Network access control and NAC security access control

Another reason for the appeal of NAC is the realization that after years of hardening the perimeter, a greater risk to our security comes from the insider threat. This insider threat can be from users of company-owned devices, or from guests using non-company owned endpoints. The third appeal of NAC is the ability to use the network to intelligently protect itself from harm. Of course, a network that protects itself often requires significant upgrades or modifications, which in some cases may outweigh the benefits of deploying NAC.

The concept of a network access controller first appeared on the market in 2004 with early entrants such as StillSecure's Safe Access. The market, and even the name NAC, began to gather significant momentum during this time, along with Cisco's announcement of network admission control and the self-defending network initiative. Shortly after, Microsoft announced their own network security access control initiative and framework called network access protection, or NAP. The Trusted Computing Group also revealed their Trusted Network Connect open standard for NAC functionality. Gartner was one of the first entities to use the term NAC to mean network access control, which has since caught on and refers today to a wide range of access control technologies. The timing of this coincided with, and capitalized on, the realizations driving the appeal of NAC, creating a rush of solutions to solve these network access issues.

These different aspects of NAC all coming to market has served to create a somewhat muddled picture of what NAC does and how it works. Combined with other options around NAC, (automated remediation versus self-remediation, inline NAC versus out-of-band NAC, and appliance versus network based) has caused confusion and made it difficult for customers to clearly choose the solution that will best solve their problems.

Network access control software solutions, NAC systems, programs, and more

These disparate approaches to NAC have competed in the marketplace for dominance. Even though pre-connect NAC solutions like Safe Access have consistently been shown as a first priority for a NAC solution by customers, other types of NAC are also desirable if possible. As a result, many providers of post-connect or identity based NAC have added some capabilities to perform at least cursory pre-connect NAC checks (which include checks for the presence of anti-virus and the latest windows hotfixes). As the NAC market has matured, it is clear that the market and customers are demanding this "Complete NAC". Safe Access covers both bases with both pre- and post-connect testing/monitoring.

StillSecure is uniquely qualified to fulfill this market request. Unlike other NAC vendors whose expertise was in one focus area of the technology or another, StillSecure has had products and significant R&D activity in all of these areas for some time. The StillSecure suite of solutions, which covers a wide range of security and network expertise, and products, provides everything needed to deliver Complete NAC to customers. A broad, deep, and flexible pre-connect testing and enforcement capability, such as that provided by Safe Access, is the rock upon which Complete NAC is based. Built upon this are vital features such as:

• Reliable and effective post-connect monitoring and inspection of traffic that will detect potential policy violations and offer a range of responses
• Assignment to access policies and specific health checks based on user and device
• Limiting network access based on identity and device
• Support for the major NAC frameworks and standards to leverage investment in existing and future infrastructure
• Identification of and the ability to test and enforce non-Windows OS devices
• Flexibility in enforcement options, both inline and out-of-band deployment alternatives, automated and self remediation capability and scalable, redundant design