Future of Network Security

Cisco SecureX Architecture uses next-generation scanning elements that blur the lines between a firewall, an IPS, an anti-virus engine, a web proxy, and an access control solution. These next-generation scanning and enforcement elements are built on the solid state, inline technology of the Cisco network infrastructure.

Internet Protocol security (IPSec) uses cryptographic security services to protect communications over Internet Protocol (IP) networks. IPsec supports network-level peer authentication, data origin authentication, data integrity, data confidentiality (encryption), and replay protection. The Microsoft implementation of IPSec is based on Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) standards.

Trust platform module style hardware enabled devices will play a major role as the future network security infrastructure. Network threat landscape is obviously a stimulation power. The technique advance of TPM style hardware over traditional security techniques serves as another push power. More importantly, industry plans will bring us to a new network with enhanced security. More attention should be paid to some problems to enable a TPM style hardware based future network. These problems also provide opportunities for domestic security enterprises. Some characteristics of our future network are summarized.

Network Access Protection (NAP) is a new set of operating system components in Windows Server 2008, Windows Vista, and Windows XP Service Pack 3 that provides a platform for system health validated access to private networks. The NAP platform provides an integrated way of validating the health state of a network client that is attempting to connect to or communicate on a network and limiting the access of the network client until the health policy requirements have been met.

There has been a lot of debate during the past two years about the future of intrusion prevention. Some have argued that the future of network security lies in intrusion prevention and that intrusion detection is dead. Others have made the case that detection is simply evolving into prevention. But now that prevention technology has had time to evolve, it is clear that enterprises require security that not only combines high-quality detection and prevention, but is more than just a sum of these two parts.

Microsoft’s Next-Generation Secure Computing Base (NGSCB)-another way Microsoft is building a trustworthy computing environment to help customers realize their full potential.