Cylink is adding a PC client to its NetHawk VPN equipment, enabling for the first time, remote-access VPN connections to the NetHawk gateway.

The client is the well-known and respected SafeNet client that is used by other VPN hardware makers such as 3Com, Nokia and Cisco.

This makes it possible for enterprises to give laptop users access to VPNs even when they are traveling. As long as the laptop has Internet access, the remote user can establish a secure VPN tunnel back to headquarters over the Internet. Before, VPN connections were only possible NetHawk to NetHawk.

In addition to the client, Cylink is adding new features to the NetHawk VPN gateway. These include its own certificate authority to distribute digital certificates to VPN devices and its own internal LDAP server for setting policies for VPN users. The gear also copies type of service (ToS) bits to the IP Security header; these indicate what service quality a packet should receive. Without this capability, the ToS bit would be encapsulated and hidden from routers, so the routers would not be able to enforce service quality.

The NetHawk also supports perfect forward secrecy, which means it issues separate keys for each time Data Encryption Standard-3 traffic is encrypted. That way, if one key is broken, the others don’t become vulnerable.

These new capabilities and the client make Cylink worth a look for enterprises that are considering a build-your-own VPN.

» posted by ITworld staff

Network World

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