CenturyLink Introduces Secure Connectivity For Mobile Workforces

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CenturyLink Monday rolled out its new Adaptive Network Security Mobility, a network offering that allows remote users to securely connect to internet and private network resources without introducing cyber risks associated with using personal devices and unsecured Wi-Fi.

CenturyLink’s Chris Richter

Chris Richter, CenturyLink’s vice president of global security services, tells Channel Partners this is a new feature of his company’s Adaptive Network Security platform that’s already available for members of the CenturyLink Channel Partner Program to sell to their customers.

“Businesses are weighing the advantages of an increasingly mobile workforce against the need to protect sensitive information in today’s complex cybersecurity landscape,” he said. “Partners need carrier-agnostic solutions like Adaptive Network Security to address this need. Adaptive Network Security Mobility allows enterprises to route mobile users’ access through globally dispersed, next-generation gateways, enabling the consistent application of security policies regardless of how, or where, users connect.”

Adaptive Network Security Mobility offers secure, remote VPN access to corporate networks via IPSec or SSL-based internet connections and a standard web browser, providing end-to-end encryption and tunneling. Enterprises purchase concurrent use sessions based on the anticipated number of users at any given time, rather than purchasing individual licenses for each mobile user.

Customers can access Adaptive Network Security through a constellation of global next-generation security gateways distributed across Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and North America, all interconnected via CenturyLink’s global VPN backbone. Whether employees connect with a laptop, tablet or smartphone, businesses maintain centralized authentication, user role-mapping, resource policies and sign-in policies while enabling remote connectivity.

“It is estimated that by 2020, roughly 42 percent of the global workforce — or around 1.75 billion people — will be mobile,” Richter said. “Yet the insecurity of mobile devices and the vulnerabilities of public Wi-Fi networks remain at an all-time high, which is why secure mobility solutions remain a top priority for enterprises across a broad range of verticals.”

“With the expansion of remote and mobile workers, enterprises would be well-served to incorporate secure mobility as part of a comprehensive, cloud-based network security strategy, rather than an add-on, piecemeal approach,” said Christina Richmond, security service practice program director for IDC.