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RF Barrier uses wireless LAN technology to block the radio-frequency
(RF) signals from the corporate network as they exit the building,
without disrupting internal WLAN operation. This limits an attacker’s
ability to eavesdrop on data and perform offline analysis.

RF Barrier is the first solution using exclusively 802.11 technology to
offer wireless perimeter protection for organizations with regulatory
requirements or policies regarding data privacy, such as retailers,
financial and government institutions, manufacturers and health-care
organizations. RF Barrier protects clients with legacy security
mechanisms, such as handhelds and scanners equipped only with WEP or
WPA/TKIP, as well as modern WPA2- and EAP-based networks, where it helps
prevent the exposure of potentially exploitable information such as user
identities. Furthermore, it provides physical wireless security in
remote branch offices where no IT personnel are present to detect or
stop an attack from outside the site’s physical boundaries.

RF Barrier (patent pending) is installed by mounting a Meru Networks
wireless access point along the inside perimeter of a building, and an
advanced external antenna outside the perimeter. RF Barrier technology
inspects the traffic in real time to determine which part belongs to the
WLAN (and is therefore designated as sensitive) and uses the external
antenna to block outbound traffic at the RF layer. Would-be attackers
are limited in their ability to see useful packet information about the
internal network.

Because RF Barrier uses directional antennas and selective enforcement
technology, it has no impact on signals within the building or from
other networks. Internal clients connect normally, with enterprise
access points serving them at full speed. RF Barrier can be turned on
and off as needed, giving enterprises the flexibility to allow access at
certain times of day while restricting it at others.

RF Barrier is the latest addition to Meru’s comprehensive security
solution, which provides security across all four of the major areas
subject to active wireless threats: perimeter defense, connection
defense, network defense and remote threat defense. Other components of the Meru security portfolio are:

* Rogue prevention, which detects and identifies rogues based on
the wired network to which a rogue is connected as well as its
over-the-air signaling

* AirFirewall, based on Meru physical security technology that can
eliminate, rather than just contain or mitigate, rogue access points and
evil twins attackers

* Per-user, per-application stateful firewall to allow policy
enforcement based on both the user’s identity and the nature of the
traffic

* Signature-based firewalling, for enforcing policies on
peer-to-peer applications such as Skype, as well as application flows
within end-to-end encrypted VPN tunnels

* Location-based policy enforcement, which implements security
decisions based on the location from which an unauthorized user is
accessing the network

* Comprehensive voice and video security, which prevent the
introduction of local or network-wide vulnerabilities in the presence of
voice, video or heavy data traffic

* FIPS 140-2-certified algorithms, with military-grade encryption
and key negotiation, including EAP-TLS and AES-CCMP using 802.11i

* Secure remote access points, which extend enterprise security
policies and network to the home offices of telecommuters and hotel
rooms for mobile employees.

– Pricing and Availability:

Available beginning in September 2008 for networks using any Meru
802.11a/b/g access points, RF Barrier is priced at $3,595 (U.S. list)
for a starter kit that includes four antennas, four access points,
cables and software licenses.