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Cisco to add SSL networking to products

Robert Lemos | November 7, 2003 10:43 PM PST

Summary

The company is expected to announce Monday that it will start shipping secure networking features based on Secure Sockets Layer, or SSL, encryption.

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Robert Lemos
Networking giant Cisco Systems will be the latest company to offervirtual private networking using the widespread browser encryptiontechnology known as Secure Sockets Layer, or SSL.

The company confirmed that it plans to announce that it will offer an upgrade to the Cisco VPN 3000 Concentrator to add SSL network functionality.


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The news appeared in a release posted briefly to the company's Web site but has been removed. TheWebVPN feature will be offered as part of the basic configuration forthe concentrator, network hardware that acts as a central connectionpoint for virtual private networks.

Traditional virtual private networks have used a technology known asInternet protocol security (IPSec) to secure telecommuter andremote-office connections to the main corporate network. That methodrequires that each telecommuter has specialized software installed onhis or her PC. SSL-based VPNs can use the software alreadybuilt into major Internet browsers and thus companies can forgo theadministrative hassle of setting up every user with new software.

"We really see this as extending the remote access capabilities of ourproducts," Scott Pope, manager of VPN technologies for Cisco, told CNET News.com. "It makes a lot of sense to have both built on the same box."

Pope sees the two types of secure access as addressing specific types ofusers.

"An IPSec user is a power user that stays connected for a long time,while the SSL user is the more occasional user," Pope said. "IPSec letsusers work just like they were sitting on the (corporate network). SSLVPNs are a little bit different, as they are geared more toward userswho want to access specific applications."

In addition to requiring no other software besides a modern Web browser,virtual private networks based on SSL can be accessed from a variety ofoperating systems, including Windows, the Mac OS and Linux.

Cisco is the latest networking company to add browser-based access tocorporate VPNs as a feature in its products.

In October, security software company Symantecsaid it planned to buy secure network provider SafeWeb for$25 million for its SSL virtual private network (VPN) technology. Thedeal came after network security company NetScreen Technologies' announcement that it would shell out $265 million for Neoteris, a major provider of the sameVPN technology.

Network security provider SafeNet also said in late October that it would buy Rainbow Technologies, whichmakes encryption hardware that enables SSLnetworks, a similar product to those Neoteris and SafeWeb sell.

Cisco users will be able to upgrade their devices with the next servicepack available to subscribers of the company's maintenance plan.

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