ION Networks, Inc. — 2 prefixes (MA-L)
Summary
- // what this is
- ION Networks is registered to MAC prefix
00:20:45and 1 more in the IEEE OUI database. When a device's MAC address begins with00:20:45, that block was registered by ION Networks — the OUI identifies the maker of the network hardware, which is not always the brand on the device. ION Networks has ceased operations, but the registration remains on record with IEEE. - // analyst note
- 00:20:45 and 00:E0:89 are standard, non-shared MA-L vendor prefixes registered directly to ION Networks, Inc.; a match identifies legacy secure remote-access/console appliances (circa 1999-2007) rather than hardware from a currently operating, independently branded vendor, since the original entity's assets were sold to Cryptek in 2007.
About this vendor.
A MAC address starting with 00:20:45 or 00:E0:89 identifies hardware from ION Networks, Inc., a Piscataway, New Jersey company that built secure remote-access and console-management appliances for critical voice and data infrastructure. Both prefixes are IEEE MA-L assignments registered to the identical organization name and street address, which is itself a signal of a real, multi-product vendor rather than a bare single-block registration.
ION Networks formed in 1999 from the merger of MicroFrame, Inc. (New Jersey, founded 1982) and SolCom Systems Limited (Scotland, founded 1994), and traded on NASDAQ under ticker IONN before being delisted in 2005 for falling below the minimum bid-price rule. Cryptek, Inc. acquired substantially all of its assets, including the ION PRIISMS management portal, in a deal that closed 2007-12-31.
The company's flagship products were the ION Secure appliance line (including a 3000-series security appliance) paired with ION PRIISMS portal software, used to centrally monitor and remotely administer routers, PBX switches, power systems, and other infrastructure gear over IP, out-of-band links, and dial-up modem connections, with audit logging of user access and commands run. Reported customers included AT&T, Bank of America, Citigroup, Oracle, Sprint, and U.S. government agencies.
ION Networks, Inc. as an independent company has not existed since the 2007 Cryptek asset sale, so these prefixes should be read as identifying legacy remote-access appliances rather than a currently operating vendor's shipping hardware. The product line survives today as Netgard Privileged Gateway and ION Secure Appliances under APITech/Spectrum Control's Secure Systems & Information Assurance unit, corroborating the original device-type identification even though the OUI-registrant entity itself is defunct.
- IEEE assignment
- 00:20:45, 00:E0:89 → ION Networks, Inc., registered Piscataway, NJ, US [Confirmed] — the IEEE MA-L registry (002045, 00E089)
- Registry / block size
- MA-L (24-bit OUI); 2 assignments, identical org name and address [Confirmed] — the IEEE MA-L registry
- HQ / registered address
- 1551 South Washington Ave., Piscataway, NJ 08854, US [Confirmed] — the IEEE MA-L registry
- MA-M / MA-S entries
- None found for this organization [Confirmed] — the IEEE MA-M registry, the IEEE MA-S registry
- Company status
- Defunct as an independent entity; substantially all assets acquired by Cryptek, Inc., deal closed 2007-12-31 [Confirmed] — https://www.techmonitor.ai/technology/cryptek_to_acquire_assets_of_ion_networks
- Corporate history
- Formed 1999 from the merger of MicroFrame, Inc. and SolCom Systems Limited; traded on NASDAQ as IONN; delisted 2005-03-28 for failing the minimum bid-price rule [Confirmed] — https://njbiz.com/ion-networks-to-be-delisted-from-nasdaq/
- Device types
- ION Secure appliance line (incl. 3000-series), ION PRIISMS portal software, ION-branded secure dial modems [Confirmed] — https://www.washingtontechnology.com/2003/02/tech-success-ion-networks-connects-san-jose-to-security/352791/
- Notable customers (historic)
- AT&T, Bank of America, British Telecom, Citigroup, Entergy, Fortis Bank, Oracle, Sprint, U.S. Government [Likely — single trade-press source] — https://www.washingtontechnology.com/2003/02/tech-success-ion-networks-connects-san-jose-to-security/352791/
- Successor product line
- Netgard Privileged Gateway / ION Secure Appliances, marketed by APITech/Spectrum Control's Secure Systems & Information Assurance unit [Confirmed] — https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/directory/ion-networks/
- Date registered
- Not published by IEEE (the IEEE MA-L registry/manuf carry no date field for either prefix); maclookup.app shows a third-party "initially registered" date of 1998-04-22 for 00:20:45, which is a database artifact, not an IEEE fact [Unknown as IEEE fact; Confirmed as to what the third-party site displays] — the IEEE MA-L registry; maclookup.app
- CVE / security exposure
- No CVE recorded in general web/CVE sources as of an August 2026 search for ION Networks, Netgard, or ION PRIISMS products [Unknown] — no qualifying source found