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Norwegian Local Government Deploys Juniper Networks for Unified Access Control

Posted on: Monday, 25 September 2006, 09:00 CDT

Juniper Networks, Inc. (Nasdaq:JNPR) today announced that Fredrikstad

Kommune, a municipal authority in Norway, has selected the Juniper

Networks Unified Access Control (UAC) solution to provide ubiquitous

network access for some users while restricting access to others. The

Juniper Networks UAC solution was also selected to maintain high levels

of data security throughout the network and ensure compliance with

stringent data protection laws.

A thin-client application strategy is deployed across the majority of

Fredrikstad Kommune's employees, but there are

also a significant number of employees using non-standard applications

to process confidential health service and social security data. The

organization is bound by strict data protection regulations, which

requires Fredrikstad Kommune to secure LAN-based network access for

these key users and ensure data integrity is not compromised. To solve

this challenge, the organization deployed the Juniper Networks Infranet

Controller and Agent to enable granular endpoint and identity-based

controls, and Juniper Networks firewall/virtual private network (FW/VPN)

appliances to act as enforcement points for policy decisions while also

maintaining protection against the latest worms, viruses and trojans.

"For our non-standard application users to be

productive, we had to allow them access to the network from different

sites. To allow this while remaining fully compliant and secure, we

needed to deploy effective per-user authentication and security policies

within the local area network and beyond, as well as providing

protection from viruses, hackers, and other threats,"

said Tor Ulf Nilsson, IT Advisor for Fredrikstad Kommune. "As

a local government authority we have a limited budget, so we couldn't

just rip out our existing infrastructure and re-build everything to meet

these objectives. The Juniper Networks solution is an open-standards

solution that provides high-levels of visibility and control across the

network and enables us to leverage our existing equipment."

The Infranet Controller appliances are configured based on Fredrikstad

Kommune's security policies, which include

using unique passwords, enabling per-user access rights to databases,

controlling network resources and application use, and ensuring

anti-virus and personal firewall software is up-to-date. When each user

logs onto the network, the Infranet Controller automatically provisions

a lightweight software agent to the PC to authenticate the user and

assess the device's security status. In the

context of that Infranet Controller's

policies, the user's requested levels of

network resource access are granted or denied (access can also be

revoked during a session because the agent is dynamic). User access

rights are then enforced by the Juniper Networks firewalls protecting

each network segment, based on instructions signaled from the Infranet

Controller.

Prior to deploying UAC, Fredrikstad Kommune was already an established

user of the market-leading Juniper Networks Secure Access SSL VPN

solution. This enables users to have secure remote access to network

resources when working from home or other locations beyond the network's

perimeter. Juniper's SSL VPN technology

provides the blueprint for aspects of its UAC solution, including

dynamic agent-based user authentication and endpoint checking. By

combining Juniper's UAC and Secure Access

solutions, Fredrikstad Kommune is able to secure both LAN-based network

access and remote network access in an efficient, cost-effective and

easy-to-manage way.

"Enterprise networks now need to tie together

the user's identity, the 'health'

of the endpoint device and security policy, regardless of user location,"

said Gert-Jan Schenk, vice president of EMEA operations for Juniper

Networks. "Juniper's

Unified Access Control solution provides a uniform enforcement of

security policy based on all these factors, realizing the network's

full potential for legitimate users while denying access to compromised,

un-authorized or illegitimate users."

Juniper Networks Unified Access Control Solution

The Juniper Networks Unified Access Control solution, based on the

Enterprise Infranet framework, uses a combination of identity-based

policy and endpoint intelligence to give enterprises real-time

visibility and policy control throughout the network. As a result,

enterprises can control access, prevent threats, ensure compliance, and

deliver secure and assured network services. The Infranet Controller

appliance leverages the policy and control engine from Juniper's

award-winning Secure Access SSL VPN and the security and performance

from Juniper's firewall/VPN platform. The

Infranet Controller makes role-based policy decisions as well as

seamlessly provisions the Infranet Agent, a software agent that assesses

the endpoint's compliance state both before

and during the session, and enforces policy on the client host. These

policy decisions are enforced on the Juniper Networks firewall/VPN

appliances, and are designed to allow communication with the Infranet

Controller and perform computationally intensive security functions

without compromising throughput.

About Juniper Networks, Inc.

Juniper Networks is the leader in enabling secure and assured

communications over a single IP network. The company's purpose-built,

high performance IP platforms enable customers to support many different

services and applications at scale. Service providers, enterprises,

governments and research and education institutions worldwide rely on

Juniper Networks to deliver products for building networks that are

tailored to the specific needs of their users, services and

applications. Juniper Networks' portfolio of proven networking and

security solutions supports the complex scale, security and performance

requirements of the world's most demanding networks. Additional

information can be found at www.juniper.net.

Juniper Networks and the Juniper Networks logo are registered trademarks

of Juniper Networks, Inc. in the United States and other countries. All

other trademarks, service marks, registered trademarks, or registered

service marks are the property of their respective owners.

Source: Business Wire

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