Endpoint security is arguably the hot information security topic in 2006-- small wonder. No matter how diligently you defend your perimeter, roaming laptops are bound to introduce worms, viruses and spyware into your network.
The mobility of commodity laptops equipped with wireless adapters has set your workforces free to work productively at home and on the road, as well as in the office. Consultants and vendors can plug into your networks for an hour or a day--how do you protect yourself against what they may bring in?
The two behemoths of network infrastructure and OS software, Cisco Systems and Microsoft, each have initiatives to ensure that endpoint devices comply with security policies before they are admitted to the corporate network. Not surprisingly, Cisco's Network Access Control (NAC) depends on the Cisco switching infrastructure, and Microsoft's Network Access Protection (NAP) works through Windows OSes. In addition to these pervasive yet proprietary approaches, Trusted Computing Group is developing the standards-based Trusted Network Connect (TNC).
Which, if any, should you choose to secure your endpoints and keep your local networks from being hammered by compromised machines that have become roaming malware collectors?
