Wednesday, 18 October 2006

Cisco Fortifies Mobile Enterprise Security

Building on the recent acquisition of Meetinghouse Data Communications, Cisco has unveiled the Cisco Secure Services Client 4.0, a security software that is said to provide enterprises with a single authentication framework for multiple devices to securely access wired and wireless networks.

"Network security must be comprehensive and effective, but at the same time easy to use," said Craig Mathias, a principal with the wireless and mobile advisory firm Farpoint Group. "With networks becoming more complex and users demanding improved ease of use, administrators need an extensible means of managing security policies that can scale and can adapt to individuals’ needs regardless of location, time or device."

Designed for conformance with the IEEE 802.1X authentication standard, the Cisco Secure Services Client 4.0 makes access control decisions before any client device is given an IP address. This provides a front line of defense, which helps to protect the network at its first point of exposure, as per the statement issued by the company.

According to Cisco, highlights include:

• Support for Cisco security solutions including the Cisco Secure Access Control Server and the Cisco Self Defending Network via Network Admission Control (NAC)
• Support for Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) protocols
• Support for Wi-Fi encryption modes: Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP), Dynamic WEP (802.1X), TKIP and AES
• Support for industry standards, including Wi-Fi Protected Access-personal mode (WPA-personal mode), WPA2-personal mode, WPA2-enterprise mode
• Compatibility with Wi-Fi certified devices