Hitachi Cable, Ltd. has tested the interconnection between its authentication switch, Apresia(R) (*2, 3), and RADIUS servers (*1) provided by Accense Technology, Inc. (Head office: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Shigeru Kanemoto), Stellar Craft, Inc. (Head office: Osaka-shi, Osaka; President and CEO: Hitoshi Ueda) and Terilogy Co., Ltd. (Head office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Takao Tsubuki) and has confirmed proper operation. It has also started the Apresia(R) security alliance partner program "EnSEC (*4)" in collaboration with the three companies.

Recently, leakage of customer and other information has become a widespread problem. Implementation of security is becoming important both in authentication devices and in secure networks as an effective means of preventing information leakage from within a company. Responding to this need, Hitachi Cable, Ltd. provides various authentication and quarantine solutions combining Apresia(R) switches and RADIUS servers. Until now we have not specified the RADIUS servers to be integrated with the system, entrusting selection of the servers to the users introducing the system or to the system integrators. However, as there have been many requests for information on recommended RADIUS servers, we have recently conducted interconnection tests between Apresia(R) switches and the RADIUS servers provided by the aforementioned three companies and have obtained satisfactory results. Thus, we now recommend these RADIUS servers for use with Apresia(R) switches.

In addition, we have started "EnSEC," the Apresia(R) security alliance partner program, in order to flexibly respond to varying security needs stemming from the increased interoperability of Apresia(R) with various devices, software, and services. Over 20 companies have expressed interest in joining EnSEC, including the three RADIUS server manufacturers whose products we recently tested. We intend to continue to increase the number of EnSEC partner companies.

We also plan to expand the capabilities of the authentication function of the Apresia(R) authentication switch. In addition to our unique authentication function, "Apresia(R) NA (*5)," the switch now also complies with the IEEE802.1X (*6) international authentication standard. It is also possible to mix the functions of Apresia(R) NA and IEEE802.1X in a single Apresia(R) device. In this way, it is possible to construct authentication systems that use the IEEE802.1X international standard for standard terminals in the network while using Apresia(R) NA for printers and IP phone terminals without IEEE802.1X-compliant supplicants (client software) and for Linux or Mac terminals, which do not support IEEE802.1X. Further, we have added a logout function (*7) that removes virus-infected or unregistered terminals from the network. This function will serve to reduce the load on system administrators.

We intend to use the newly inaugurated EnSEC and the distribution channels of Apresia(R) sales partners to further increase our share of the Ethernet (*8) switch market for Internet service providers and enterprise users. We expect Apresia(R) sales to reach 13 billion yen in fiscal 2006(April.2005-March.2006).

*1	An authentication switch is a switch with a built-in user authentication function that allows or denies accesses from a client terminal to the network.
*2	Apresia is a registered trademark of Hitachi Cable, Ltd. in Japan.
*3	RADIUS is the abbreviation for Remote Authentication Dial-In User Services. RADIUS server allows or denies accesses based on user information stored in a database and keeps an access log.
*4	EnSEC is the abbreviation for Enforcement for Secure Connectivity.
*5	NA is the abbreviation for Network Authentication. It does not depend on the type of client OS and thus can be used for authentication of machines based on Linux/Unix and other types of systems. It also supports authentication with MAC addresses and thus can be used for IP phones, printers, POS terminals, and other terminals without browsers.
*6	IEEE802.1X is the authentication standard set by the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers). It controls access through each port using authentication based on RADIUS. It supports Windows2000/XP as standard OS.
*7	Apresia may be set to monitor terminal access conditions and remove suspicious client terminals from the network.
*8	Ethernet is a registered trademark of Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd.