9/16/2008 -- There's a silver lining to the spate of spam that threatens to smother us all -- for network security vendors on the whole, and for Cisco Systems Inc. most of all.

According to market watcher Infonetics Research, the network security segment posted strong gains in the second quarter of this year. That's an encouraging turnaround from earlier this year, when the network appliance and software space posted its first losing quarter in four years.

The prime driver? The ongoing -- and ostensibly unstoppable -- proliferation of spam and malware.

"Most network security vendors noted good growth in North America, and good pipelines for the rest of the year. Though the economy is still depressed overall, staggering increases in attack volume have forced companies to continue making new investments in security," said Jeff Wilson, a principal analyst for network security at Infonetics Research, in a statement.

For the quarter, network security revenues grew by nearly 10 percent in North America. Cisco led the overall segment by snagging 40 percent of global revenues in Q2, thanks largely to robust sales of its integrated appliance and IDS/IP offerings.

Cisco archrival Juniper was the No. 2 player, realizing a boost in revenue thanks to strong demand for its secure routers. Elsewhere, TippingPoint posted 35 percent quarter-over-quarter growth in the IDS/IPS segment. --Stephen Swoyer