The role of leak detection in TCG's IF-MAP

The increasing number of security and network products has created a challenge for IT and network administrators. Most of these products are not designed to communicate with one another. Trusted Computing Group has addressed this issue with the IF-MAP (Interface Metadata Access Protocol).

Simply put, this API lets various devices communicate one another, sending messages back and forth via an IF-MAP server.

A number of products support IF-MAP. Last week, Lumeta, a leading provider of network discovery products, announced a partnership with Juniper Networks.

Lumeta's IPsonar product has been connected to Juniper Network's Unified Access Control (UAC) solution via the IF-MAP protocol. IPsonar discovers network leaks and then reports them to the UAC device, which then triggers action - a shutdown or corrective action, for example.

Lumeta IPsonar's patented leak discovery capability is proving an important tool in managing network access as changes occur on the network. For global organizations with operations dispersed around the world, leak detection provides a means to have real-time automated intelligence on the status of all connectivity and devices. Network access considerations such as guest access, contractor and partner connections can be accommodated while maintaining compliance in a changing network environment.

Source: Trusted Computing Group