2012 Winners

Winner

Protecting host-based computing platforms and network resources from threats that are brought in by employees, vendors, contractors and guests involves a numbers of solutions and policies. From anti-virus and firewalls to IDS/IPS solutions, the products run the gamut. However, to control access to network resources at the endpoint, the tools companies often rely on are network access control (NAC) products. These solutions can be used to validate the existence of certain security measures and validate that they are properly configured and up-to-date. They also can validate the existence of current OS patches and can be used to manage the complexity associated with overseeing permissions and authorizations for various groups of users. Most will integrate with a common directory structure, some will provide local authentication capabilities, while others will match something on the endpoint – such as an agent or MAC address – to the authentication before allowing access to the protected network resources.

Best NAC product