Blue Ridge Networks Unveils the BorderGuard® 6000 Secure Communications Platform; BorderGuard 6000 Series Extends High Security to Wireless Environments

Business Wire, Oct 24, 2005

CHANTILLY, Va. -- Blue Ridge Networks(TM), the premier provider of secure communications products and managed virtual private network (VPN) services, today announced the release of the BorderGuard 6000 Secure Communications Platform. The BorderGuard 6000 series delivers the highest levels of security, mobility, and compatibility for organizations that need to connect remote offices and mobile workers who often rely on wireless equipment. The platform comprises a sixth-generation high security VPN appliance, client software for a myriad of devices including Pocket PC, and the new BorderGuard Management Console, which delivers increased operational speed, ease of use, and a solid foundation for integrating a broad range of future security services.

This new release follows in the footsteps of six generations of high security VPN appliances strengthened by built-in digital certificates. The BorderGuard 6000 series gives its administrators the flexibility to use their existing public key infrastructures such as DoD PKI and X.509 digital certificates, its own built-in certificates, or a combination. This functionality provides tremendous flexibility and rapidly strengthens an organization's security posture - especially in scenarios where an administrator wants to extend secure corporate LAN access to temporary employees, contractors, coalition forces, etc. without using the corporate X.509 certificate authority.

The BorderGuard 6000 Series includes a unique combination of Online Certificate Status Protocol (OCSP) with CRL checking and Blue Ridge Networks' own "Red List" function to give administrators real-time revocation and local certificate authorization capabilities, even when the certificate authority is under centralized control.

The BorderGuard is unique in its ability to secure mobile devices including Pocket PCs. Only the BorderGuard 6000 Series provides end users with a persistent roaming capability, allowing them to use the best available network access connection without having to reauthenticate, which eliminates the possibility of man-in-the-middle attacks and session hijacking. In addition, because the BorderGuard 6000 Series maintains interoperability with any PKCS#11 smart card or USB token, it is fully compliant with HSPD-12, providing strong two-factor authentication in a VPN that far exceeds security levels available to many Government agencies today.

"Now, an organization can maintain high assurance security as well as offer end-user convenience and administrative simplicity throughout the enterprise - especially when you take into account that the network's end- points are often on the move. Securing mobile applications like VoIP and latency-sensitive streaming video is as easy for our customers now as protecting their regular information assets has been for the last ten years," noted Blue Ridge Networks' CEO Tony Russo. "With two-factor authentication and hardware accelerated AES encryption, the BorderGuard 6000 series is significantly more secure and easier to use than any VPN in the marketplace, including SSL."

The BorderGuard 6000 product suite is one of the most stringently tested and validated solutions in the marketplace - earning several certifications and equipment validations, including Common Criteria, FIPS 140-2, DoD SPOCK, and HIPAA. BorderGuards have been relied upon by the most security-conscious and geographically dispersed government agencies and enterprises for over a decade without a reported vulnerability.

"We design our products for the most demanding security environments in the world," continued Russo. "We also keep in mind that for a solution to be truly secure, it must be easy for administrators to deploy and for end-users to operate, or it will not be properly adopted. With the BorderGuard 6000, we think we've provided a new standard for the marketplace as far as making high security simple."

Five distinct models comprise the BorderGuard 6000 series, ranging from the BorderGuard 6100, ideal for small and medium organizations, to the BorderGuard 6600, which supports large enterprises. More information is available at http://www.blueridgenetworks.com.

About Blue Ridge Networks

Blue Ridge Networks develops secure communications solutions for wireless and wired environments. The company was responsible for the industry's first commercial virtual private network and has completed widespread deployments across commercial and government sectors. The Blue Ridge Networks BorderGuard product suite has been deployed globally and in demanding applications such as wireless LAN, extranets, site-to-site and remote access VPN, and secure thin client computing. The company has earned several Government Agency Certifications, including: FIPS 140-2 validation, Common Criteria certification, HIPAA compliance, and the Department of Defense SPOCK validation. Information about the company's products and managed services can be found at www.blueridgenetworks.com.

Blue Ridge Networks is a trademark and BorderGuard is a registered trademark of Blue Ridge Networks, Inc. Other names used herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.