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Newbury Networks Announces WiFi Watchdog 4.0 For Location-Based WLAN Security and Containment
Newbury Networks Inc., provider of location-based management and security solutions for wireless networks, introduced a new version of its wireless LAN (WLAN) security product, WiFi Watchdog(TM) 4.0. Through its patented location technology, WiFi Watchdog 4.0 extends it breakthrough perimeter security capabilities by stopping unsecured WLAN usage across the enterprise. In addition, WiFi Watchdog 4.0's distributed packet inspection and flexible alerts provide IT/Security personnel with expanded capabilities for defending mission-critical data against wireless attacks.
WiFi Watchdog works with any standard wireless WLAN deployment such as Cisco® network infrastructure to detect, monitor and secure the location of all 802.11 traffic. It identifies any type of 802.11 device - authorized or unauthorized - as well as rogue access points and then immediately alerts IT personnel of any potential intruder actions. WiFi Watchdog utilizes Newbury's LocalePoint(TM) sensors to monitor all channels on the 802.11b, 802.11g and 802.11a standards.
"Proactively managing and containing wireless LAN devices goes a long way toward securing an organization's critical data infrastructure while giving employees the freedom of mobile computing," said Michael Maggio, president and CEO, Newbury Networks, Inc. "But if you're not correlating location information to help determine where the attacking or unapproved devices exist, such as inside versus outside, you're shooting in the dark and possibly attacking neighboring networks that may be harmless. WiFi Watchdog 4.0 gives enterprises these unique capabilities to physically locate unapproved devices and threats and automatically 'snipe' offending users or attackers to protect the network."
To address the critical security issues enterprises face in today's wireless networks, WiFi Watchdog 4.0 provides the following key features and benefits:
* WLAN Containment -- WiFi Watchdog 4.0's active sensors provide wireless containment to prevent breaches that can regularly occur with WLAN use. Rogue WLANs are a common threat that is often difficult to detect and shut down from the wired side. When rogue WLANs are detected inside the organization's facilities, WiFi Watchdog 4.0 automatically transmits disassociation and de-authentication frames to prevent clients from associating to these unsecured WLANs. To prevent legitimate inside clients from being attacked, WiFi Watchdog 4.0 identifies the physical location of the device or attack and ensures that only real threats are contained, not just a neighbor's harmless wireless network. In addition, when valid inside devices establish an unapproved connection to outside devices such as neighboring access points, connections to an attacker's "honey pot" or a "Phishing AP", WiFi Watchdog 4.0 can trigger wireless containment to stop that connection and prevent the inside device from re-connecting.
* Distributed Packet Inspection -- WiFi Watchdog 4.0 uses its LocalePoint sensors to collect all 802.11 traffic on a wireless network and then submits this data to the Distributed Packet Inspection agents to scan the packets for threats, attacks and unusual activity. Once the Packet Inspection agents identify threats, they forward events to the centralized WiFi Watchdog 4.0 server to correlate with location information and trigger appropriate alerts and containment actions. Newbury's distributed agent architecture enables redundancy and load balancing in large-scale wireless deployments, and supports full wireless security for dispersed geographic locations under a single centralized security policy.
* Flexible Alerting Engine -- WiFi Watchdog 4.0's Flexible Alerting Engine provides a mechanism to define events (such as a packet pattern that indicates a particular type of attack) that trigger alerts based on packet contents, device status, date/time and physical location. This enables Newbury's customers and partners to develop and drop in custom attack definitions as well as customize when and to whom alerts are sent via SMTP or SNMP. The scriptable Alerting Engine allows immediate and real time updates without requiring re-compile, re-boot, or re-configuration of a distributed WiFi Watchdog 4.0 deployment - saving IT/Security personnel valuable time and enhancing productivity gains significantly.
"As the number of wireless LANs increases in both the enterprise and government application, and wireless 'hotspots' become more pervasive, so will the need for pro-active perimeter security that cannot only identify and selectively target specific types of network attacks but tailor alerts and actions for each potential threat," said Tim Scannell, President and Chief Analyst, Shoreline Research. "With the introduction of WiFi Watchdog 4.0, Newbury Networks takes the company's location-based perimeter security capabilities to the next level, ultimately protecting enterprise and mission critical networks with an expanded safe boundary."
Pricing and Availability
WiFi Watchdog 4.0 is available immediately and is priced starting at $14,995. 02.11.2004, Newbury Networks Inc.
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