News

Alcatel-Lucent Beefs Up Enterprise Laptop Security

• By Jim Barthold
• 10/21/2008

The company expanded the capabilities of its OmniAccess 3500 Nonstop Laptop Guardian (OA3500 NLG) product to run on high-speed GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) high-speed packet access network-enabled devices. Previously, the product was available in a CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) version that Sprint Nextel sells to corporate customers.

The expansion will permit the OA3500 NLG to run on more networks internationally.

Both versions of the product use the 3G network to remotely control and secure mobile laptops from the enterprise IT data center. To do that requires security that's a step above from what is available in most other products today, said Dor Skuler, general manager of mobile security for Alcatel-Lucent.

"The types of mobile security solutions today on wireless encrypt the traffic when you're on 3G but don't address the laptop security as a whole and, of course, don't do anything if you're using other interfaces," he said. "Our solution has a server and a card that allows IT to control the laptop 24-7, even when it's turned off or offline. IT can remotely wake up the (PCMCIA) card that's stored on the laptop and wipe it clear, thereby protecting the unit in case it's lost or stolen."

Additionally, the card has GPS capabilities so IT can track and recover stolen or lost devices.

The OA3500 NLG is "a corporate solution that requires a server to be installed in the data center," Skuler said.

The OA3500 NLG solution uses mobile VPN (virtual private network) technology "so when you use 3G or Wi-Fi or a LAN, VPN is automatically established through the card so there is no end user configuration," Skuler added. "A VPN secure tunnel is created from the laptop and terminates on our server."