The Trusted Computing Group said Monday that it is working on a specification to ensure that wireless clients connecting to a network won't serve as a back door to worms and crackers. Officials within the TCG, based in Portland, Ore., said the industry standards body is developing a "Trusted Network Connect" specification, designed to audit wireless-enabled PCs when they first make contact with an enterprise's wireless network. . . .
The Trusted Computing Group said Monday that it is working on a specification to ensure that wireless clients connecting to a network won't serve as a back door to worms and crackers.

Officials within the TCG, based in Portland, Ore., said the industry standards body is developing a "Trusted Network Connect" specification, designed to audit wireless-enabled PCs when they first make contact with an enterprise's wireless network.

The specification will be finalized later this year, said officials from the group, which comprises computer and device manufacturers, software vendors and others.

Although a client or customer connecting to an enterprise network may not overtly be seeking to do harm, the laptop may in fact hide an unpatched system that could serve as an unexpected back door into an otherwise secure system. Likewise, a network administrator cannot be sure whether a laptop hides a worm that might otherwise have been blocked by a wired firewall.

When completed, the specification will serve as a means by which network security and network infrastructure vendors can ensure a level of compliance with the best practices of network security, executives said.

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