Wi-Fi Alliance Accepts OpenSEA 802.1X Supplicant

PLEASANTON, Calif., June 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the OpenSEAAlliance announced its 802.1X supplicant has been accepted into theWi-Fi Alliance's Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) test bed. The acceptanceis an important milestone in the development of open security standardsfor wireless networking and continues the momentum towards OpenSEA'sgoal of promoting the development and distribution of an open source802.1X supplicant. With the acceptance of the OpenSEA supplicant, theWPA testbed will now include two open source and two commercialsupplicants, reflecting the maturity of open source implementations ofkey wireless security protocols. With the new test bed components, theWi-Fi Alliance is adopting the same open source software already usedby many end users worldwide.

"Strong security is critical to enterprise networks and Wi-FiProtected Access (WPA2) is at the heart of Wi-Fi(tm) CERTIFIED testingfor interoperability," said Wi-Fi Alliance executive director EdgarFigueroa. "OpenSEA's participation in this program is instrumental inensuring that enterprise users get the full benefit of the latestsecure, interoperable wireless technology."

"The Open1X Project is pleased to be selected for the Wi-FiAlliance's WPA certification testbed. Open source software has a longhistory of supporting the development and testing of open industrystandards by providing reference implementations. Product vendors andend users rely on proven interoperable technologies when creating openstandards, and the user community benefits from readily availablesource code that allows users to directly participate in thedevelopment of the technology. As many new types of wireless devicescontinue to be developed, portable reference code for wireless securitywill become increasingly important," said Matthew Gast, a board memberof the OpenSEA Alliance and Chief Strategist at Trapeze Networks.

About 802.1X, Authenticators and Supplicants

802.1X is an IEEE standard providing authentication in LANs. It isused extensively in 802.11 wireless security and is a part of WPA, andis increasingly being used in wired Ethernet environments as well. The802.1X specification provides an authentication framework enablingendpoint devices to be authenticated by a central authenticationservice using the Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP). When aclient presents valid user credentials, the authentication server sendsan "accepted" message to the authenticator which then grants networkaccess to the supplicant.

The OpenSEA Alliance was formed in 2007 by leading networking andsecurity technology companies, including Symantec Corporation,TippingPoint, and Trapeze Networks, in conjunction with JANET(UK). SEAis an acronym for "Secure Edge Access." The group uses the word "open"because it develops and promotes open-source offerings. Likewise,OpenSEA has a strong preference for implementing each component withopen standards. As developers of many of the technology components,OpenSEA Alliance members are also keenly aware of the potential for a"sea change" as technologies and products supporting or leveragingOpenSEA's offerings gain broad acceptance and pervasive deployment.

End users and network managers benefit greatly from having robustopen-source offerings for secure edge access using the latest openstandards. By implementing open offerings in the secure edge accessarena, organizations are not tied to a particular vendor or hostoperating system. The OpenSEA Alliance source code, bug database,documentation, and future plans are publicly available at all times.

In addition to IT organizations, the OpenSEA Alliance is alsodedicated to work with other technology vendors, government agencies,academic institutions, and individual contributors. Members of thealliance benefit from the pooling of resources for development,testing, promotion, and awareness. Standards development organizationsbenefit from having widely available implementations of standards toprovide direct feedback on the technology and future standardsrevisions. They will also see first hand what elements of thetechnology is receiving the most interest in the user base.

About the Wi-Fi Alliance

The Wi-Fi Alliance is a global non-profit industry association ofhundreds of leading companies devoted to the proliferation of Wi-Fitechnology across devices and market segments. With technologydevelopment, market building, and regulatory programs, the Wi-FiAlliance has enabled widespread adoption of Wi-Fi, worldwide.

The Wi-Fi CERTIFIED(TM) program was launched in March 2000. Itprovides a widely-recognized designation of interoperability andquality, and it helps to ensure that Wi-Fi enabled products deliver thebest user experience. The Wi-Fi Alliance has completed more than 5,000product certifications to date, encouraging the expanded use of Wi-Fiproducts and services in new and established markets.

Wi-Fi(R), Wi-Fi Alliance(R), WMM(R), the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED logo, theWi-Fi logo, and the Wi-Fi ZONE logo are registered trademarks of theWi-Fi Alliance; Wi-Fi CERTIFIED(TM), Wi-Fi Protected Setup(TM), Wi-FiProtected Access (WPA)(TM), Wi-Fi Multimedia(TM), and the Wi-FiAlliance logo are trademarks of the Wi-Fi Alliance.

About Trapeze Networks

Trapeze Networks, a Belden Brand, is a leader in enterprise wirelessLAN equipment and management software. Trapeze was the first company tointroduce NonStop Wireless - delivering unmatched reliability toenterprise wireless LAN and its solutions. Wireless LAN is optimizedfor companies requiring mobility and high bandwidth such as healthcare,education, and hospitality. Trapeze delivers Smart Mobile(TM) whichalso provides scalable wireless LANs for applications such as voiceover Wi-Fi, location services, and indoor/outdoor connectivity.

Source: Trapeze Networks