New Aventail SSL VPN Does NAC
Dubbed ST2, the new platform provides a single gateway for remote access and includes beefed up endpoint control, policy management, and secure access features, according to Chris Witeck, director of product market at Seattle-based Aventail.
A new watermarking feature enables ST2 administrators to link a client certificate with a mobile device, which can determine if a device is managed or unmanaged and simplify the process of revoking user access if a mobile device is lost or misplaced, Witeck said.
ST2 adds a centralized policy management feature that gives administrators an easy way to manage multiple users and devices by taking into account the security status of the endpoint, Witeck said. Endpoint devices that don't meet policy requirements are either denied access or steered into a quarantine zone where remediation takes place, he added.
John Menezes, president and CEO of Cyberklix, a Mississauga, Ontario-based solution provider, says ST2's new features make it a viable network access control solution. "This is an efficient way to implement NAC without waiting for Cisco," he said.
ST2 helps to solidify internal security by interrogating notebook PCs and mobile devices each time they connect to the network, Menezes added.
Another key new feature of ST2 is secure application-to-application access for Windows 2003 Server and Windows XP, which is designed to enable branch offices to transmit data back to a central location without human interaction, Witeck said.
Aventail's ST2 will be available in August and is priced starting at $3995.