iPass Makes Safe Bet

The deal, which is slated to be finalized by the end of the month, is valued at $8.5 million. IPass, Redwood Shores, Calif., plans to make the Safe3w technology available to channel partners by the end of the year.

The Safe3w device fingerprinting technology essentially blueprints the contents of an end-point device and uses it as a strong authentication token when establishing a remote connection. When integrated into the iPass connectivity platform, technology from Woodbury, N.Y.-based Safe3w would ensure that only trusted computers--those devices that are identified and known to a customer's IT department as safe--have access to corporate networks, according to iPass.

The Safe3w technology helps to mitigate security risks exacerbated by remote connectivity, said iPass CEO Ken Denman.

"The increased productivity of always-on connectivity and enterprise mobility come with inherent security risks,"

Denman said. "The innovative technology from Safe3w fits naturally into [our] service strategy and should contribute substantial value to customers."

Denman said that along with the recently unveiled iPass policy orchestration initiative, the acquisition of Safe3w would extend iPass solutions from secure global corporate access into the protection of end points across Internet connections.

The company's new policy orchestration effort is designed to create a remote connectivity solution that forces end points to comply with security policies by quarantining them and granting the end points the opportunity to upgrade accordingly.

Because iPass systems touch every user connection request, iPass services can control the connection state, placing the company in position to protect employees' computers in accordance with their company's IT policies, Denman said.

Solution providers say that integrating the Safe3w technology with the iPass connectivity platform also will allow iPass to deepen computer and network protection by layering device identification and authentication onto the connection process.

Mike Backers, CEO of Altoria Solutions, Cincinnati, said his company has developed a hosted authentication product based on the Safe3w technology. Working with iPass to sell solutions in the same vein will only improve his bottom line, he said.

"My understanding is that iPass is using this to further strengthen their dominance in end-point policy enforcement and security for the remote desktop," he said.