Trusted Network Communications

TCG’s Trusted Network Communications (TNC) work group has defined and released an open architecture and a growing set of standards for network security, providing interoperable end-to-end trust in multi-vendor environments across a wide variety of endpoints, network technologies, and policies. TNC enables endpoint compliance evaluation, intelligent policy decisions, dynamic security enforcement, and security automation between disparate networking and security systems.

For more information, review our TNC solution brief and FAQ.

TNC Offers Interoperable Standards For…

Compliance

• Network and Endpoint Visibility
  • Who and what’s on my network?

• Endpoint Compliance
  • Are devices on my network secure?
  • Is user/device behavior appropriate?

Access Control

• Network Enforcement
  • Block unauthorized users, devices, or behavior
  • Grant appropriate levels of access to authorized users/devices

Orchestration

• Security System Coordination
  • Share real-time information about users, devices, threats, etc.

TNC addresses today’s most significant security problems, providing a flexible, open architecture that adapts to changing circumstances without getting tied down to any one vendor. TNC-enabled technology improves ROI, enabling use of existing network equipment and best-of-breed products, and avoidance of vendor lock-in. Visibility and coordination contribute to efficient network management and security.

TNC’s open network security architecture and complete set of standards benefit from thorough technical review by security experts. For the strongest security, TNC can leverage the TPM for robust authentication, attestation, and compromise detection. Wide support exists for the TNC standards among commercial vendors, the open source community, and the IETF.

TNC can integrate with a TPM for secure authentication and attestation, addressing detection and mitigation of rootkits and other compromised software. TNC standards provide a communication foundation for securing embedded systems such as network equipment, automotive, and IoT solutions.

Lisa Lorenzin

Director of Emerging Technology Solutions, Zscaler; Work Group Co-Chair

Lisa Lorenzin is a Director of Emerging Technology Solutions at Zscaler, specializing in secure access to private applications; she participates in TCG as an Invited Expert.  She has worked in a variety of Internet-related roles since 1994, with over twenty years of focus on network and information security, and is currently concentrating on software-defined perimeter / zero-trust network solutions and seamless user experience across cloud and mobile environments.

Atul Shah

Principal IT Service Engineering Manager, Network Infrastructure Services Enterprise Infrastructure Services, Microsoft Corporation; Work Group Co-Chair

Atul Shah is a Principal IT Service Engineering Manager at Microsoft Corporation. With 15+ years of experience in IT security industry, he has been involved in several aspects of IT security from product development to managing core IT infrastructure services for Microsoft’s global business. Atul drove Microsoft’s End to End Trust initiative, which sought to create a safer, more trusted internet. His efforts include creating trusted mechanisms for evaluating and attesting to the state of the devices connecting to the internet, investigating and solving cloud related security, privacy and jurisdictional issues that impact businesses and consumers. Atul is a frequent public speaker on strategies for reducing Internet threats such as identity theft, improving device health and proactive protection strategies to reduce the risks of malware.

Open Standards

TNC and IETF

TNC Resources