Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. is introducing a way to quickly build a VPN appliance that could potentially save users time and money.
Called SecurePlatform, this CD turns a regular PC into a VPN gateway with firewall in a matter of minutes.
Users slip in the disc, choose the self-install option and in about 6 minutes, Check Point VPN-1/Firewall-1 software is loaded. The device is ready to configure and can be managed using Check Point’s management platform.
SecurePlatform also loads a Linux operating system that has been customized to protect it from the attacks faced by being a security device. The Check Point software requires a Pentium PC.
Check Point has sold VPN-1/Firewall-1 for years, and customers have installed it on PCs to create these gateways, but they had to install their own operating systems. If users had concerns about whether these operating systems were secure enough, they had to harden the system themselves.
This operating system-application package is similar to the model that service provider OpenReach uses. Users download an operating system and VPN software from OpenReach’s Web site and once installed, the devices are configured into a VPN using a management system based on OpenReach’s network. Customers pay a monthly fee.
The alternative is to buy VPN appliances that come with the software already installed, such as those made by Cubix Corp., Intrusion.com Inc., Nokia Corp. and VPNDynamics Inc. Depending on their processing power, they range in price from less than US$600 to US$10,000 or more.
SecurePlatform is in beta test and will be available by the end of this month. It costs US$100 to license a single device and US$200 to license 10.
Check Point can be reached at http://www.checkpoint.com.