Stories by: Tim Greene

Two words -- cloud security -- dominated discussion and drove the action this week at RSA Conference 2009.

A software upgrade for ForeScout's CounterACT NAC platform will enable it to manage 400,000 endpoints, double the number of previous software releases.

ConSentry is introducing a new version of software for its intelligent switches that adds a permanent agent for assessing endpoint posture and can assess what Windows operating system patches have been applied.

Few customers of network access control use it for what it was intended, preferring instead to deploy the security technology to keep guests and contractors away from corporate production networks, according to a new report.

The tech-savvy Obama White House is suffering the inconvenience and embarrassment of an e-mail crash that has lasted several hours Monday afternoon, according to published reports.

Shutting down computer attacks could be carried out inexpensively by peer-to-peer software that shares information about anomalous behavior, say researchers at the University of California at Davis.

Despite some shortcomings, software-based network access control technology that enforces policies on network endpoints is often the first choice of customers who adopt the technology.

McAfee is hunkering down to integrate the security technologies it has bought over the past several months into its varied line of security software and appliances. Two trends in the company's activities are developing parallel products for deployment as software on endpoints and as network-based appliances. This week, for instance, the company is announcing that NAC software can be installed on its IntruShield IPS appliance to give customers the option of enforcing NAC policies in the network, not just on the endpoint. The company is bringing management of these platforms under control of its ePolicy Orchestrator (ePO) in an effort to centralize control of network security. Network World Senior Editor Tim Greene spoke with McAfee CEO Dave DeWalt about these efforts as well as other issues facing the company.

While VMware this week is holding its own VMworld party in Las Vegas, attendees at Interop New York were told about the potential security risks of virtual environments, not the least of which are people.

Corporate IT executives need to beware the seven dirty secrets of the security industry that can undermine the safety of business networks, a security expert told attendees at Interop Las Vegas.