ForeScout CounterACT protects Albany County network

(25/05/2009)

Local government offices need a way to keep track of their network assets and manage “coming and going” devices and users. ForeScout Technologies' CounterACT addresses this requirement by detecting every connecting device in real-time and enforcing network security policies across all managed and unmanaged devices – desktops, laptops, non-OS systems and USB drives – without the need for a software agent of any kind.

ForeScout Technologies has announced that Albany County, New York has standardised on the CounterACT™ family of network access control (NAC) appliances in its local government network for real-time visibility and control over all network devices.

“After a lengthy evaluation of seven NAC solutions, we standardised on CounterACT for its ability to give us instant plug-and-play visibility into everything on our network - minus the hassle and headaches incurred with competitive solutions,” said Perry Blanchard, network security engineer at Albany County. “CounterACT is now a key component of our IT Asset Management suite – and more: it offers us access control with integrated intrusion prevention features that help us enforce and maintain the security posture of every device on our production network.”

CounterACT is an easy-to-deploy appliance that can be added without any changes to the network infrastructure. It has the ability to see and control every connected IP device down to the switch port. It provides complex policies to enable and enforce security processes and standards, performs access control without the need to first deploy 802.1x, and enforces actions such as peer-to-peer shutdown, post-connection monitoring for threat prevention, and detection/blocking of banned devices – such as USBs, where needed.

“CounterACT is often recognised for its ability to deliver automated, real-time visibility of all network connections – enabling fast and reliable inventory and control of enterprise-IT assets,” said Gord Boyce, president of ForeScout. “It’s a simple task that no other NAC solution has solved so completely, and just one of the many reasons leading enterprise and government agencies choose CounterACT over costly embedded or inline solutions offered by switch vendors such as Cisco or Juniper.”

Related topics:  Hacking and intrusion prevention   Internet and Web security   Mobile and Wireless Security   Network Security 

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