Fiberlink offers managed remote security service

Fiberlink today unveiled a new remote access security manager, which dynamically monitors and controls all remote users’ security configurations. Called Extend360, the service is tied to Fiberlink’s DNA remote access platform, managing security protocols over broadband, network, dial-up and Wi-Fi connections in Fiberlink’s global network.

According to Fiberlink, security over remote access often becomes a piecemeal hodgepodge of VPNs, firewalls, anti-virus software and intrusion detection programs, which can easily be circumvented when a laptop goes outside of a company’s corporate LAN. Fiberlink’s Extend360, however, provides a single-interface security client that not only manages all of the possible remote connections across Fiberlink’s network, but also prevents users from compromising their companies’ security inadvertently or on purpose, said Jim Sheward, CEO of Fiberlink.

"Every corporation has a security policy, but not every corporation has the means to enforce it," Sheward said. "Once a laptop leaves the building, the IT managers are blind. You can’t manage what you can’t monitor."

The application essentially monitors the type of the connection a remote user is using to access the corporate network and imposes specific policies to ensure that no corporate data is compromised. For example, Extend360 might not allow access to critical company financial data while connected through a Wi-Fi hotspot, but will restore those permissions once a user finds a more secure connection. It can block out all use of instant messaging or peer-to-peer software by force closing the applications as soon as they are launched. It can also reconfigure security settings changed by users.

Fiberlink will begin selling the Extend360 service today to its enterprise customers, pricing the service based on the number of remote users, contract length and type of remote access services a customer buys.