Readers’ Poll: What is Your Favorite iOS Device?

As BYOD continues to increase in prevalence, Apple devices are becoming more common in the workplace. On the heels of our recent announcement about the NCP Secure Enterprise Server’s integration with iOS products, we were wondering – what is your favorite iOS device? Don’t see yours listed below? Feel free to let us know what it is in the comments.

Secure Authentication for Apple iOS Devices

As indicated by your feedback in several of our polls, and as highlighted at Interop New York, more and more users are opting to access their company network via various devices. Of all the devices involved in the BYOD movement, Apple iOS products are some of the most popular. In response to this demand, the NCP Secure Enterprise VPN Server now integrates with Apple’s iOS, so IT administrators can perform certificate-based authentication to control network access of iPhones and iPads.

So, how does this work? Apple’s mobile device management (MDM) distributes various certificates to all authorized iOS devicies. When users establish VPN tunnels from their devices, the NCP Secure Enterprise VPN Server uses these certificates to determine what type of device the user is accessing the network with. This enables network administrators to, for example, allow a Mac OS X notebook full access rights, while limiting iOS devices to partial access to the central network. Also, users are unable to decipher or manipulate the certificates, significantly reducing the risk of certifications being duplicated for unauthorized devices. Security is, after all, one of the biggest concerns associated with BYOD.

Ultimately, with its iOS secure authentication, NCP enables IT administrators to use certificates to control assignment rights on these end devices – without interfering with the user-determined username and passwords. Want to view the entire, official announcement? Check it out here.

What We’re Reading, Week of 5/2

CIO.IN: Microsoft, Juniper Urged to Patch Dangerous IPv6 DoS Hole 
Computerworld: Hosting Virtual Desktops: Tips for a Successful Outcome
Processor: Remote Access Myths
ComputerWeekly: Remote IT gateways a top vulnerability to cyber attacks, report reveals
PCWorld: Connect to the VPN at work from your IPad

What We’re Reading, Week of 11/1

CNET, The Unvarnished Truth About Unsecured Wi-Fi
InfoWorld, Androids and iPads: Network Security’s Last Stand?
IT Business Edge, Free Wi-Fi at the Café? Read this Before You Connect
Network World, Enterprises Want Broad Functionality for Mobile Device Security
SC Magazine, IP Security (IPsec) VPN

What We’re Reading, Week of 5/24

Computerworld…
NAC: What Went Wrong
IDG reporter Joel Snyder and his colleagues spent four months in the lab testing the 12 leading network access control (NAC) products, and identified six barriers that have impeded the deployment of NAC within enterprise networks.  They also came to conclusion that “There’s no such thing as ‘best of breed’ in NAC, because for the 12 vendors evaluated, there are nearly 12 different ‘breeds’ of NAC product”.

The AShimmy Blog…
How Cisco’s Infighting Put Customers Last and Almost Killed the NAC Market
Blogger Alan Shimmy offers his perspective on how Cisco was the worst / best thing that ever happened to NAC, and shares his opinions of Joel Snyder’s article, “Cisco’s NAC Goes Off Track, Customers Taken Aback”.  Continuing on Cisco’s NAC customer beat and the fact that the company tried to kill off NAC, Alan believes the customers are the ‘biggest losers’ because they are sitting on tens of thousands of dollars of NAC equipment.

Forward Thinking with Michael Miller…
Using the iPad As a Work Machine
Michael Miller of PCMag.com tests out the iPad for business applications, and shares both his likes and the limitations he found.  One point that particularly stuck out to us is the need for a VPN client—as he points out, Michael would rather use a notebook and be secure.