No network security system is an island, and that is true for network access control (NAC). Simply stated, there is no technology or product on the market that knows everything about every device, user or packet of traffic everywhere on the network. Further, as new security issues evolve, such as highly targeted attacks or malware using encryption to hide telltale signatures, new types of security systems will need to be deployed.

Given that network access control is uniquely positioned to enforce access policy on the network in a secure manner, it makes sense to enable external events into the policy loop.

Lockdown has pioneered the creation of an open system with direct input of external events into policy through web–services and syslog APIs.

By allowing external events to trigger policy actions, the Lockdown Enforcer™ allows enterprises to adaptively respond to emerging security threats, as well as to leverage existing systems already in place.

By way of example, consider a network that already has SIM, IDS, IPS, or NBA technologies already deployed. When these events send a security notification to the Lockdown Enforcer, it’s a simple matter to automate a response.

In the event of serious breach, the Lockdown Enforcer can quarantine the offending device(s), then provide email notification to IT alerting them not only to the fact that an event has occurred, but which devices are impacted, where they are located, and who is currently logged into the device.