U.S. Department of Justice selects Senforce for security solutions

WASHINGTON -Officials at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) chose Senforce Technologies in Draper, Utah, for its endpoint and mobile ­security solutions.

Under the agreement, the DOJ will use the Senforce EMSM (Enterprise Mobile Security Manager) software architecture that provides a consolidated and extensible approach for ­firewall protection, integrity control, intrusion prevention, wireless connectivity control, wireless suppression, and application and storage-device control. It also enables VPN (virtual private network) enforcement and anti-virus integrity checks, among other capabilities such as comprehensive auditing and reporting.

Through its centralized management system, Senforce empowers the DOJ to protect network and mobile endpoints from hackers, software worms, Trojans, viruses, and other types of malware that run rampant on the Internet, Senforce officials say. The Senforce software also allows the DOJ to more easily comply with FISMA (Federal Information Security Management Act).

“It is of paramount importance for Justice components to have central control over policy and to be able to obtain compliance reports for audits,” says Dennis Heretick, director of IT and ­Security and the head of the U.S. Security Council. “If asked how we know we’re in compliance, we want to have definitive proof.

“Not only does Senforce provide central control over the networked devices including laptops, it provides a comprehensive view of the environment,” Heretick continues. “This increases our situational awareness and proactive security posture, as well as our ability to react to threats; for example, we can shut down ports to control spread of a virus, take remediation measures and then open ports for regular use when it is safe to do so.”

The DOJ evaluated many security options, selecting Senforce because of its flexibility, scalability, and centralized management. “Many security products are restrictive in nature,” says Ted Shelkey, assistant director of information systems security for U.S. Attorneys. “In stark contrast, Senforce enables ­secure connectivity. Their approach ­enhances mobility and productivity while securing users and DOJ agencies.

“Senforce enables a more strategic approach to security, by enforcing ­security policies continuously and ­enabling response to threats in real time,” Shelkey adds.

Other key components of the Senforce EMSM solution include:

• an authority service that provides initial “credentials” to clients, monitors user and group changes within a network directory, and updates the policy service to proactively protect mobile systems;

• a policy service that stores and distributes group security policies for mobile clients;

• a reporting service that gathers and stores security policy and client compliance information that viewed through either a Web-based interface or with third-party reporting tools;

• a policy editor for creating and deploying group security policies; and

• a mobile security client that resides on the mobile computer, receives policies from the Policy Service, and enforces ­security on mobile clients as they move from location to location.

The solution gives the DOJ the ability to control security policies automatically by pushing security policies out to clients, enforcing them, and generating audit ­reports that demonstrate how the organization is in compliance with FISMA, Senforce officials claim.

Senforce focuses on multiple vertical markets, with a particular emphasis on the federal government. In recent months, the company has secured multiple license agreements with various government agencies, including the U.S. Air Force.