Articles
The following article is from the
September 1999 issue of Network World~ Fusion Focus:
New security initiatives from Check Point
By Tim Greene
Network World~Fusion Focus
September 8, 1999
The surge in popularity of virtual private networks, with their mix of strong authentication, encryption and restricted access rights, has led to a heightened focus on security risks.
VPN vendors are devising new ways to protect networks, and not just from the threat of attack from the outside.
Take Check Point Software, for instance. In a recent major announcement, the company has blended beefed-up external security with new internal firewalling capabilities. In essence, Check Point's
Secure Virtual Network architecture extends the VPN inside the perimeter firewall at a site, and brings it down to the individual server and desktop.
A key element of Check Point's new architecture is the capability to turn raw logging data into usage reports. This is vital for network managers to get a grip on who is using the VPN and for what. Armed with that data, they can plan for growth.
Check Point also says it is starting an interoperability pact with other vendors so its VPN equipment can share public encryption keys. If this effort is successful, it will probably add to the proliferation of VPNs, not just throughout the LAN and WAN but also into the networks of business partners.
Check Point's efforts indicate the direction VPN vendors need to take: extending VPN security to cover more of the enterprise; making ever-more-complex networks easier to manage; and making interoperability so commonplace that it is no longer a concern to customers.
New security initiatives from Check Point
By Tim Greene
Network World~Fusion Focus
September 8, 1999
The surge in popularity of virtual private networks, with their mix of strong authentication, encryption and restricted access rights, has led to a heightened focus on security risks.
VPN vendors are devising new ways to protect networks, and not just from the threat of attack from the outside.
Take Check Point Software, for instance. In a recent major announcement, the company has blended beefed-up external security with new internal firewalling capabilities. In essence, Check Point's
Secure Virtual Network architecture extends the VPN inside the perimeter firewall at a site, and brings it down to the individual server and desktop.
A key element of Check Point's new architecture is the capability to turn raw logging data into usage reports. This is vital for network managers to get a grip on who is using the VPN and for what. Armed with that data, they can plan for growth.
Check Point also says it is starting an interoperability pact with other vendors so its VPN equipment can share public encryption keys. If this effort is successful, it will probably add to the proliferation of VPNs, not just throughout the LAN and WAN but also into the networks of business partners.
Check Point's efforts indicate the direction VPN vendors need to take: extending VPN security to cover more of the enterprise; making ever-more-complex networks easier to manage; and making interoperability so commonplace that it is no longer a concern to customers.
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