Columbitech and Diversinet Announce Wireless VPN

March 19, 2002 -- (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) -- Columbitech AB (columbitech.com), a provider of software for secure, wireless access to corporate data, and Diversinet Corp. (diversinet.com), a developer of wireless security software enabling mobile e-commerce, announced on Monday that they had introduced a new PKI-enabled wireless virtual private network (VPN) solution designed to secure wireless enterprise communications.

The Passport Wireless VPN product, say the companies, is designed to offer a combination of Diversinet’s wireless PKI technology and Columbitech’s wireless VPN product, in an effort to enhance and deliver wireless security for enterprises in North America, Europe and Asia.

The solution is designed to support full-strength encryption, authentication and certificate processing capabilities to support secure remote access to corporate networks. The product is ideal, say the companies, for large VPN deployments with hundreds or thousands of users.

Columbitech and Diversinet say the Passport Wireless VPN will address the security concerns of 802.11 wireless local-area networks and wireless wide-area networks such as GPRS, CDPD and CDMA. The product supports the leading mobile device platforms, such as Pocket PC handheld devices and Windows-based notebook computers.

The solution is designed to operate independent of network type and wireless service provider, and is based on standard protocols for communication and security to ensure function with both wireless and wired communications.

One of the Passport Wireless VPN’s key features, say the companies, is that it allows mobile users to seamlessly roam between different wireless network topologies in a single VPN session, without requiring them to log on again. This feature would allow a wireless notebook user to move from VPN access to the office network using a WLAN and, while connected on the same VPN session, remain connected using a mobile phone connection while traveling home. The same user could then switch the notebook over to a home broadband or dialup connection without losing the VPN session.

The increased pressure business face to reduce costs and connect customers, suppliers and partners to their internal networks, say the companies, has heightened the demand for secure network access through VPNs. Passport Wireless VPN is designed to address this need by allowing enterprises to extend applications to mobile workers with confidence.