Wireless Security | Feature

Impulse Point Adds Cloudpath Module for Bringing Devices into Network

• By Dian Schaffhauser
• 04/28/11

A new partnership will help universities simplify the management of devices in use by people who want to get onto the campus network wirelessly with more than guest access.

Impulse Point, which develops network access control products, has begun offering technology from Cloudpath Networks that provides a one-step process for bringing mobile computing devices securely into the network. Cloudpath's XpressConnect is now being included with Impulse Point's SafeConnect Network Access Control version 5.1.

The XpressConnect module provides a wizard that helps a user perform a one-time installation the SafeConnect NAC Policy Key on his or her device in order to connect to 802.1x networks. This frequently requires complex configurations, including the installation of certificates on the client machine and calling for help from campus technical support. Many users opt out of that process owing to its complexity, which means they're limited to guest user status when that's available.

Two higher ed clients that have adopted the combination include the University of Denver and the University of Rhode Island.

"We spent a lot of time evaluating our options," said Chad Burnham, network planner for U Denver. "Our decision to go with Impulse Point was in part because of their flexibility to work in our heterogeneous and open computing environment.... We also leveraged Impulse Point's integration capability with Cloudpath to help us successfully achieve our vision of deploying our secure WPA2-Enterprise/802.1X wireless strategy."

"The University of Rhode Island has benefited immensely from Impulse Point's seamless integration with Cloudpath," said Mike Khalfayan, associate director of information security. "Previously we faced a huge challenge to find a solution that struck a delicate balance between granting students rapid network access, maintaining network integrity and security, and implementation and support costs. Within two weeks of deploying SafeConnect and XpressConnect, more than 58 percent of our students have voluntarily adopted the more secure connection."