First, the configuration procedure was time-consuming.
“We were spending so much time configuring PDAs
with security keys, that we didn’t have time to
test and add new applications to our overall network,”
explains Larry Lawson, the hospital’s director of
IT. Second, if the device was an HP iPAQ and its battery
died, the IT staff would have to start from scratch and
reconfigure the device. A final problem was that, more
recently, WEP has been recognized as not sufficiently
secure to be HIPAA-compliant.
The hospital needed a network security solution that
would keep data confidential, without requiring the
IT staff to spend several hours each week configuring
and reconfiguring PDAs and laptops.
Enter Vernier Networks and its channel partner, Networking
Concepts, Inc. (NCI)
The Solution:
The Vernier Adaptive Security Platform
In February 2004, St. Agnes Hospital deployed the Vernier
Adaptive Security Platform (ASP), the first adaptive
network security system that enables hospitals to assure
continuous, secure network availability on their wired
and wireless networks. NCI, a networking integration
firm based in Columbia, Md. installed and configured
the Vernier system. The Vernier solution proactively
protects networks from increasingly complex malware
attacks, automatically removing threats when they appear
in the data path. Highly configurable, the Vernier ASP
continuously adapts security policy to respond to changing
network conditions and to defend against evolving security
threats.
The Vernier ASP enforces access rights based on user
ID, time, and location. A nurse may be given permission
to access the hospital WLAN 24 hours a day, but only
in the wing of the hospital where he is assigned to
work. He wouldn’t be able to access the WLAN in
the hospital pharmacy, and if he tried, his login attempt
could be configured to send an alarm to the IT staff.
A major advantage of the Vernier ASP approach to access
management is that it is user-based, rather than device-based.
Once authenticated, a user gains access to whatever
network resources are appropriate for his or her role,
regardless of the device being used. This user-based
approach frees IT teams from having to configure laptops
and PDAs with the encryption keys or client software
required by device-based security measures, such as
WEP.
The Vernier ASP offers other time-saving features,
as well. For example, with the Vernier ASP managing
network connections, the IT staff no longer has to interrupt
its work to reconfigure end user devices that are misconfigured
for the network. If a user has proper login credentials,
the Vernier ASP automatically adapts the network to
provide connectivity to the end user’s device,
regardless of its network configuration. This automated
connection management saves IT departments valuable
time, especially in organizations with large numbers
of users.
VAR Benefits: High margin service revenue, entry into
healthcare market
Networking Concepts, Inc., a networking integration
firm based in Columbia, Md. installed and configured
the Vernier system at St. Agnes Hospital. “The
Vernier ASP gave us the opportunity to offer high-margin
security consulting services to St. Agnes Hospital”
says Marvis Moseley, President of NCI. “While
St. Agnes was impressed with the comprehensiveness of
the ASP platform, we were able to capitalize on the
solution to broaden our portfolio and up-sell to our
existing healthcare customers seeking HIPAA compliance.
Vernier was an excellent vendor-partner providing us
with pre-sales and post-sales technical and marketing
support in helping us sell this solution to St. Agnes.”
Results: Adaptive Security, Manageability and Improved
Patient Care
The Vernier ASP provides St. Agnes Hospital the HIPAA-compliant
security it needs for wireless networking, while significantly
reducing the workload of the hospital IT staff. Communication
now flows securely between the hospital’s mobile
workforce and the hospital’s IT systems, such
as its EMR applications. Because end users authenticate
through a login screen served by the Vernier system,
the IT team no longer needs to configure individual
devices with WEP keys. The result is secure, convenient
wireless access for hospital staff and visiting physicians.
Vernier ASP is helping St. Agnes Hospital deliver the
excellent care the hospital is known for.
To read this entire article please visit Vernier
Networks.
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