A major U.S. government agency adopted Network Critical's test access portal (TAP) technology to manage conflicting objectives of accessibility and stringent security regulations.
Our solution enabled the agency to connect multiple tools across their data centers securely while maintaining compliance with Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA) regulations.
Cybercriminals frequently target government agencies, making strong network security essential. Under FISMA regulations, federal agencies must meet strict information security standards, including continuous network monitoring and the use of specialized tools.
Our client faced a significant challenge. It needed to connect seven distinct security and monitoring tools to critical network links. Connecting all tools directly to every link was impractical and could degrade network performance if any tool went offline.
These tools fall into two categories:
Both stacks needed 100% traffic visibility, but traditional switched port analyzer (SPAN) ports couldn’t deliver reliable results due to packet drops.
Our network requires connection of seven different security and monitoring tools on critical links in order to comply with FISMA regulations. We can’t put all these tools on every link. Network Critical TAPs allow us combine links and help us stay within our budget guidelines.” - Information Technology Specialist
Due to the complexity of the project, Network Critical was engaged. We set out to unify the agency’s tools by integrating them into a single connection using advanced TAP technology.
Using real-time bypass access modules, we connected the client’s four live stack tools. The bypass modules work by taking in live traffic and passing the traffic through security tools before passing them back to the network. This allows the tools to take immediate action when needed, blocking malicious traffic before damage is done. If any of the tools go offline, the TAP automatically bypasses the tool, keeping network traffic flowing.
Additionally, we connected the three client's three passive stack tools to a SmartNA-XL™ chassis with a different set of modules that pass a mirror copy of live traffic to the tools. The passive tools receive 100% of all the traffic on the link, including incomplete or retransmitted packets. This allows the tools to provide accurate traffic data analysis.
The SmartNA-XL™ TAPs also provide fail-safe technology protecting live traffic even if power to the TAPs is lost.
Both the passive and active tool stacks access traffic from the same link, which is completely protected against any tool going offline and taking down the link. Different tools with different missions can perform their tasks using the same stream of network traffic.
Our SmartNA-XL™ TAPs enabled the agency to successfully integrate seven specialized security tools into its network, achieve FISMA compliance, and stay within budget.
Network Critical's SmartNA-XL™ TAPs delivered:
Network Critical is an industry leader in network access technology. Our quality 1/10/25/40/100G modular TAP and Packet Broker solutions ensure that our customers have continuous network visibility. Network Critical products eliminate any concerns of downtime and our unique scale-out capabilities enable simple, cost effective expansion, as network and port density requirements grow. The health of your network is always secure with Network Critical products. Our fully flexible range of TAPs and Packet Brokers are used with IDS, IPS, network traffic monitoring tools, sniffers and many other mission critical appliances, to provide 100% network visibility with zero packet loss. With over 20 years experience, a number of industry “firsts” and a reputation for excellent customer service, Network Critical’s solutions are widely used in global networks across a wide range of sectors including Finance, Telco, Government, Energy and Healthcare.