ForeScout Network Access Control Extends McAfee Security Visibility

Security firm ForeScout Technologies has expanded its functionality to work with security products from McAfee. The latest integration allows customers to use ForeScout's CounterACT, the company's network access control product, with McAfee's Enterprise Security Manager (ESM), a set of programs for doing enterprise-wide security information and event management (SIEM).

About a year ago ForeScout announced that it had integrated CounterACT with McAfee's ePolicy Orchestrator, which gave customers a way to see endpoints the moment they tried to connect to the network, and the ability to control those devices for compliance.

The purpose of the new integration is to provide organizations with a way to monitor device activities identified by CounterACT in McAfee's ESM, including network access violations, endpoint compliance problems, and mobile security issues.

The pursuit of simplicity in managing security threats is an idea that has been backed up by IT analyst firm Gartner. "Although many SIEM deployments have been funded to address regulatory compliance reporting requirements, the rise in successful targeted attacks has caused a growing number of organizations to use SIEM for threat management to improve security monitoring and early breach detection," stated the May 2012 Gartner report, "Magic Quadrant for Security Information and Event Management." "There is a danger of SIEM products (which are already complex) becoming too complex as vendors extend capabilities. Vendors that are able to provide deployment simplicity as they add function will be the most successful in the market."

ForeScout CounterACT provides the means for the security administrator to see and control devices connected to the network without an agent running on the endpoint device. IT can use it to set and enforce network usage policy rules, such as identifying and quarantining devices that don't comply with security rules or that exhibit malicious behavior. It's available as a physical appliance or as software that can run in a virtual server environment.

"By supporting interoperability between [the two products], we can give our mutual customers an effective way to extend situational awareness and to enforce access, mobile, and endpoint compliance controls for all users and devices," said Ed Barry, a McAfee vice president. "The joint solution will enable more rapid remediation of enterprise-wide threats that can originate from non-compliant endpoints."

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • horizontal stack of U.S. dollar bills breaking in half

    ED Abruptly Cancels ESSER Funding Extensions

    The Department of Education has moved to close the door on COVID relief funding for schools, declaring that "extending deadlines for COVID-related grants, which are in fact taxpayer funds, years after the COVID pandemic ended is not consistent with the Department’s priorities and thus not a worthwhile exercise of its discretion."

  • illustration of a human head with a glowing neural network in the brain, connected to tech icons on a cool blue-gray background

    Meta Introduces Stand-Alone AI App

    Meta Platforms has launched a stand-alone artificial intelligence app built on its proprietary Llama 4 model, intensifying the competitive race in generative AI alongside OpenAI, Google, Anthropic, and xAI.

  • The AI Show

    Register for Free to Attend the World's Greatest Show for All Things AI in EDU

    The AI Show @ ASU+GSV, held April 5–7, 2025, at the San Diego Convention Center, is a free event designed to help educators, students, and parents navigate AI's role in education. Featuring hands-on workshops, AI-powered networking, live demos from 125+ EdTech exhibitors, and keynote speakers like Colin Kaepernick and Stevie Van Zandt, the event offers practical insights into AI-driven teaching, learning, and career opportunities. Attendees will gain actionable strategies to integrate AI into classrooms while exploring innovations that promote equity, accessibility, and student success.

  • robot waving

    Copilot Updates Aim to Personalize AI

    Microsoft has introduced a range of updates to its Copilot platform, marking a new phase in its effort to deliver what it calls a "true AI companion" that adapts to individual users' needs, preferences and routines.