playing in a casino; the house always wins. (Really, is 24 hours enough time?)

But quirky contests aside, Firegate is being aimed as a high performance device for SMBs, and it’s supposed to be unbreakable while not breaking your bank:  Firegate has “no client-license fees, unlimited number of remote (PPTP) clients as well as an unlimited number of office-to-office (IPSEC) connections.” It’s also relatively small in size when compared to similar hardware solutions. Firegate is to be a Swiss-army knife of sorts. Something that Netgear has been working at, too. It does backups, spam, viruses, content filtering, and network security.

CNBC quoted Wiresoft President Tom Schram on chatting on similar themes Netgear had touched on: “With Firegate, businesses have a real alternative: a single all-in-one system that foils network security threats… at a price that any SMB can afford” and elaborated on some of the holes SMBs find difficult to patch when dealing with the cost versus security problem. It’s supposed to also be fast, cheap and easy to install too. It seems like a veritable grail of network security! Ironically, a price tag is no where to be found.Their site requires you to fill out a form if you’re interested in buying.

The Firegate package comes with continuous maintenance and monitoring program with ‘adaptive intelligence’ along side an “Automated Network Administrator,” which is supposed to help keep the box on the bleeding edge of network threats. Wiresoft touts that the box runs FreeBSD while being fully compliant with industry-specific regulations and standards (HIPAA, PCI, CIPA and GLBA.) Firegate comes in two flavors, the 100 and the 1000. the 100 supports (as you might’ve guessed) up to 100 clients, while the 1000 is an enterprise-level.

So at the end of the day, is this really something new for SMBs? We’ll have to wait and see. All the hoopla could be empty marketing. At least on November 16th, Wiresoft will be putting their money where their mouth is.

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