Great Bay Software: Press Releases

Great Bay Software’s Beacon is selected by St. John’s Hospital to enable the deployment of 802.1X

Contacts:
Bob Durkee
Great Bay Software
603.866.1134
bdurkee@greatbaysoftware.com

Greenland, NH -- June 1, 2006 -- Great Bay software today announced that Beacon, the company’s Endpoint Profiling product, has been selected to enable the deployment and management of the authenticated network at St. John’s Hospital. Beacon was deployed to identify all network attached endpoints by location and type, a critical action item leading up to the deployment of 802.1X. In addition, Beacon provides St. John’s with a detailed view of all network attached endpoints and bolsters the hospital’s efforts in complying with HIPAA regulations as well as providing secure access for employees and guests of the hospital.

Pre-Deployment of Network-based Authentication
At St. John’s, Beacon enabled the deployment of 802.1X by providing the IT team with the tools and information required leading up to the deployment, and providing a framework for managing adds, moves, and changes following deployment. Beacon addresses critical items in the deployment of 802.1X such as the requirement to ascertain the type and location of all EAP and non-EAP endpoints (those that will not authenticate using 802.1X). Beacon was positioned prior to the deployment and provided the ability to monitor/manage the state of the authenticated LAN edge for changes and security events on an ongoing basis.

Securing the network while providing collaborative computing
The IT team at St. John’s set out to deploy an authenticated network that would allow the identity of the users to be associated with their connection to the network. This would allow the identity of the user to drive that user’s ability to access information or services within the network. “In our environment, providing the right information to the right people in a timely fashion can be a matter of life or death” said Bill Halpin Network Administrator at St. John’s. “We knew we wanted to construct an authenticated network to allow for this, but the deployment and administrative costs were concerning until we discovered Beacon”.

“The interesting challenge at St. John’s was the discovery of all the medical devices such as imaging machines as these needed to be strictly protected, but uncompromisingly available. These devices were not going to authenticate to the network, so we needed to manage their network access individually.” said Steve Pettit President of Great Bay Software. “The team at St. John’s had a clear vision for where they wanted to go, and we’re grateful for the opportunity to help them get there”.

About Great Bay Software:
Great Bay Software is a Software development firm focused on facilitating network-based authentication and secure network access. The Company’s Endpoint Profiling technology provides enterprise customers with the products, services and solutions required to enable the Network Admission Control and Trusted Endpoint Solutions being introduced by many of the top security manufacturers in the world. For more information on the Beacon System from Great Bay Software, visit www.greatbaysoftware.com or call (603) 866-1134.

About St. John’s Hospital
St. John's Hospital in Springfield is a regional healthcare center serving central and southern Illinois. The hospital is licensed for over 700 beds, making it the largest hospital in downstate Illinois. Founded in 1875 by the Hospital Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis, it is also one of the largest Catholic hospitals in the United States.

Over 600 physicians representing approximately 30 specialties and sub-specialties are on the medical staff. St. John's serves as a teaching hospital for Southern Illinois University School of Medicine residents and medical students. The hospital also supports other areas of medical careers education: nursing, dietetics, ENDT, medical technology and respiratory therapy. For more information on St. John’s Hospital, visit www.st-johns.org/home.aspx.