Cisco And IBM Team Up For Endpoint Security Solution

IBM and Cisco today announced a set of integrated end-point security solutions designed to protect networks against vulnerabilities, and to minimize the impact those threats have on an enterprise's day-to-day business operations.

The companies have integrated IBM Tivoli security policy compliance software with Cisco Network Admission Control (NAC), to allow enterprises to enforce criteria for users and devices logging onto the network.

The collaboration allows IT staff to automatically control who and what devices are given access to the network, based on enterprise-wide security policies. So when a device tries to log on to the network, for example, IBM's Tivoli Security Compliance Manager ensures that it is using the proper patches, antivirus updates, and other security software. The device is only allowed onto the network if it has the proper security updates, otherwise, the IBM Tivoli Provisioning Manager will prompt it to download the necessary software.

The companies note that the new system is particularly important in today's mobile computing environment, in which mobile workers' PCs may become infected when away from the network, and can infect an entire network when they log in.

The announcement comes at a time when Cisco has been building more security into its switches and routers, and in which the company has been targeting end-point security. Cisco's routers and switches are already compliant with 802.1x, a standard for enabling identity management.The announcement is an extension of an IBM-Cisco partnership focusing on security. In February, they announced a new enterprise security model, and integrated identity management products for network access and integrated laptop and desktop security technologies.