Frost & Sullivan Releases White Paper on How Apani Networks' EpiForce Addresses Best Practices for Internal LAN Security

Business Wire, Oct 12, 2006

White Paper Examines Responsible Practices for Securing Sensitive Customer Information, Minimizing the Risk of Data Theft While Achieving Regulatory Compliance

BREA, Calif. -- Apani Networks, the leading enterprise data protection software provider focused on information security for regulated industries, announced today the release of a Frost & Sullivan white paper highlighting best practices for securing internal LAN communications, and how Apani's EpiForce addresses these requirements. Written by Michael Suby, Research Program Director at Stratecast (a Division of Frost & Sullivan), this white paper explains which network security characteristics are deployed by organizations recognizing their fiduciary responsibility of maintaining proper safeguards surrounding sensitive customer data.

"The CIOs and CSOs of many large organizations are struggling to address the IT security requirements needed to meet regulatory compliance," explains James Chou, Chief Technology Officer, Apani Networks. "There is also an increasing risk of experiencing a data breach. The cleanup, customer loss and brand damage can total millions of dollars, far eclipsing the fine for failing to complete a regulatory audit".

According to Suby, when designing security solutions for inside the network perimeter, it is critical to address both data at rest and data in motion. No longer is it a valid assumption that the environment inside the perimeter is 'trusted'. Data security programs must address four principal security functions including: Encryption & Data Payload Integrity, Authentication, Access Control and Auditing, as described in further detail within the paper.

Suby identifies three primary categories to consider when establishing an internal LAN security program to address the regulatory requirements of Sarbanes Oxley, GLBA, HIPAA and PCI, just to name a few. The three categories to include within a 'best practices' security policy framework are:

1. Security

2. Performance, and

3. Administrative Ease and Efficiency

Further discussions surround the following topics, within the context of these broad categories including, but not limited to:

* Defining access control policies surrounding 'communities of interest'

* Establishing bi-directional authentication processes

* Supporting multiple-user authentication schemes

* Enabling end-to-end encrypted communications

* Evaluating the performance impact of gateway-based communications systems

* Maintaining user transparency

* Being network and application agnostic

* Incorporating self provisioning processes to minimize IT involvement

* Leveraging centralized policy administration

This white paper is now available via a FREE download at www.apani.com/LANsecurity.> About Frost & Sullivan

Frost & Sullivan, a global growth consulting company has been partnering with clients to support the development of innovative strategies for more than 40 years. The company's industry expertise integrates growth consulting, growth partnership services, and corporate management training to identify and develop opportunities. Frost & Sullivan serves an extensive clientele that includes Global 1000 companies, emerging companies, and the investment community by providing comprehensive industry coverage that reflects a unique global perspective and combines ongoing analysis of markets, technologies, econometrics, and demographics. For more information, visit http://www.frost.com.

About Apani

Apani Networks is the leading enterprise data protection software provider focused on information security for regulated industries. The company's flagship product, EpiForce, enables the creation of virtual network communities capable of restricting unauthorized access to sensitive data. Transparent to applications and end users, EpiForce enables corporate IT management to quickly, automatically and cost effectively lock down their network, while providing the security and audit trail necessary to achieve compliance to the wide range of regulations that affect institutions, enterprises and government agencies. For more information, please visit www.apani.com.

Apani Networks[R] and EpiForce[TM] are trademarks of Apani Networks, Inc. All other company names and product names are trademarks of their respective organizations.