Provider Force 3 has been awarded a $1.3 million task order under an IDIQ contract with the US Forest Service (USFS) to design, test, implement and support its first Network Admission Control solution. Force 3 delivers the best in federal security, unified communications, networks, data center, and medical imaging solutions.
The Network Admission Control solution, regardless of a wired or wireless connection, will allow all 40,000 USFS users to securely and seamlessly access their internal network while adhering to the agency’s security policies.
“At present, USFS does not have a solution in place to enforce policy to properly secure the network from unauthorized users gaining access,” said Mike Greaney, Vice President of Sales at Force 3. “With our solution, the agency will now have an enterprise wide system that will provide secure network access to authorized users only, including guest access.”
Per the contract, Force 3 will design the solution using Cisco’s Identity Services Engine (ISE) technology. Cisco ISE, a context aware identity-based platform, gathers real-time information from the network, users, and devices. Using this information, it makes proactive governance decisions by enforcing policy across the network infrastructure utilizing built in standard based controls.
This task order, issued under an IDIQ awarded in 2009, will be completed in two phases. The first phase, including a production pilot and deployment of 15 of the 800 strategic site, is scheduled for completion by September 2013. The remainder of the network will be part of the next phase, anticipated to take place in September 2015. The total overall award to date is $2.1 million.
“The capabilities we expect from this solution are in high demand,” said Nick Pappas, the project lead from USFS. “The ability to securely offer guest network services while at the same time enable full accountability for connected devices is a powerful combination. We are excited to have Force 3 engaged with this project.”
