NAC Director Guest / Contractor Services
Khipu Networks are the premium reseller of Bradford NAC products in Europe and have been selling Bradford NAC Director GCS since the product launch in May 2008.
Network Access Control has been widely accepted and adopted across Education, Health and Government networks however there are many organisations who are hesitent to introduce a full NAC product into their network. Bradford Networks NAC Director GCS was developed to allow organisations to introduce NAC to meet smaller and specific requirements, apart from staff the biggest threat to a network is via the provision of guest / contractor access.
NAC Director GCS provides an instant point product to meet specific requirements but also provides a stepping stone approach, allowing organisations to upgrade to a full NAC product for all devices on a network as required.
Bradford Networks NAC Director GCS is the ideal solution for providing appropriate levels of network access to non-employee users. NAC Director GCS expands upon the field-tested capabilities of Bradfords flagship NAC Director solution, yet is tailored specifically to meet the need for providing flexible and secure access to visiting users on an enterprises network.
Customers requiring a NAC solution generally have a range of specific requirements, Bradford Networks GCS can also be purchased in various subsets to meet exact customer requirements.
The new products User Visibility and Control (UVC), Device Profile and Control (DPC), and Behavior Monitoring and Control (BMC) are subsets of Bradfords NAC Director and Campus Manager, and help IT teams control either users, devices, or suspicious behavior with easily added, cost-effective appliances. The new offerings give network administrators the potential to identify every user or device on their networks, a long-standing goal of security practitioners.
The new Bradford solutions are:
User Visibility and Control,
UVC is ideal for shared computing environments like call centers, nursing stations, and secondary schools, provides the power to know who is on the network and precise control over what network resources users can access.
Device Profile and Control,
DPC provides organisations with clinical, manufacturing, and facilities management systems with the ability to identify every device on the network. The solution automates management of medical instruments, HVAC units, IP phones, and printers that can outnumber PCs, laptops, and workstations.
Behavior Monitoring and Control
BMC addresses user and device misbehaviour by integrating with intrusion detection and prevention systems, network behaviour analysis tools, and traffic shapers to quickly identify network use violations and take action at the edge of the network. Utilities, retail, government, and financial services organisations focused on combating todays sophisticated attacks by professional criminals will benefit immediately from the new offering.
Integration across critical security processes, like NAC, identity access management (IAM) and intrusion prevention, is key to effective and efficient security. said John Pescatore, Vice President Distinguished Analyst, Gartner, Inc. Taking advantage of the increased visibility NAC brings into what types of devices are on the network and what users are doing can lead to higher levels of security at lower costs.
User Visibility and Control and Behavior Monitoring and Control are available immediately, with Device Profile and Control available in Q1 2009. All point solutions can be easily upgraded to Bradfords Networks full NAC capabilities via license upgrades.
Business Drivers
Guests, business partners, and contractors require flexible network access as they are often mobile users who interact with various groups or departments within the enterprise. Access privileges may need to follow the user from one location to another and from one access method to another (i.e., wired LAN connection to wireless LAN connection), and their access privileges must be aligned with their function or role in supporting the business.
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Enterprises are regularly visited by suppliers, distributors, resellers, partners, and customers in the course of doing business. The ability to provide basic network access to these and other guest users increases users productivity during times when they are on site for brief business meetings. Access is generally needed only for a short period of a few hours to a day, and is typically limited to providing Internet access only. Enterprises today commonly provide wireless internet access from their reception area and/or meeting rooms where guests are likely to be located. |
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Business partners working on-site can require access to enterprise resources similar to what is available for some employees yet strict access controls need to be enforced to protect proprietary and confidential information. Access may be required on a continuous basis, or for specific days or times when a partner is regularly scheduled to work on site. |
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Outsourcing of non-core business functions and contracting with third parties for their special knowledge, skills, and services requires a greater level of information and resource sharing. Contractor access is often needed for extended time periods weeks, months, or even years and with greater levels of access to network resources and sensitive or proprietary information. Network access requirements vary depending on the type of work or projects being outsourced. For example, some contractors are brought in for ad hoc, quick-turn tactical projects; some are brought in for recurring projects, and still others are brought in as a staff extension to augment regular staff for an extended period of time. Ad hoc projects typically require contractors to access specific systems for a limited time. For example, a specialist may be hired for two weeks to enhance the use of sales force automation software. During this time the specialist requires authorized access to the enterprise network and the sales force automation system itself. Regularly scheduled projects or recurring tasks, such as periodic asset inventories or quarterly financial audits, have similar needs for contractor access to enterprise systems for short time periods. Depending on the project, contractors may require enhanced access privileges to internal data and systems. Long-term projects may require contractors who are effectively an extension to the enterprises own staff, though they are not direct employees. These users often work side-by-side with regular employees and access many of the same internal network resources during projects that may last for several months or even a year or more. For further information, please contact a Khipu Sales Representative on 0845 2720900 |
