RSA Sign-On Manager combines enterprise single sign-on with world's leading strong authentication solutions

SecureData, a member of the JSE-listed ERP.com Group and the distributor for RSA Security products in Sub-Saharan Africa, today announced the latter's RSA Sign-On Manager, a new Secure Enterprise Access solution that combines RSA Security's best-of-breed strong authentication products with Enterprise Single Sign-On (SSO).

The new solution is designed to allow organisations to reduce help-desk costs from password resets, improve enterprise security and increase end-user productivity, while extending the value of their current security investment.

RSA Sign-On Manager delivers a wide range of strong user authentication choices, enterprise-class policy and credential management, and IntelliAccess technology - an innovative new secure self-service emergency access and password reset capability.

RSA Sign-On Manager creates value for an organisation by managing multiple log-ins to applications after a user authenticates, enabling the protection of private, confidential or mission-critical information. Integration of RSA Security's world-leading authentication solutions with RSA Sign-On Manager can help customers achieve further security and compliance benefits through the broadest range of secure enterprise access capabilities for Enterprise SSO from a single vendor. Strong authentication has become a business imperative for organisations facing regulatory compliance issues governing the privacy and protection of digital information, such as Sarbanes-Oxley, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and Gramm-Leach-Bliley.

"Enterprise SSO can enhance the end-user experience by hiding the complexity of multiple passwords and logons across multiple systems," said Ant Allan, research director at Gartner. "But, while enterprise SSO can yield cost savings for the business, it significantly increases exposure if a password is compromised. Adding an advanced - preferably two-factor - authentication mechanism adds considerable value: it is certainly prudent and may be crucially important."

RSA Sign-On Manager provides the following capabilities:

* Enterprise SSO functionality. The RSA Sign-On Manager grants access to any number of Microsoft Windows client/server, Web or mainframe applications without the user having to re-authenticate to each new application, resulting in increased security and eliminating the user frustration of managing multiple IDs and passwords. RSA Security has licensed Passlogix v-GO SSO technology as a component of RSA Sign-On Manager to support Enterprise SSO capabilities.

* Multiple authentication methods. RSA Security offers customers a range of authentication choices including passwords, RSA SecurID authenticators, an RSA Smart Card, an RSA USB Authenticator, RSA Keon digital certificates (or any X.509 certificate) or a fingerprint-based biometric. RSA Sign-On Manager also provides customers with the flexibility to choose the level of authentication best suited for their business, and the flexibility to deploy multiple authentication methods within the same company. The solution is ideal for organisations looking to deploy smart cards for the first time, or replacing existing physical access badges with multi-purpose RSA Smart Cards.

* Innovative IntelliAccess technology. Password reset requests and user ID problems can account for 15% to 35% of all help-desk call volume according to Gartner. Created by RSA Laboratories, IntelliAccess technology makes it possible for users who are either online or offline that have lost or misplaced their authenticator, or have forgotten their password, to securely gain temporary access to their applications without calling the help-desk. IntelliAccess technology implements a unique, secure method to identify a user based on the responses to a set of previously answered questions. These answers are fed into a sophisticated patent-pending cryptographic process to generate an emergency access key. The raw answers are never stored, but the emergency access key can be regenerated when needed, resulting in secure access while maintaining privacy of the user's information. Through the use of IntelliAccess technology, customers can achieve better security and privacy of information, enhanced usability, and significant reductions in help-desk calls, resulting in lower costs and improved IT administrator productivity.

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* Enterprise-class management and scalability. RSA Sign-On Manager delivers strong ROI through central management and the ability to scale to tens of thousands of users. RSA Sign-On Manager includes a centralised management user interface that provides the needed power and flexibility for large, distributed enterprises. The solution is designed to offer backup and recovery of credentials from a centralised server and provides automated password change capabilities so application passwords can be strengthened without impacting end-user productivity. Administrators can centrally set, distribute and manage policies for the clients on each end-user's desktop or laptop PC.

* Extends the value of customers' security investments. RSA SecurID customers will be able to extend their use of RSA SecurID two-factor authentication to enable secure logon to a wide range of enterprise applications via RSA Sign-On Manager. RSA ClearTrust customers can extend their Web SSO environment to incorporate SSO to mainframe, client/server, and other enterprise applications. RSA Keon customers can protect private keys by generating and storing them on an RSA Smart Card or RSA USB Authenticator managed by RSA Sign-On Manager.

"As a law firm we possess sensitive and private information about our clients and have been using a secure enterprise access solution from RSA Security to establish trust that their data is highly protected," said Louis Mazzio, chief technology officer at Post & Schell, a leading Pennsylvania-based law firm. "The added benefits of RSA Sign-On Manager would allow us to further improve enterprise security, end-user satisfaction and extend the value of our security investment."

Secure Enterprise Access is an integral part of RSA Security's overall Identity and Access Management strategy. RSA Sign-On Manager is built on RSA Security's NEXUS architecture - a standards-based platform designed to serve as the foundation for the company's future identity and access management solutions.

RSA Sign-On Manager further enhances the company's current smart card and USB authentication solutions by adding key features required for large-scale enterprise deployments. In addition, RSA Security plans to integrate the next version of RSA Sign-On Manager with the RSA SecurID for Microsoft Windows solution, allowing organisations to bring strong authentication to the Windows environment whether a user is on the network or offline. This will allow customers to choose the solution they need today, and leverage their investment to further expand their identity management infrastructure to include other RSA Security solutions in the future.

"As many organisations continue to move their businesses and applications online, they realise that efficient and secure enterprise access has become a necessity," said Bill McQuaide, senior vice-president, enterprise solutions at RSA Security. "RSA Sign-On Manager extends the value of their overall security investment by providing the benefits of reduced help-desk costs, enhanced security and an improved user experience."

For further information, please contact Dean Brazier at telephone (011) 257 8600; fax (011) 257 8699; e-mail deanb@sd.co.za.