Fiberlink Takes NAC Mobile

Fiberlink this week introduced the latest version of the software platform the company uses as the foundation for its hosted mobile management service. It also launched what it's calling a "mobile NAC" offering that takes advantage of the new capabilities.

Fiberlink's Mobile NAC product is focused mainly on laptop security, providing core network access control functions, including policy management, endpoint assessment, quarantine, enforcement and remediation. Rather than inspecting laptops only when they attempt to access the network, Mobile NAC assesses and remediates machines at all times, from start-up to shutdown, the vendor said. Noncompliant systems are repaired automatically and are allowed safely back on the network.Underlying the Mobile NAC software is Fiberlink's Extend360 Mobility Platform, which the company also has upgraded. The portal comes with a new dashboard network managers can use to get a consolidated view of threats and better administer IT policies. Fiberlink said businesses can customize their views to map activity to corporate security metrics. The company also is adding a new software agent for end-user devices that ensures all systems meet corporate IT security standards.

Version 2.0 adds a variety of features, including improved wireless authentication performance, support for enterprise proxy environments, support for new mobile data devices such as embedded EV-DO laptops and a Network Lockdown feature that can be used to prevent noncompliant computers from accessing specific elements of a corporate network.

Fiberlink also debuted two new integration services. The first, ExtendAccess, helps companies connect their Wi-Fi access points, third-party hotspots and wireless networks to the Fiberlink Connectivity Services for monitoring and management. The second, ExtendIdentity, gives organizations a mechanism to manage network access and policies from their own LDAP-compliant identity management systems.