Sophos details NAC security plans

By this time next year, Sophos says it will have its desktop security software fully integrated with the network access control technology it acquired when it bought Endforce in January.

That means customers will be able to buy a bundle called Sophos Endpoint Security that includes antivirus software, a personal firewall, a management console and NAC.

The company is already selling Endforce’s NAC software under the name Sophos NAC and will continue to do so, says Ronald O’Brien, a senior security analyst with Sophos.

That platform scans endpoints for operating system patches, antivirus and personal firewall software, the presence of spyware, instant messaging and peer-to-peer programs.

Based on the results of the scan, the software can block the computer’s access to the network. The software can work on any computer regardless of which antivirus software is installed.

Later this year, Sophos will release a version of its Endpoint Security suite that will include Sophos NAC software, but the NAC part won’t be integrated. So the NAC functionality will require a separate software agent on each computer and a separate management console.

In about a year, the company says it will have Endpoint Security integrated with Sophos NAC so it requires a single agent and a single management console, O’Brien says.

This will put Sophos in direct competition with McAfee and Symantec, desktop security vendors that also offer NAC. Sophos will compete with network vendors supporting NAC such as Cisco, Juniper and Nortel, and NAC appliance vendors such as ConSentry Networks, Nevis Networks and Vernier Networks.