Good morning, Awk! "The TNC is a great additional initiative which will accelerate the integration of TPMs." Thank you for explaining that. I'm sure many lurkers were confused, too. If this stock ever takes off, it will be one of those that many people buy but never quite understand what exactly it is that they do.
TRUSTED COMPUTING GROUP DELIVERS TRUSTED NETWORK CONNECT (TNC) ARCHITECTURE TO ENSURE ENDPOINT INTEGRITY AND TO PROTECT NETWORKS FROM ATTACKS AND UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS
Industry Group’s Open Specification Targeted to Multi-Vendor Environments; Interoperability Demonstration Set for Networld+Interop Booth #1075
LAS VEGAS, May 3, 2005 - The Trusted Computing Group (TCG), whose specifications help vendors build products that protect critical data and information, today announced details of the Trusted Network Connect (TNC) architecture and the availability of the first two interfaces to enable product development.
Products based on the architecture will determine the security and compliance of clients attempting to connect to a network and provide a level of network access based on the configuration and integrity of the client. With the enforcement of IT security and system requirements, network administrators are expected to decrease the security issues, support costs and downtime created by misconfigured or infected systems.
TNC has been developed by a TCG subgroup of more than 60 networking and technology industry companies representing client and network security; switches, routers and hubs; systems and systems management; and operating systems.
The TNC Architecture
The architecture provides a common framework for the collection and exchange of endpoint integrity data in heterogeneous networking environments. Products based on the architecture will enable clients trying to connect to a network to be evaluated against a set of policies and pre-determined platform configurations established by their organization’s IT department. Clients not meeting pre-determined policies, such as those for patch levels, anti-virus software or operating system configuration, can be quarantined for remediation.
TNC is based on the twin concepts of integrity and identity. Integrity is used in this case to describe the desired state of an endpoint’s “health” or configuration, as defined by IT policies.
For example, a system can be checked to ensure it adheres to pre-determined policies and is not engaged in unusual or malicious behavior.
Identity ensures that systems are authenticated for authorized users only. Clients with the Trusted Platform Module, a piece of silicon based on TCG specifications and offering secure storage of passwords, certificates and digital keys, offer additional security in that IT can put into place policies to determine platform integrity and user identity.
When systems with the TPM are used, TNC also can be enabled to provide a trusted boot mechanism that uniquely helps thwart root kits, stealthy infections that are otherwise almost impossible to detect, and similar attacks. A mix of systems with and without TPMs can be used with TNC products and services.
A variety of network topologies, including VPNs and dial-up remote access, wireless networks, 802.1x infrastructures, and LAN environments, are supported in the TNC architecture. TNC members Funk Software, iPass, InfoExpress and Meetinghouse DataCommunications will demonstrate how the specifications enable products from multiple vendors to work together in verifying endpoint integrity before network access is given, using equipment from HP. The demonstration and more information will be in Booth #1075 at Networld+Interop, Mandalay Bay Hotel, Las Vegas.
About TCG
TCG is an industry standards body formed to develop, define, and promote open standards for trusted computing and security technologies, including hardware building blocks and software interfaces, across multiple platforms, peripherals, and devices. TCG specifications are designed to enable more secure computing environments without compromising functional integrity with the primary goal of helping users to protect their information assets from compromise due to external software attack and physical theft.
More information and the organization’s specifications are available at the Trusted Computing Group’s website at http://www.trustedcomputinggroup.org.
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