Prominently featured in several Gartner research reports (e.g., “MarketScope for Enterprise Broad-Portfolio Authentication Vendors,” published in April 2009; and “Market Overview: Authentication,” published in September 2008), the ActivIdentity Strong Authentication suite of products enables organizations to securely address a variety of end-user access control scenarios, ranging from remote access via virtual private networks (VPN) and secure access to Web-based applications, to secure access to data and applications from the local network.

Strong Authentication

Regulatory requirements and economic realities are pressuring organizations to secure access to applications and networks. Many industry standards and government regulations now deem static passwords as inadequate and establish guidance that multi-factor authentication should replace single-factor authentication. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), recommendations from the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC), and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) all require that organizations use stronger forms of authentication to mitigate fraud and protect customer information and patient privacy.

While static passwords continue to dominate as the primary mechanism for identity verification, they create numerous issues for users and organizations alike. Static passwords are often created by users to be easily remembered, making them vulnerable to guessing, social engineering, and brute force dictionary attacks. Even static passwords created under a stringent policy are vulnerable because users write them down and display them in open areas. A key security concern with static passwords is the fact that a compromise (via keystroke logger or network sniffer) often goes undetected, introducing unknown risks to the organization.

ActivIdentity offers two distinct strong authentication platforms for organizations that are seeking to implement a cost-effective, flexible, and scalable solution. ActivIdentity 4TRESS™ AAA Server for Remote Access addresses the security risks associated with a mobile workforce accessing systems and data remotely. ActivIdentity 4TRESS™ Authentication Server offers support for many authentication methods (e.g., user name and password, knowledge-based authentication, one-time password, and public key infrastructure [PKI] certificates) and diverse audiences across a variety of service channels, making it the preferred versatile authentication platform for customer-facing transactions.

ActivIdentity Strong Authentication products provide the following key benefits for adopting organizations:

• Cost-effective multi-factor authentication, which eliminates the vulnerabilities associated with static passwords
• Broad support of authentication devices and authentication methods that provide user convenience and address a variety of risk levels for organizations
• An open standards-based platform that seamlessly integrates into any existing computing environment
• Support for compliance with industry and government regulations covering multi-factor authentication, authorization, and auditing
  
  

• ActivIdentity 4TRESS Authentication Server
• ActivIdentity 4 TRESS AAA Server for Remote Access