MINNEAPOLIS, January 24, 2008 - www.newboundary.com - New Boundary Technologies®, the automated IT management innovator, today announced the release of Policy Commander 2.0, which easily makes Windows desktop, laptop and server systems exponentially safer and more compliant.  

Available immediately, Policy Commander 2.0 leverages innovative security policy management technologies that automate Windows security configuration enforcement to create sustainable compliance environments.

“Testing and implementing security policies without an automated solution can put a severe drain on IT resources,” said Kim Pearson, president and chief executive officer of New Boundary Technologies. “Policy Commander lets IT put the focus of security on the computer, where confidential data actually resides, where the risk is greatest, and where they can get a fast, robust return on their security compliance investments.”

Recent research by The Ponemon Institute, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, and the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) shows that the majority of threats to a company’s IT infrastructure and confidential information originate from inside the organization, rather than external sources like hackers. Organizations are much more likely to experience security breaches initiated by employees, either through malicious activity or simple user errors. And the risk of data breaches from external sources increase significantly for off-network equipment like laptops because they lose the protection of network perimeter defenses.

“Policy Commander 2.0 is impressive as a competitive compliance solution for the mid-market,” said Richard Ptak, managing partner and co-founder of Ptak, Noel & Associates LLC.  “Businesses looking for security from both internal and external threats should definitely consider Policy Commander.”

The longstanding focus on directing IT resources to perimeter defenses ahead of system-level security configuration leaves organizations more vulnerable to internal threats. The proliferation of off-network systems such as laptops likewise leaves organizations more vulnerable to external security threats. Meanwhile, IT security compliance pressures are intensified by regulatory and industry mandates like HIPAA, GLBA, and PCI.   

Manually creating secure configurations for systems that hold or access confidential information, or that are used outside the network, can involve hundreds of individual Windows settings. With Policy Commander 2.0, IT professionals can automate the process of locking down Windows systems, vastly improving security with minimal impact on IT resources.

The core automation technologies in Policy Commander 2.0 enable IT departments to lock down Windows systems, and keep them locked down, automatically and continuously. Policy Commander 2.0 integrates New Boundary Technologies configuration management innovations like Smart Update™, Configuration Groups, and the Dynamic Security Policy format. This gives Policy Commander, and the IT professionals who use it, the power to streamline security policy deployment and create self-correcting security configurations for every Windows system in the organization. Policy Commander 2.0 features include:

• Configuration Groups that automate administration of computers and computer groups based on any configuration trait.
• Offline Enforcement of policies to protect Windows systems from security threats when they leave the protection of network defenses.
• Reporting and monitoring via the administrative console and the Web to maintain audit trails, deliver real-time compliance insight, and document security compliance to management and auditors.
• Easy policy management with an intuitive user interface, a comprehensive security policy knowledge base, drag-and-drop policy assignment, and an integrated policy editor.
• Security roles that allow for delegation of administrative authority at different permission levels.

Jolina Pettice
Misukanis & Odden
952-400-0349
jpettice@misukanisodden.com