Intel Aims to Secure Networks

Electronic News, Sept 25, 2000 by Jayant Mathew

Provides end-to-end security solution

Addressing the need for secure connections over LANs, Intel Corp. last week introduced high-speed network adapters for mobile PCs that feature integrated security processing.

Intel also updated LAN security connections for desktop PCs and servers. In addition, the company unveiled software that allows different operating systems to harness the power of the Internet Protocol Security (IPSec) encryption.

With almost all companies operating in a networked environment, IT managers are coming under pressure to protect financial information, intellectual property, employee records, and other proprietary information from being accessed by unauthorized personnel. In fact, according to a Federal Bureau of Investigation survey, about 55 percent of companies experienced some kind of security breach by insiders on their LANs.

This presents an opportunity for Intel, which now offers a complete end-to-end security solution for mobile PCs, desktops and servers. The company is targeting these products at the corporate market, said Tim Dunn, general manager of the LAN access division at Intel, Santa Clara, Calif.

The PRO/100 S network adapter family is based on Intel's 82550 Fast Ethernet controller, which includes an integrated security coprocessor.

"The trend is to integrate the LAN on the motherboard," Dunn said. "We are also moving from a three-chip solution to a single-chip solution for the controller."

Typically the controller is on the chipset on the PCI bus at the back of the computer, but this level of integration allows Intel to provide more flexibility to users. The 82550 Ethernet controller supports IPSec, which features 168-bit encryption and MDA5 authentication.

Also, hardware accelerated encryption lowers CPU utilization and increases bandwidth. The controller offloads the encryption and decryption from a processor resulting in improved network performance by about three times compared to those without this feature, Dunn said.

The adapter has taken care to protect users from sniffing or the accessing of information by unauthorized users by encrypting data as it leaves a PC and decrypting when it reaches the destination. Earlier, this function would result in the network becoming significantly slower but not anymore, Dunn said.

"Our solution offers security and faster connectivity," he said.

Intel has added some nifty network management features that assist network administrators by alerting them about downtimes. The alert-on-LAN function allows pro-active notification of potential problems. For example, the network administrator will be notified when a hard drive fails. Administrators also can monitor the status of PCs, Dunn said.

The package comes with new software that provides IPSec support for Windows 2000, Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 98. The security adapters are also certified by Entrust Technologies, a security technology company. Intel has aggressively priced these products for faster adoption, Dunn said.

The mobile PC, desktop PC and server adapters are priced at $164, $97, and $119 each. But there is an additional charge for adapters with modem connection for mobile PCs. The adapters will be available in October.