Computer network sign-on using conventional password technology and systems is costing large organisations huge sums to administer (an IDC study reveals annual password management costs at between R1 500 and R3 000 per user) while at the same time they don't really present much of barrier to an experienced hacker.
Administrative costs can be slashed and security levels boosted with single sign-on, fingerprint recognition biometric systems, according to Dean Johnstone, national practice manager, biometric solutions at the JSE-listed integrated IT solutions provider, Square One Solutions Group.
Square One has extended its biometric security solutions capability with its appointment as the only accredited VAR in SA for middleware from multi-biometric security software provider SAFLINK Corporation of Washington.
Johnstone says the company can now apply biometric security and authentication solutions to workstation, network and enterprise environments using SAFLINK middleware.
"No password or user name is required with a biometric system. Users merely sign on with their thumbprints. It's quick, highly secure and cost-effective because it eliminates all the administrative support work demanded by a password system. Also, the system is not affected by human frailties - there's no password to forget and input or processing errors don't apply."
Johnstone adds that the SAFLINK middleware products are based on open-system industry standards and enable organisations to install clear-cut access profiles for employees from the lowest to the highest levels using a variety of hardware and other devices.
"It's not just about single sign-on. For most organisations the control of internal access to information or to certain production or research areas, is critical. At the time that each employee's biometric sign-on is implemented, the access rights to company information and to physical areas is managed - not just as an add-on - but as an integrated part of Novell's e-directory, Microsoft's Active Directory and Computer Associates' e-Trust directory network platforms.
"The sign-on will permit each employee to have access only to the information they are cleared for within the overall database and a smart card will control their access to certain areas of the business.
"Biometric credentials are virtually impossible to duplicate so they provide unprecedented levels of security at an implementation cost of about half the annual password management cost per user, meaning that companies benefit from a rapid return on initial investment."
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Square One provides integrated IT-based solutions to corporate, retail and government clients. Square One's core business encompasses document handling and information sharing solutions; knowledge management; networking; hardware, software and consumable products distribution; Internet, IT security, authentication (biometrics), wireless and e-commerce technologies; data storage; variable data product marking and coding solutions; uninterruptible power supplies; and value-added business services.
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