Trusted Computing Group's Trusted Network Connect -TNC- and Microsoft's Network Access Protection Architectures to Be Compatible; Open Industry Effort for Endpoint Integrity Will Support Multivendor Network Environments.

PORTLAND, Ore. -- The Trusted Computing Group (TCG), developer of open specifications to help vendors build products that protect critical data and information, today announced that Microsoft's Network Access Protection (NAP) is planned to be architecturally aligned and interoperable with TCG's Trusted Network Connect (TNC) specification.

TCG's Trusted Network Connect subgroup, which has participation from more than 60 leading network industry companies, has been working to finalize an open architecture specification. This architecture, designed to be interoperable in heterogeneous network environments, will enable endpoint integrity for prevention and detection of malware and resulting security issues and downtime.

"We are working within TCG and with its members to ensure alignment between the Network Access Protection and TNC architectures with the intent of interoperability with future versions of Windows Server operating systems," said Steve Anderson, senior director of product marketing, Windows Server Division, Microsoft. "The alignment of these architectures will help developers, customers and partners as they plan products and deployments for their enterprises to secure their networks more effectively."

"Users have told us they want to protect their networks against intrusions, viruses, malware and unauthorized access, in a vendor-neutral, interoperable environment," noted Jim Ward, TCG president. "The TCG Trusted Network Connect architecture will provide a common building block for networking and trust."

The TNC architecture, anticipated for release later this year, will provide a common framework and architecture for components, functions and services of endpoint integrity to protect networks.

About TCG

TCG is an industry standards body formed to develop, define, and promote open standards for trusted computing and security technologies, including hardware building blocks and software interfaces, across multiple platforms, peripherals and devices. TCG specifications are designed to enable more secure computing environments without compromising functional integrity with the primary goal of helping users to protect their information assets from compromise due to external software attack and physical theft.

More information and the organization's specifications are available at the Trusted Computing Group's Web site, www.trustedcomputinggroup.org.

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