* RSA panelists share their wish list for NAC
NAC still has a way to go before it gives customers everything they want, but it is usable today as attested to by panelists at last week’s RSA ’07 who have implemented the technology.
These customers say NAC solved problems of crippling network infections and keeping track of what devices accessed the network and when, helping to meet regulatory requirements.
But these panelists still had a wish list of things they’d like vendors to come up with sooner rather than later. Among them:
* Integration with higher level security information systems. Network administrators don’t need more control panels to deal with, so plugging in to existing platforms will streamline their work. Also, NAC devices can feed valuable information to these platforms that can help create a more comprehensive picture of network security.
* Need for more detailed controls. Rather than creating groups of users and assigning rights for them, these panelists say they’d like to see policy profiles that can restrict network use to specific groups of application, user by user. Integration with existing directories to help in this is a must.
* Tighter integration with remediation platforms. Rather than isolating a machine that flunks NAC policy tests, direct them to resources where they can be brought into compliance. Better still, integrate them with existing remediation platforms that can push patches and virus updates to the machines with little end user involvement.
* Integrate traffic-control features so application performance can become part of policies set for end users.
