Ascend's Secure Access Firewall Solution Receives NCSA Certification; Ascend's Integrated Firewall Option For MAX And Pipeline Products Meets Rigorous NCSA Standards

Business Wire, Oct 14, 1996

ALAMEDA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 14, 1996--Ascend Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASND) today announced that the National Computer Security Association (NCSA), Carlisle, Pa., has certified its Secure Access Firewall offering. Secure Access Firewall provides integrated firewall protection for Ascend's MAX and Pipeline families of remote networking products. By integrating the firewall into the access equipment, Secure Access Firewall delivers outstanding, perimeter protection and simplified security management at a cost that can now be deployed enterprise-wide.

"By incorporating the firewall directly into the network access equipment, attempts to reach off-limits resources are stopped at the edge of the network before a would-be intruder even gets to the corporate LAN," said Dave Dawson, general manager for Ascend's network security business unit. "Now with NCSA certification, in combination with one of the industry's lowest cost of ownership, our customers can use Secure Access with full confidence."

NCSA certified products are thoroughly tested to protect against a comprehensive suite of known attacks. Rigorous testing by NCSA provides independent assurance to customers in its firewall selection process. Firewalls are the preferred method for protecting private resources from attack via the public Internet.

Secure Access Firewall uses an intelligent, next-generation technology that dynamically adapts to network traffic, providing a finer granularity of security than is available through static packet filtering. For example, during file transfer protocol (FTP) transactions, Secure Access Firewall opens only those specific access ports required, then automatically closes the ports at the end of the session. Static packet filtering, on the other hand, opens all access ports for every data transfer, providing an opportunity for hackers to probe the network for the duration of that session. Secure Access Firewall even senses attacks from SATAN or other automated probes. It logs and reports attempted security breaches for potential action by security administrators.

Secure Access is part of Ascend's comprehensive network security architecture that encompasses user authentication, encryption, callback, calling line ID and RADIUS, along with support for many third party security add-ons.

Secure Access Firewall is a software option for Ascend's Pipeline 50, Pipeline 75 and Pipeline 130 remote access routers, and the entire MAX family of WAN access switches. No special hardware or other upgrade is required. Pricing ranges from $500 to 1,000 for Pipeline systems and $1,000 to 4,000 for MAX units. Secure Access Manager, Ascend's security management software, is available to all Secure Access customers at no additional charge.

About NCSA

The National Computer Security Association (NCSA), headquartered in Carlisle, Pa., was established in 1989 as the premiere provider of security information and services for end-users, vendors and security experts. NCSA offers security-related training, testing, research, product certification, underground reconnaissance, help-desk support and consulting services. Detailed information is available on the Web at http://www.ncsa.com or by calling NCSA at 717/258-1816.

About Ascend Communications

Ascend Communications, Inc. is a leading, worldwide provider of remote networking solutions for corporate central sites, Internet Service Providers' points of presence, remote offices, mobile workers and telecommuters. Ascend develops, manufactures, markets, sells and supports products which utilize bandwidth on demand to extend existing corporate networks for applications such as remote LAN access, Internet access, telecommuting, SOHO connectivity and videoconferencing/multimedia access. Detailed information on Ascend products, news announcements, seminars, service and support is available on the Web at http://www.ascend.com.

Ascend is headquartered at One Ascend Plaza, 1701 Harbor Bay Parkway, Alameda, California 94502. Phone: 800/ASCEND4; Fax: 510/747-2300; E-mail: info@ascend.com.

CONTACT: Gallagher PR

Kevin Gallagher, 510/743-7830

kevin@gpr.com