Bluefire Security is coming out with a software developer's kit that lets customers write VPN security into mobile applications.

With the proliferation of mobile devices in corporations, businesses are looking to secure their wireless devices via VPNs. In response, BlueFire has produced Mobile Security VPN Development Kit, which lets companies combine security with mobility.

The SDK makes it possible, for example, to link the creation of a VPN session to corporate headquarters with the launching of an application. So if an employee wants to access e-mail from a public Wi-Fi hot spot, launching the e-mail client on the mobile machine will also launch the setup of a VPN tunnel to the site that houses the mail server.

It's been possible to install VPN software on mobile devices for some time, but this allows customers to integrate the VPN with individual applications. So if a business has a custom application that employees carry around on handhelds or phones, it can be secured automatically. End users don't have to launch the VPN separately, which eliminates the need to educate them about working the VPN.

It also ties the application to the VPN so users can't ignore the security. The kit also has an optional VPN client that allows organizations to configure the connection settings.

The software creates IPSec tunnels from any Windows Mobile 2003 or Windows Mobile 5.0 devices. One caveat: the software can only connect to VPN gateways made by Cisco and Nortel, which means a large number of customers could use it, but not everybody. The company says it is testing with other gateway vendors.
 
The Mobile Security VPN Development Kit is available now and pricing is determined based on numbers of devices and extent of support contracted for.

Tim Greene is senior editor at Network World.