Enterprise Wireless LAN Security & WLAN Monitoring

Press Releases

AirDefense Provides the only DoD Compliant Solution for Mandatory Wireless Intrusion Detection

New DoD policy makes wireless intrusion detection a requirement for all networks

Atlanta, Georgia - June 14, 2006 - AirDefense, the leader in anywhere, anytime wireless protection today announced that it is the first and only Wireless Intrusion Protection System (WIPS) that is fully compliant with the new Department of Defense (DoD) policy on the use of commercial wireless LAN devices, systems and technologies in the DoD Global Information Grid (GIG). The new DoD policy, issued on June 2, 2006, is a supplement to the DoD Directive 8100.2. Its goal is to enhance overall network security and lay the foundations and roadmap for increased interoperability of open standards based WLAN technologies.

The new DoD policy specifies the following explicit requirements:

Wireless Intrusion Detection Systems (WIDS) are required for all DoD wired and wireless LANs.
WIDS must continuously scan for and detect authorized and unauthorized devices. Continuous scanning is defined as 24 hours/day, 7 days/week.
WIDS must have location sensing capability.
WIDS must be validated under National Information Assurance Partnership (NIAP) Common Criteria (CC).

AirDefense provides the only solution that meets all the stipulated requirements and has received the stringent Common Criteria certification from the NIAP program.

AirDefense Enterprise has been broadly adopted for deployment throughout the DoD. Current DoD customers include the US Army, Navy, Marine Corps, unified combatant commands, defense agencies and intelligence community organizations. In addition to its large presence in DoD, AirDefense's solutions are utilized by dozens of Federal civilian agencies to protect network data, detect unauthorized devices, mitigate threats and to monitor all wireless activity.

“The DoD policy clearly established that WIDS is required along with WPA2 compliant wireless infrastructure. The only way to guarantee network security given the proliferation of wireless LANs is through 24x7 monitoring”, said Dr. Amit Sinha, chief technology officer of AirDefense. “Common Criteria certification provides our government and commercial customers with the confidence that AirDefense Enterprise meets the stringent security standards established by the federal government.”

AirDefense will be hosting a one-hour online webinar to discuss what this directive means to all DoD agencies and what steps they can take to ensure compliance with the policy. The webinar will be held on Wednesday, June 21st, 2006 at 2 PM ET/ 11 AM PT. To register, please follow this link: Click here.

About NIAP Common Criteria
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the National Security Agency (NSA) established NIAP to evaluate Information Technology (IT) product conformance to international standards. The program, officially known as the NIAP Common Criteria Evaluation and Validation Scheme for IT Security (CCEVS), is a partnership between the public and private sectors to help organizations select commercial off-the-shelf IT products that meet their security requirements and to help manufacturers of those products gain acceptance in the global marketplace. Twenty countries now recognize the Common Criteria as the official third-party evaluation criteria for IT security procedures.

About AirDefense
AirDefense, the market leader in anywhere, anytime wireless security and monitoring, is trusted by more Fortune 500 companies, healthcare organizations and high-security government agencies for enterprise wireless protection than any other wireless security provider. Ranked among Red Herring’s Top 100 Private Companies in North America, AirDefense products provide the most advanced solutions for rogue wireless detection, policy enforcement and intrusion prevention, both inside and outside an organization’s physical locations and wired networks. Common Criteria-certified, AirDefense enterprise-class products scale to support single offices as well as organizations with hundreds of locations around the globe. Founded in 2001, AirDefense is based in Alpharetta, GA, and serves hundreds of government agencies and blue chip corporations. For more information, please visit http://www.airdefense.net or call 770.663.8115.

AirDefense Contact:
Bill Keeler/Liz Serotte
Schwartz Communications for AirDefense
781 684-0770
airdefense@schwartz-pr.com