ConSentry Bolsters Security at Network's Edge

The startup's new line of Ethernet switches are designed to control user access and secure every port on the network for enterprise branch offices.

Many networking vendors are pushing the idea of moving more intelligence to the edge of the network. But ConSentry Networks is taking that idea to a greater extreme when it comes to securing access at the network's edge.

The startup on May 7 introduced a new line of Ethernet switches built to control user access and secure every port on the network in an economical way for enterprise branch offices.

Declaring death to the wiring closet as it is known today, ConSentry also announced a new universal endpoint interoperability initiative to work with different endpoint vendors to ensure that a user coming into the network is identified and that the appropriate policies are applied to that user.

"How [wiring closets] have been built is now under siege. They have open access on all ports, there's no automated way to separate guests and contractors from employees, there's no control over how and what users are accessing, there's no knowledge of the endpoint - whether it's managed or unmanaged, safe or healthy - and there is no ability to contain the threat of malware," said Dan Leary, vice president of marketing for ConSentry, in Milpitas, Calif.

ConSentry's universal endpoint interoperability initiative is intended to cover all types of endpoint, managed or unmanaged, without the requirement to add more agents. It allows customers to leverage their existing investments in endpoint security but centralize control over access.

For managed endpoints, ConSentry's secure switching architecture works with security and access frameworks such as Microsoft's Network Access Protection and the Trusted Computing Group's Trusted Network Connect; anti-virus offerings from Symantec/Sygate, McAfee and Trend Micro; and client endpoints from regional providers such as Criston in France and NTT Data Intellilink. In addition, the ConSentry third-generation security and control software provides enforcement for those vendors' products.

ConSentry also extended its architecture to embrace unmanaged desktops, including Linux and Mac client operating systems as well as Windows, through a dissolvable agent.

ConSentry's security software, embedded in its LANShield switches and in its centralized InSight Command Center console, "starts with knowing who the user is and making sure their PC posture is good," Leary said.

Then application fluency adds the ability to perform user and behavior analysis. It works by going back to the identity store and learns as the user enters the network "their role in the organization, and [ it can ] understand the applications that are running. The intersection of that data builds a picture of what's happening on the network," Leary said.

Such understanding, which can be used as a foundation for creating access policies, is "a missing piece from others that just look at IP addresses or ports. This allows that policy decision to be made," he said.

The new LANShield CS-4024 24-port switch for branch offices provides Gigabit Ethernet connectivity and POE (power over Ethernet). It is due in the third quarter and starts at $5,995.

Copyright 2007 by Ziff Davis Media, Distributed by United Press International

Related stories:

Brightening the future for optical circuits
(PhysOrg.com) -- By working together to share costs and know-how, European researchers are shaking up the way research and development is carried out on optical chips.
Samsung and ETRI demonstrate world's first live 'mobile WiMAX evolution'
Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and ETRI announced the live demonstration of mobile WiMAX evolution, the next generation mobile WiMAX technology at ‘ITU-R Seoul Meeting,’ Oct. 7 to 15, 2008.
Netgear Launches A New Family Of Wireless-N Routers
Netgear today has announced a new family of Wireless-N networking solutions that will make it easy for anyone to upgrade their wireless home network to Wireless-N technology. This new technology supports the simultaneous use of bandwidth running intensive applications such as video streaming, voice-over-IP, online gaming and QoS (quality of service) to ensure the correct prioritization of traffic.
Free Adeona service tracks stolen laptops
(PhysOrg.com) -- As college students head back to school with gleaming new laptops, some will, unfortunately, see the last of their machine in a library, cafeteria or dorm room. And it's not just college campuses that are hot spots for computer theft, or just students who are the targets. Newspapers recently reported that airports in the United States record hundreds of thousands of laptop thefts annually. Such thefts are not only expensive, they also often mean losing sensitive data.
3D Virtual Reality Environment Developed at UC San Diego Helps Scientists Innovate
Its name sounds like something out of science fiction, but the StarCAVE at the University of California, San Diego is now a science fact. The virtual-reality environment allows groups of scientists to venture into worlds as small as nanoparticles and as big as the cosmos – permitting new insights that could fuel discoveries in many fields. Early users of the StarCAVE include UC San Diego researchers in biomedicine, neuroscience, structural engineering, archaeology, earth science, genomics, art history and other disciplines.
IBM Accelerates Virtual Desktop With Breakthrough Solution
IBM today announced a powerful new solution to help organizations slash virtual desktop infrastructure storage requirements by up to 80 percent, allowing them to take advantage of new cloud computing models at significantly reduced costs while increasing energy efficiency.
Internet phone fits inside laptop
There are literally dozens of Internet phone services these days. These services use a technology known as Voice over Internet Protocol, or more commonly "VoIP." The idea behind VoIP is fairly simply to understand but highly complex to make happen. I still don't think it's ready for prime time but it's getting better.
Simple and secure networked home
(PhysOrg.com) -- Most people will only start to control equipment remotely in their homes when they believe it is simple and safe to do so. A newly developed control system provides personalised answers.

News discussion:

Technology news