Network Access Control For Dummies®

2.6. Be Our Guest

Because of the exponential growth of user mobility and mobile devices, the number and types of users requesting and requiring network access is also growing exponentially. In fact, you can categorize almost anyone — aside from trusted employees who use managed devices — as a guest user.

Guest users come in many shapes and sizes. All guest users require their own level of distinct network and application access:

• Contractors: You may treat contractors like employees, giving them access to the corporate offices, access rights to the corporate network, and sometimes even a managed device. And, like employees, they often require access to sensitive network resources to get their day-to-day jobs done. However, in many cases, contractors use unmanaged devices (devices that your company hasn't provided, therefore you must consider those devices potential threats). Although you treat these users like employees in many ways, for the most part, with network access, you often have to give them a different level of access — for instance, access only to specific servers or applications, and not to others — than you give to an employee.

• Partners: Partners often provide specific services to companies. They may be part of the corporate supply chain — for example, your company may consider its shipping agency or import/export agent a partner. A partner may provide a piece of your company's end product, such as an OEM manufacturer. Or they may be a sales partner, an organization ...