on May 25th, 2007

There are lots of reasons NAC should be a part of your company’s security solution, but here are the biggest things it can do:

Related Articles:

• 5 Steps to NAC Deployment
  
• Network Access Control: Securing the Perimeter
  
• NAC Security: The New Hotness
• NAC Comparison Guide

Manage Compliance Issues: Map internal security/compliance policies to configurations of servers and endpoints.

Control Malware: Controls the level of access of machines to the LAN or WAN that do not have the latest patches installed, or are otherwise not compliant with security policies, and so may be compromised.

Control Guest Access: Validates guest entry to the network and then allows them only temporary or limited access to the LAN, email or Web according to defined enterprise guest policies.

Control Endpoints: Scans all devices that are connected to the network to make sure they conform to baseline security requirements for patches, , anti-virus definitions etc. before allowing them to actually access the network.

Manage Remote Access: Scans remote devices, which are typically those most likely to be infected with viruses or otherwise corrupted, to make sure they have the latest security updates installed before allowing access to the network.

Protect Sensitive Information: Makes sure each endpoint, after being granted access to the network, only gets to the resources and information that it’s authorized for and doesn’t wander to those it’s not.

Protect from Insider Threats: Enforces corporate policies to make sure employees and other trusted insiders can only get to the information they need for their daily jobs or, in the case of unintended problems, makes sure the devices they use have the latest patches installed etc.

Audit Patch Processes: Scans systems connected to the network to make sure they are up to date with scheduled patches, and pushes patch updates automatically to those that aren’t.

Extend Existing Investments: Works with other devices and systems already in place such as firewalls, intrusion detection and prevention etc. to provide a more complete security solution for the enterprise.

Lower Overall Costs: By continually scanning for, assessing and fixing potential problems a well-designed NAC reduces the need for manual patching and other interventions.

Related Stories:

5 Steps to NAC Deployment

Network Access Control: Securing the Perimeter

NAC Security: The New Hotness

NAC Comparison Guide