Wave Systems Corp. (fka WAVXQ)

[Elan Vital]

Endpoint Security. awk I found this following your lead on Roger Kay.
Here's the link
http://www.ndpta.com/DefiningEndpoint.html

there's quite a bit of text but it resolves to this, the final paragraphs:


"Endpoint Security. Now, down to Al's pet subject, and the reason for all this fiddlefaddle in the
first place. Endpoint security is the set of hardware, software, and procedures associated with
protecting the network from harm when an endpoint accesses network services. Endpoint
security also covers access to the endpoint device itself, sometimes known as "authentication."

The key aspect of endpoint security is that it involves both the device and the user. Endpoint
security, as promoted by the Trusted Computing Group, an industry association working on
security standards, requires that the user be verified as being who he or she says he or she is —
that is, by way of a password (something he or she knows), a biometric measurement
(something he or she is), or a token (something he or she has). In addition, the device must be
authenticated (i.e., through a compare of some metrics unique to that system). Finally, the state
or health of the device must be determined before it can be let on the privileged network. For
example, if a virus definition file is out of date, depending on policy, access is disallowed, the
requesting system is shunted to a restricted area for remediation (e.g., getting that virus definition
file topped off), or the machine is let on anyway.

Thus, endpoint security is concerned with verifying the user, the device, and the device state so as
to protect the network. Endpoint security will become progressively more important as more value
and more people migrate toward the Internet. In order for eCommerce to work, people and
assets need to be protected, and all participants need to have confidence that the system works.

Conclusion

The reason that I felt it necessary to define endpoint with greater precision is that understanding
the nature of the perimeter and the relationship between perimeter elements and the center is
going to become increasingly important to defending the growing value of Internet traffic. It is
highly conceivable that in the not-too-distant future, endpoints will be required to authenticate for
any transaction, and IT managers as well as individuals using Internet services will want to know
where the edge of the network really is. An endpoint will be the locus of trust certification.
Inasmuch as endpoint peripherals need to be taken into account, they will be part of the endpoint
profile (i.e., a query might ask whether a endpoint has an MP3 player attached to it, but the
presence of the player will be registered in the endpoint itself).

As form factors proliferate, the array of client devices that users will be able to choose from will
become nearly bewildering. But all of these devices will be endpoints that can be tested for
security, whether or not client-like peripherals are hanging off of them."