7/17/2006 -- Cisco Systems Inc. earlier this month nabbed Meetinghouse Data Communications Inc., a provider of client-side 802.1X supplicant software.

Meetinghouse's AEGIS SecureConnect software helps organizations lock down their networks and restrict access only to authorized users and host devices, connecting via wired or wireless connections. In this respect, officials say, AEGIS SecureConnect lets Cisco address a glaring gap in its own security portfolio: by incorporating the Meetinghouse technology into its existing stack, Cisco will be able to offer customers an all-in-one solution for wired and wireless clients.

"The growth in the number of cases of unauthorized access to sensitive and confidential information in enterprise networks has increased the need for securing connectivity through robust, easy-to-manage client-based security solutions," said Brett Galloway, vice president and general manager of Cisco's Wireless Networking Business Unit (WNBU), in a statement. "The Meetinghouse software supplicant is a natural extension to existing Cisco initiatives such as the Cisco Self Defending Network via Network Admission Control (NAC) and the Cisco Compatible Extensions (CCX) program."

Meethinghouse is no Scientific Atlanta, of course. Instead of coughing up a few billion to seal the deal, Cisco ponied up all of $44 million for the privately held firm, which has 77 employees.

Once Cisco closes the deal, Meetinghouse's team and products will be subsumed into the WNBU, reporting directly to Galloway. -Stephen Swoyer