Marquette University Chooses ForeScout CounterACT for Network Access Control (NAC)One of America's Best Colleges Values ForeScout's Clientless Option, Seamless and Thorough Device Monitoring, and Flexible Enforcement Capabilities |
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Cupertino, Calif.—December 12, 2007—ForeScout Technologies, a leading provider of clientless network access control (NAC) for Fortune 500 enterprises and government organizations, today announced that Marquette University has chosen CounterACT to detect and monitor all connecting devices before allowing them access to the university's network resources.
With 3,500 resident hall endpoints and 4,000 wireless faculty and student users, the university's IT department was faced with a daunting task—to monitor faculty and students' personal computers and laptops and ensure no infected devices could enter the network to cause disruptions or outages or contaminate other resources. Marquette University began looking at NAC solutions, including those from Cisco and ForeScout Technologies. Marquette's IT team placed priority on solution flexibility, including the ability to work without a client installed on each endpoint, as well as the ability to tailor policy enforcement. Following a thorough testing process, Marquette University selected ForeScout's CounterACT as its network access control solution. "Most of our users come onto the network as guests - devices that are not owned by the university - and therefore we're not able to demand client installs," said Michael Wiedower, security analyst - systems & messaging, Marquette University. "Therefore, it's impossible to reach every guest. It also comes down to end-user privacy. We simply needed to ensure that only uninfected devices use the network, and that's what CounterACT helped us accomplish." CounterACT continuously monitors device behavior. Once an infection is detected, CounterACT instantly deploys a virtual firewall around the infected device, allowing the user access only to remediation resources and isolating the endpoint from the rest of the network. The student or network guest is then directed to self-remediation options with a browser session re-direct (such as a site for downloading anti-virus updates or Microsoft security patches), or given the option of bringing the device to a campus IT center where it can be brought into compliance by the helpdesk staff. "The bottom line is that only when the device is infection-free can it can rejoin the network," said Wiedower. "CounterACT ensures that end-users with infected devices have no choice but to comply. We are now looking into options of what more we can do with NAC, such as offering deeper level of on-demand interrogation for unmanaged devices." "Marquette University provides the perfect opportunity for CounterACT to demonstrate its strength and flexibility in delivering comprehensive network access control," said Ray Wizbowski, vice president of marketing at ForeScout. "CounterACT's clientless approach provided Marquette an easy path to deploy NAC ensuring their network is safe and functional without causing academic freedom or privacy concerns. CounterACT delivers a wide range of policy creation and enforcement options, making it ideal for the enterprise without additional devices required to profile the endpoint." About Marquette University Marquette University, located in Milwaukee, Wis., is a Catholic, Jesuit university with approximately 11,500 undergraduate and graduate students from every state and 80 countries. U.S. News & World Report ranks Marquette 82nd among the nation's top 100 universities in the 2008 edition of America's Best Colleges, while BusinessWeek ranks the university's College of Business Administration among the top 50 undergraduate business schools in the nation. |
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About ForeScout Technologies, Inc.
ForeScout is the leading provider of access control and compliance solutions. With top-tier customers from every vertical, ForeScout has perfected the art of providing strong access control without disrupting network operations or needlessly punishing end users. ForeScout's flagship product, CounterACT, protects over 500 of the world's most secure enterprises and military installations with global deployments spanning 37 countries. The CounterACT family of products provides a path to complete security policy enforcement and is fast and easy for administrators to deploy, manage and maintain. For more about the company and its products, visit www.forescout.com. |
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“We selected CounterACT based on the unique value of being able to enforce access control policies.”
Charles Hawalka, Infrastructure Manager, Wakefern Food Corporation
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