ConSentry Switches Provide Secure Network Access for Thomson Technicolor

Business Wire, Dec 11, 2007

ConSentry LANShield Switches Enhance Network Integrity by Controlling Access for Employees, Guests, and Contractors and by Monitoring all User Activity

MILPITAS, Calif. -- ConSentry Networks, the leader in secure switching, today announced it has deployed its LANShield Switches to protect the critical network assets of the Technicolor Network Services business of Thomson. The ConSentry secure switches provide access control and insight into all user activity on the network for this leading company in digital video technology.

The Technicolor Network Services business of Thomson is a worldwide provider of content preparation, management, and distribution services to global, blue-chip broadcast companies. Technicolor Network Services routinely hosts contractors and guests who need to carry out post-production work on digital content. The business needed to limit their access and have a full accounting of all outsiders' network activity. Technicolor Network Services wanted additional LAN security, and it chose ConSentry for its simplicity, ease of configuration, and full-featured user visibility.

"We needed to protect both the access to our LAN and the resources on the LAN," said John White, IT manager for the UK and Asia at Technicolor Network Services. "ConSentry let us easily limit access to only authorised users and provide accurate information on their activities. These features proved to be the key features in our decision to deploy ConSentry."

Thomson Technicolor evaluated other network access control (NAC) solutions but found ConSentry unique in its ability to tie users to roles and applications and to enforce policy controls on those attributes. In addition, being able to deploy those controls in a wiring-closet switch provided the simplest deployment model, combined with the tightest network security. The company has deployed ConSentry LANShield Switches at Technicolor Network Services' central site in London and three remote locations in the UK and Asia.

Easily installed, the ConSentry LANShield Switches were quickly configured to control LAN access and distinguish Thomson Technicolor employees from guests and contractors. The ConSentry solution has enabled the company to block access for non-employees. In addition, Technicolor Network Services is using ConSentry to provide full visibility into all users and applications, up to Layer 7, and to run behavioural algorithms that check for anomalous traffic and control and block threats when detected.

"ConSentry has helped us bring more discipline to the LAN, with controls in place that guarantee that only authorised users are admitted," White said. "Acute transparency into user activity provides very clear forensics to ensure traffic is moving legitimately and adds another layer of security to our LAN."

"New business drivers such as collaboration and outsourcing are having an impact on the way in which business is conducted, resulting in more third-party users requiring access to the LAN," said Dean Hickman-Smith, vice president of worldwide sales for ConSentry. "Organisations are being torn between enabling this openness, yet maintaining control of the LAN to protect the critical corporate assets. The ConSentry LANShield Switch enables customers to take advantage of today's more flexible business practices without compromising the integrity and availability of their sensitive corporate information."

About ConSentry Networks

ConSentry Networks delivers secure switching, enabling enterprises to control every user and secure every port on the LAN through its LANShield product family -- the LANShield[TM] Switch, LANShield Controller, and InSight[TM] Command Center. More than 150 enterprises today rely on ConSentry's award-winning secure-switching platforms to protect their corporate assets, ensure continuity of operations, and dramatically reduce the risk of security breaches. ConSentry is backed by blue-chip venture capital firms Accel Partners, DAG Ventures, INVESCO Private Capital, and Sequoia Capital; and is headquartered in Milpitas, California.

ConSentry Networks, the ConSentry Networks logo, LANShield, and "Control every user. Secure every port." are trademarks of ConSentry Networks Inc., for use in the United States and other countries. All other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective holders.