Fortinet, Inc.
PORTABLE, HARDWARE-BASED AUTHENTICATION CLIENT TO ENFORCE USER-TO-SITE NETWORK ACCESS CONTROL RESTRICTIONS

Abstract:

Systems and methods for a portable, hardware-based authentication client solution that enforces user-to-site network access control restrictions is provided. According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the authentication client device maintains a list of pre-authorized client devices. The authentication client device is assigned to a particular user of an enterprise network and paired with a firewall appliance. A connection establishment request for establishing a connection with an enterprise network via the firewall appliance is received by the authentication client device via a network interface. The authentication client device confirms the connection establishment request was initiated by the particular user by authenticating the particular user. When the particular user is successfully authenticated, it is verified whether the client device is on the list of pre-authorized client devices. When the verification is affirmative, a connection is established between the authentication client device and the firewall appliance.