UUNET SA has extended its Internet security arsenal with the purchase of locally developed firewall and secure VPN (virtual private network) products from Internet security company CEQURUX.
The products will be rolled out to over 500 users in UUNET SA`s Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg and Port Elizabeth offices, and are expected to be fully operational by the end of this month.
UUNET`s executive product manager, Colin Pinkham says: "As one of the country`s highest-profile Internet infrastructure providers, Internet security is a primary and growing concern.
"While we were not experiencing any security problems prior to approaching CEQURUX, we`ve always been proactive about maintaining strict security levels throughout the organisation.
"The CEQURUX Firewall/VPN Gateway offers feature-rich security at a reasonable price and lets us extend security measures to multiple firewall-protected offices without disrupting seamless communication between them."
UUNET SA will be migrating all their users behind the new firewall, giving the company more control over services such as personal Web site development and traffic monitoring. The firewall will also be used to protect sensitive information and improve the granularity of protection options available to experienced administrators.
UUNET SA will deploy CEQURUX`s proprietary VPN software, bundled with the firewall, to tunnel-encrypt and authenticate Windows NetBIOS traffic between its regional branches.
"Not only will the products significantly raise existing security levels for all our users, but will also, through the VPN, ensure regional traffic is comprehensively secured as well.
"We`ve been testing the products on our network for several months to confirm the results we were expecting, and to gain sufficient knowledge to be able to recommend them to our own customers."
The CEQURUX Firewall/VPN Gateway will replace Firewall 1, which was used in conjunction with the built-in security features of UUNET SA`s Cisco routers.
"We wanted to have one comprehensive solution implemented company-wide from one vendor," says Pinkham. "It was equally important to find a locally-supported product, ideally from a local vendor with a national support presence coupled with international experience. In each case CEQURUX came up trumps."
UUNET SA intends to work closely with the Cape Town-based CEQURUX development team on features that it might need for future implementations.
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CEQURUX
CEQURUX Technologies is a leading developer of no-compromise Internet security solutions allowing companies to exploit the full business potential of the medium. Our current product set comprises the CEQURUX Firewall, a feature-rich, high-value security package, protecting businesses from unwanted Internet activity; the CEQURUX VPN Gateway, a software product that secures business-to-business communication by providing the strongest site-to-site encryption available; and the CEQURUX Authenticator, a bundled application for Microsoft Windows PCs which provides strong user identification using industry-standard protocols.
The holding company, CEQURUX Technologies BV is based in Amsterdam and is privately owned by American, British and South African shareholders. CEQURUX develops its products in Cape Town and has marketing and support branches in Seattle, London and Johannesburg.
Editor`s Note: UUNET SA is South Africa`s leading Internet infrastructure provider. A joint venture between Datatec and UUNET Technologies, the company provides Internet connectivity and corporate network services to major corporations.
All UUNET SA products and services are delivered within SA regulatory conditions.
Datatec is a technology and services company focusing on corporate networking and the Internet. UUNET, the Internet services division of MCI WorldCom, is a global leader in Internet communications solutions offering a comprehensive range of Internet services to business customers world-wide. Visit the UUNET SA website on www.uunet.co.za