Cisco integrates security

Enterprise network threats are escalating in both speed and magnitude, and IT staff, no matter how able they may be, cannot respond quickly enough to today's attacks. In response, Cisco Systems Inc. has developed a new program that the company says will protect computer networks from attacks better than point solutions like intrusion detection systems and firewalls.

John Chambers, president and CEO of Cisco, last month outlined the Cisco Network Admissions Control (NAC) program, whose aim is to prevent the mass destruction of threats like the recent Blaster worm and Slammer virus by scanning devices when they attempt to connect to a corporate network.

Developed in conjunction with antivirus vendors Network Associates Inc., Symantec Corp. and Trend Micro Inc., Cisco said the initiative will tackle the risks posed by mobile and remote workers in enterprise environments who connect to corporate networks.

According to Charles Giancarlo, senior vice-president and general manager, switching, voice and storage with San Jose, Calif.-based Cisco, remote users can become inflected through home or hotel connections or even through CDs and DVDs.

"When a user is outside the corporate network, the usual IT safeguards are no longer in place," he said during a Web conference last month. "In coming together to solve the critical problem that faces security today, we are uniting behind the power of the network to defend IT infrastructures against attacks."

The NAC essentially detects non-compliant devices -- those that may harbor viruses -- and denies network access or quarantines the device until the network administrator can correct the problem.

Giancarlo explained that the NAC's underlying technology -- Trust Agent -- gets installed on laptops, home PCs and mobile devices that connect to corporate networks. Trust Agent determines certain levels of security, such as whether a device has been recently patched or has the latest virus-recognition files.

"The explosion of wireless, mobile devices and pagers has made the corporation much more vulnerable to attack," said George Samenuk, CEO of Network Associates.

The program is part of Cisco's Self Defending Network strategy, whereby the company has outlined several key needs to keep networks healthy and running.

"We need automated and proactive solutions that can defend against threats like viruses immediately when they occur," Chambers said. "We need to move from stand-alone security devices to integrated security services in the network infrastructure. Lastly, we need to move from individual security products or services that operate independently to [offerings] that operate together as part of a cohesive security system."

Network Associates, Symantec and Trend Micro have licensed