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WirelessDevNet.com Press Release
Columbitech Adds VPN Support for Securing Wireless VoIP Applications
New York- May 2, 2005- Wireless security software developer Columbitech today
announced wireless VPN support for securing wireless voice applications
(wVoIP). This new release contains security framework enhancements that
provide protection for making reliable and robust VoIP calls. Users who
have wVoIP capabilities are able to securely check e-mail and voicemail, and
have access to corporate files. Columbitech takes a holistic approach to
secure the converged IP networks with no limitations to bandwidth or
applications.
The Columbitech WVPN provides built-in support for Session Persistence -
that is, the ability to maintain a session while being out of wireless
coverage. The most important requirement when it comes to wVoIP is to
maintain the session, so that the call will not be cut off. For users, this
means that once initiated, a call will not be cut off because of a
disruption of network coverage, like poor WLAN signal strength. The
Columbitech WVPN makes it possible to resume and continue a call that was
initiated at a WLAN hotspot over a public 3G network or over any packet
switched IP network. The Columbitech WVPN is a session-based VPN.
The solution also provides TCP connection multiplexing to prevent flooding
the wireless link with redundant TCP retransmissions during handover. In
short, the available bandwidth will be used to transport actual traffic
instead of redundant TCP retransmissions. If the entire link capacity is
utilized for retransmissions, TCP will eventually break down due to lack of
new user data on the link. However, if all data were multiplexed over one
TCP Session, there would be plenty of room for new data to reach the
receiver and the applications would be more likely to survive a bad
connection.
When moving between WLAN and a packet switched public WAN, such as GPRS, the
difference in bandwidth can vary by a ratio of 1000. Therefore, to adapt the
speed to the road conditions, Columbitech uses TCP's built-in mechanisms for
flow control, together with proprietary messages between client and server,
to ensure that the call will not be cut off and to make network roaming as
smooth as possible.
In order to offer the user the best performance possible, large data packets
such as file transfers are compressed, typically doubling the perceived
performance. Columbitech WVPN intelligently chooses when and what to
compress in order to reduce the amount of data sent over the air. Since
Columbitech Wireless VPN is designed to support adaptive compression, it is
possible to distinguish between wVoIP traffic and data applications and
apply appropriate actions.
"Data and voice convergence are very compelling from an application point of
view, but very challenging from a security point of view," said Åsa
Holmstrom, President of Columbitech. "The same security threats that
enterprises have been facing regarding data are now also a reality for
voice. With the Columbitech Wireless VPN, enterprise users can protect both
their voice and data applications and resources with a solution that is
optimized for wireless networks."
Many enterprises depend on real-time access to data and applications. The
growing convergence of voice and data networks only exacerbates the security
risks of cyber attacks. The Columbitech Wireless VPN has been designed to
secure not only data, but also voice. VoIP networks are subject to a number
of security weaknesses, such as virus attacks on IP PBXs, hackers breaking
into VoIP gateways to make free calls and eavesdropping through VoIP phones.
Columbitech's solution provides a secure solution to this problem.
About Columbitech: Recognized as a leader in Wireless LAN and WAN security,
Columbitech develops and markets software products for secure wireless
access to corporate data without sacrificing performance and ease-of-use.
There have been more than 4,500 server and 250,000 client licenses sold.
Users include service technicians, retailers, all levels of military and
government branches, and other mobile staff who require proven reliability
and security for their wireless communications. The company's proven and
standards-based technology is OEM licensed by leading companies, including
Symbol Technologies, Hewlett Packard and Ericsson. Columbitech's solution
also has FIPS 140-2 certification and is in the process of being evaluated
for NIAP Common Criteria Certification. Columbitech's products are built
from the ground up for the wireless world, offering end-to-end security,
convenient always-on connectivity, and optimized performance. Privately-held
Columbitech has offices in Stockholm, Sweden and in New York, USA. For more
information, please visit www.columbitech.com.
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