CHECK POINT SOFTWARE EXTENDS OPEN PLATFORM TO FURTHER VPN LEADERSHIP
First to Integrate Advanced VPNs and Strong Authentication REDWOOD CITY, Calif., – August 2, 1999 – Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (Nasdaq: CHKP) today announced that it is extending its OPSEC (Open Platform for Security) to provide integration and interoperability for authentication systems. In addition, Check Point Software is also extending its core technology, Stateful Inspection, to support new enterprise applications from Oracle and others. "Today, customers worldwide face the challenge of securely deploying their enterprise applications across the Internet," said Asheem Chandna, vice-president of marketing and business development for Check Point Software Technologies. "Our Open Platform uniquely enables security via a standards-based IPSec VPN with strong authentication systems and the industry's broadest application support." 1. Enabling Standards-Based VPNs with Strong Authentication Systems Check Point Software is introducing a new "hybrid mode" that enables secure support for strong authentication systems within an IPSec standards-based VPN implementation. Hybrid mode extends IPSec IKE, the emerging standard for VPN communications, to utilize challenge-response authentication systems, including widely deployed systems like RADIUS, TACACS+ and SecurID. Hybrid mode is currently being reviewed by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) as an extension to the IPSec IKE protocol. Via OPSEC, Check Point Software is providing authentication vendors with an application programming interface (API) that integrates hybrid mode authentication, resulting in greater transparency and security for end-users. In addition, integration between VPN clients and widely deployed multivendor smart cards is not currently standardized within IPSec. Check Point Software is supporting an API to enable industry-leading PKIs and smart cards to be seamlessly integrated for deployment within IPSec VPN environments. 2. Providing Extended Application Support Check Point Software is extending Stateful Inspection, the leading application awareness Internet security technology, to provide policy enforcement for new enterprise applications. Extending Stateful Inspection enables support for important new applications as well as the more than 150 applications already supported by Check Point to extend to the Internet and extranet environments. The new applications include Oracle8i, Citrix WinFrame and Microsoft Exchange, as well as support for "next-layer" security in Internet protocols such as RTSP (for streaming media), IIOP (for enterprise applications), NetBIOS & DCOM (for Microsoft applications and services) and Novell's NetWare5 services over IP. "With VPNs becoming a more strategic part of the enterprise network, customers are seeking full-strength security solutions for their mission-critical applications," said Robert McCord, senior director of product management, Application Server Group, Oracle Corporation (Nasdaq: ORCL). "Oracle is working closely with Check Point Software to provide the highest levels of secure connectivity and manageability in open, Internet-based environments."
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. is the worldwide leader in secure enterprise networking solutions. The company's integrated architecture includes network security (FireWall-1, VPN-1, Provider-1 and Check Point RealSecure), traffic control (FloodGate-1 and ConnectControl), and IP address management (Meta IP). Check Point Software solutions enable customers to implement centralized policy-based management with enterprise-wide distributed deployment. Via the OPSEC Alliance, Check Point Software's products seamlessly integrate with "best-of-breed" products from more than 200 leading industry partners. The company has U.S. headquarters in Redwood City, California and international headquarters in Ramat-Gan, Israel. For more information, please call (800) 429-4391 or (650) 628-2000 or visit http://www.checkpoint.com or http://www.opsec.com. ### (c) 1999 Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. All rights reserved. Check Point, the Check Point logo, FireWall-1, FloodGate-1, INSPECT, IQ Engine, Meta IP, Open Security Extension, OPSEC, Provider-1, User-to-Address Mapping, VPN-1, VPN-1 Accelerator Card, VPN-1 Appliance, VPN-1 Certificate Manager, VPN-1 Gateway, VPN-1 SecuRemote, and ConnectControl are trademarks or registered trademarks of Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. or its affiliates. All other product names mentioned herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. The products described in this document are protected by U.S. Patent No. 5,606,668 and 5,835,726 and may be protected by other U.S. Patents, foreign patents, or pending applications. |