ENDFORCE Announces Support for Trusted Network Connect Architecture to Extend its Ability to Protect Networks from Non-Compliant Endpoints

DUBLIN, Ohio, May 3, 2005 - ENDFORCE, the leader in vendor-neutral Network Access Control (NAC) solutions, today announced support for the Trusted Network Connect (TNC) architecture. TNC determines the health and security of clients connecting to networks and controls network access based on pre-defined policies. ENDFORCE, a contributing developer of the architecture and member of the Trusted Computing Group (TCG) will fully support the TNC architecture in all of its products, including ENDFORCE Enterprise™.

TNC architecture provides a common framework for endpoint configuration based on system integrity and identity, with the option to incorporate the added security provided by Trusted Platform modules based on TCG specifications. TNC was developed by a 60-member subgroup of the TCG, which was formed to create, define and promote open standards for trusted computing and security technologies and now has more than 100 members.

According to Mark Beadles, ENDFORCE Chief Architect and one of the TNC specification editors, the first phase of the architecture offers two standardized APIs to address the exchange of compliance data and results between systems requesting network access and policy decision points.

"The ENDFORCE approach always focuses on delivering flexible and easy-to-use, standards-based solutions that work in heterogeneous large scale environments," Beadles said. "A key contributor to the standards, ENDFORCE supports TNC architecture and TCG's open and non-proprietary approach to determining endpoint health prior to granting network access. Enterprises continue to deploy multiple technologies and vendors into their network and security environments. Leveraging all of these resources is a clear benefit to enterprise customers."

ENDFORCE Enterprise allows corporations to define, assess, report and enforce endpoint security policies of all network users, including contractors, remote users and office-based workers. Prior to authentication, ENDFORCE Enterprise detects and quarantines unsecured endpoints, whether they are connected via a LAN, wireless connection, WAN, or VPN, and prevents them from accessing corporate resources until they are brought into compliance. With its Context Aware Authorization™ technology, ENDFORCE offers IT and security managers a powerful combination of user authentication, assessment and reporting tools.