UC Network Management Featured Article

November 20, 2018

Oracle Announces E-SBC FIPS 140-2 Validations

By Paula Bernier - Executive Editor, TMC

Oracle this week announced that five of its enterprise session border controllers have achieved FIPS-140-2 validation.

FIPS stands for Federal Information Processing Standard. FIPS 140-2 is a standard for cryptographic modules protecting sensitive information in computer and telecommunications systems used by the U.S. government and military. And the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Communications Security Establishment of Canada jointly operate the Cryptographic Module Validation Program administering FIPS 140-2 validation.

But while FIPS 140-2 validation is a government and military standard, it’s also important for businesses in highly regulated industries like finance, health care, and the utility arena. "While FIPS 140-2 is applicable to U.S. federal agencies for cryptographic modules, it is becoming widely viewed by non-government sectors as the preeminent security benchmark," said Nemertes Research CEO Johna Till Johnson. "Obtaining FIPS 140-2 demonstrates the ability to provide a compliant and secure network offering that can help customers mitigate dangerous cyber threats, and protect valuable assets."

Oracle’s FIPS 140-2 compliance E-SBCs include the Acme Packet 1100, 3900, 4600, 6300, and VME models. As Oracle notes in this week’s announcement, E-SBCs ensure the integrity, privacy, and security of real-time communications traffic on networks.

SBCs have been an important product category in networking for many years now. And SBCs remain a key way enterprises and service providers secure their networks and traffic today.

In other fairly recent E-SBC news, Ribbon Communications in June announced plans to buy Edgewater Networks for $110 million. The deal, which closed in mid August, made Ribbon a market leader in the E-SBC arena.

In its December 2017 “Market Guide for Enterprise SBC,” Gartner lists AudioCodes, Avaya, Cisco, Huawei, Ingate Systems, Oracle, Patton, and Sonus (now Ribbon) as “representative vendors.”

Edited by Maurice Nagle

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