vArmour released a free download version of vArmour DSS-V Distributed Security System today, aimed at enhancing data center visibility and, subsequently, data center security.

Delivering real-time data, DSS-V provides insight into application activity within virtual and cloud environments. DSS-V also lets security teams pinpoint suspicious behavior and policy violations in the data center.

Unlike vArmour's flagship product, which provides underlying analytics, DSS-V allows customers to take immediate action.

That's not necessarily doable with traditional perimeter options, vArmour claims, as many don't consider the vulnerabilities associated with virtual and cloud environments, where flow patterns for data have drastically changed.

Because of this, many businesses find themselves at great risk for cyber attacks. DSS-V promises to give organizations a better view of their data centers, putting customers a step ahead of possible threats, for free.

Data breaches have been rampant lately, and that poses the true impetus behind DDS-V: 43 percent of businesses were breached last year, and less than 19 percent of those hacks were discovered by an internal IT staff.

"What led us to DSS-V is this growing recognition that people don't know what they don't know," says Keith Stewart, vice president of products at vArmour. "This is fundamentally not good from a community perspective. If you don't know what's happening in your environment, you can't protect yourself. This led us to believe that visibility should be free."

Moreover, Stewart says IT administrators struggle with getting the necessary budget clearance to properly protect their networks. This results in a patchwork of open source options thrown together, an inadequate answer to security threats.

Stewart says DSS-V helps customers dig deeper into the inner workings of the data center, a feat that has been difficult. "Because we can place protection next to the assets we're protecting, you gain a level of context and situational awareness that hasn't been available."

Stewart says the distributed model will continue to ripple its way through the industry as its benefits come to fruition. "Visibility should be a tool every IT professional has in their toolkit."