Extreme Networks Looks to Protect Enterprises From IoT Security Risks

Extreme Networks announced its Defender for IoT technology on Feb. 4, providing enterprises with a network-level platform for IoT security.Defending against risks from rogue or unmanaged internet of things (IoT) devices that might be present on an enterprise network is no trivial task. The Extreme Networks Defender for IoT can plug into an existing network and is able to learn and monitor device behavior and then automatically generate security policy to defend against malicious activities."Defender enables companies to deploy IoT security for wired devices without having to worry about the underlying network infrastructure, in a compact, unified offering," Camille Campbell, product marketing manager at Extreme Networks, told eWEEK. "The Defender Adapter is deployed as an overlay and sits between the IoT device and the network to monitor traffic and enforce traffic profiles with full Layer 2-7 visibility." There are a number of different ways that the Extreme Networks Defender for IoT offering can be deployed. Campbell explained that Defender for IoT is a value-add application that is deployable on the ExtremeCloud Appliance. The ExtremeCloud Appliance delivers management and orchestration for Extreme’s wired, wireless, and IoT solution, and is a core element of Extreme Networks Smart OmniEdge platform.Additionally, organizations can make use of the ExtremeMobility AP3912 Wall Jack to benefit from the Defender for IoT offering. Campbell said that the ExtremeMobility AP3912 is an existing wireless access point within the Extreme Networks mobility portfolio. As part of the Defender for IoT solution, it along with the Defender Adapter, monitors traffic to and from the IoT device with L2-7 visibility, enforcing the security profiles which have been defined in the Defender Application," she said. "The AP3912i is offered as a 3 Port Defender, with optional support for connectivity and protection of Wi-Fi capable devices."