Wireless VPN Supports Linux

Secure wireless software developer Columbitech of Stockholm and New York, whose wireless VPN technology powers Symbol’s AirBEAM brand of products, is supporting Linux servers in its latest version.

This move is key for the company because it helps customers save money.

“Linux lets people do cost effective implementations. You don’t have to license from Microsoft and the functionality is stripped to just what you need,” says Pontus Bergdahl, CEO at Columbitech.

The support is specifically for Linux Red Hat servers. Previously Columbitech’s Wireless Suite supported Windows NT/2000 servers. Eventually they hope to expand to having embedded Linux clients and Unix servers.

Columbitech’s Wireless Suite is resold by Hewlett-Packard (both standalone and as part of HP’s Open Roaming mobility package) and under the AirBEAM Safe brand name by Symbol Technologies . Symbol recently upgraded the AirBEAM line to earn a FIPS 140-2 certification from the National Institute of Information Standards and Technology (NIST), making it available for use by government agencies requiring advanced security.

FIPS is short for Federal Information Processing Standards; the 140 cryptographic standard was created by the NIST. The standard has four levels of security – Level 1, Level 2, Level 3, and Level 4 — that increase in quality as they go up. FIPS 140-1, the first level, only supports DES and 3DES encryption. The various levels are suitable for a wide array of areas in which cryptographic modules could be used.