14 DAY TRIAL // Mid-sized businesses and large enterprises that need an efficient computer access password policy based on smartcards can turn to Power LogOn Administrator 5.3, a solution released by Access Smart today.
A recent study made by Cyber-Ark Software has shown that most cyberattacks target privileged access points because these usually allow the attackers to easily gain access to sensitive information.
Among these privileged access points the research mentioned administrative accounts, unchanged default passwords and application backdoors.
The new product made available by Access Smart can help IT managers address some of the security issues that surround these access points. IT managers can use Power LogOn to issue and assign smartcards depending on the employee’s needs.
“Power LogOn uses multi-factor authentication between the user-to-the-card, the card-to-the-computer, card-to-the-server, and user-to-the-data at a substantial fraction of the cost and time of Public Key Infrastructure (PKI). The first line of network defense is to first authenticate who is ‘knocking’ on the firewall,” said Dovell Bonnet, founder and CEO of Access Smart.
To enable fast access, the password data is secured by the Triple Data Encryption Standard (3DES), AES being utilized for securing the server password files.
For even higher levels of authentication, the latest variant of Power LogOn also comes with fingerprint and iris recognition systems.
Furthermore, the smartcards can be used as part of a company’s physical security strategy since they can be easily utilized as ID badges.
“There are two main barriers facing companies from implementing security: 1) If security is inconvenient, employees will find ways to circumvent it; and 2) If security is too expensive, executives will question if it’s needed. Access Smart addresses both these issues by combining top-level security, user convenience, and low cost of ownership,” Bonnett added.
The implementation of the system doesn’t require any backend server modifications and it can be accomplished in a matter of a few hours or a few days, depending on the company and its needs.