WatchGuard Technologies debuts WatchGuard WiFi Cloud, a secure, scalable and feature-rich Wi-Fi-management platform and a new family of high-performance, cloud-ready access points. When deployed together, the secure wireless solution delivers a sophisticated wireless intrusion prevention system technology.
Additionally, it turns Wi-Fi hot spots into consumer research, analytics, and push marketing tools. Architected from the ground up to focus on ease of deployment and administration, the WatchGuard WiFi Cloud simplifies even the most complex aspects of Wi-Fi management, making fast, secure, and intelligent Wi-Fi accessible to organizations of all types and sizes.
Most traditional wireless network management solutions fail to stop rogue devices from connecting to their networks or block threats like wireless denial-of-service attacks. If they have a WIPS, it delivers a high rate of false positives, incorrectly categorizing neighboring hotspots and innocuously connected devices as malicious, which creates unnecessary frustration and end-user complaints.
WatchGuard WiFi Cloud enables IT pros to deliver high-quality wireless performance, while ensuring consistent security policies across all connected devices, even at remote locations. The patented WIPS technology built into WatchGuard’s new cloud-ready APs automatically classifies wireless devices as Authorized, Rogue or External, resulting in a very low false positive rate. This advanced rogue detection process can safely and automatically shut down unauthorized access points and clients, while nearly eliminating the risk of illegally interfering with neighboring wireless networks.
In addition to automatically detecting and disabling rogue wireless devices and attacks, WatchGuard’s industry-leading WIPS also provides customers with:
- Secure bring your own device policy enforcement – automatically identifies on-network smart devices and blocks unapproved connections.
- Accurate location tracking – pinpoints the location of connected wireless devices or sources of interference, enabling administrators to quickly take action.
- Flexible deployment – deployable in configurations to meet any security need. It can be installed as an overlay on top of an existing WLAN infrastructure or as a stand-alone enforcement system for WiFi prohibited zones.
The WiFi Cloud also provides visibility into a goldmine of marketing data, including insights into footfall and customer demographics visualized on customizable dashboards. Organizations can easily monetize these insights by tapping into the mobile engagement features, which allow direct and customized communication with individual customers in the form of SMS, MMS and their social network of choice.