San Jacinto College Seeks to Protect Against Threats Introduced by Peer-to-Peer File Sharing.

Houston College Selects Mirage to Secure Campus Networks

AUSTIN, Texas -- Mirage Networks, developer of full-cycle Network Access Control (NAC) solutions, today announced that San Jacinto College in Houston has implemented Mirage's NAC technology across three campuses to maintain network uptime and availability in part by curtailing peer-to-peer (P2P) networking applications that can monopolize network resources and leave students vulnerable to malware and litigation from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

"The RIAA is cracking down on illegal file sharing on campuses," said Will Sydnor, IT manager for San Jacinto College. "By implementing Mirage's solution, we can configure our sensor to disallow rampant file sharing, and avoid the negative publicity that often comes with that type of activity."

Mirage Networks helps enterprises defend their networks from zero-day threats and policy violations with patented, full-cycle, agentless network access control technology. The combination of access control, threat prevention, and automated policy enforcement provides an in-depth view of endpoint activity throughout its lifecycle and delivers powerful analysis and network intelligence for network history and usage.

"In addition to their RIAA concerns, San Jacinto College was experiencing an uptick in the number of unmanaged student and faculty laptops accessing their networks, as well as an increase in hacking attempts," said Jason Knight of The Broadleaf Group, Mirage Networks' partner in the region. "With Mirage's NAC solution San Jacinto College's concerns could be solved with a single deployment, and the solution easily scaled to cover all three main campuses."

The Mirage deployment allows San Jacinto College's IT security department to authenticate each endpoint as it attempts to access the network. IT can use this authentication to stop many of the problems caused by unknown and out-of-policy endpoints before they start. In addition, Mirage sensors use behavioral rules to monitor activity on the network, which allows San Jacinto College to protect against threats and threatening behavior without installing persistent agents on all connecting devices or requiring signature updates. This is particularly valuable to organizations that have large numbers of unmanageable endpoints entering their networks, such as higher education campuses.

"Unauthorized peer-to-peer file sharing is a serious legal concern for colleges and universities," said Greg Stock, president and CEO of Mirage Networks. "Over 50 higher education customers rely on Mirage to deliver an easy to deploy NAC solution that continually scans endpoint traffic to pinpoint threatening behavior, which can include illegal file swapping. The RIAA has made a point of singling out the campuses with the most illegal file sharing; Mirage supplies a simple way for campuses to avoid the negative publicity that can follow from appearing on such a list."

About San Jacinto College

San Jacinto Community College District is a comprehensive, public, and two-year community college with a mission to deliver accessible, affordable, high-quality post-secondary education programs designed to meet the needs of the citizens of Southeast Harris County. The primary focus of the College is helping students to achieve their personal and professional goals, create seamless transitions among educational levels, and to prepare students to enter the job market or transfer to senior institutions. Through its programs and services, and partnerships with industry, the College supports the economic growth of the community and the region.

About The Broadleaf Group

The Broadleaf Group brings new levels of IT and business certainty. Through innovative and market leading solutions, such as BusinessGuard, Certainty Score, and the Security DashBoard, The Broadleaf group turns IT assets into business advantage. The Broadleaf Group provides broad and deep experience and a laser-like focus on security, performance, and compliance, setting us apart from the competition. SMBs to Global 100 enterprises benefit from a full suite of solutions designed to provide new business opportunity by solving complex security, performance, and compliance challenges. Visit www.broadleafgroup.com for more information.

About Mirage Networks

Mirage Networks, Inc. is the leading provider of Network Access Control (NAC) solutions, including both pre- and post-admission security. The Austin, Texas-based company's patented technology gives organizations control over unknown, out-of-policy, and infected devices resulting in increased network uptime, policy compliance, and reduced operational costs. Mirage's NAC appliances work in all network environments, deploy out-of-band, and require neither signatures nor agents to enforce policies and terminate zero-day threats. Mirage Networks Endpoint Control is a consistent winner of industry awards and recognition. Learn more at http://www.miragenetworks.com.

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