SafeNet and Internet2 to Secure Digital Identities for Universities
SafeNet, Inc., a global leader in data protection, and Internet2®, the world’s most advanced networking consortium, today announced they have entered into an agreement to offer SafeNet smart cards and PKI hard tokens for cryptographic storage of PKI credentials.
As part of its multifactor authentication program, Internet2’s InCommon will offer SafeNet’s smart cards and PKI tokens to participating higher education organizations. These devices provide researchers, faculty, students and staff with secure, cryptographic storage of the client certificates that they may use to access campus-based and online resources secured with PKI, as well as allowing for S/MIME digital email signatures and email encryption.
SafeNet will serve as one of the preferred vendors of security technology, providing InCommon participants with two-factor authentication devices that enable highly secure, certificate-based access to online and local network resources. Use of hard tokens or smart cards can be helpful if users are working on a shared machine in a campus computer lab or want to use the same cryptographic credentials on multiple devices, such as on a desktop at work and a laptop at home.
InCommon serves the U.S. education and research communities, supporting a common framework of trust, including the U.S. identity management trust federation for research and education, a community-driven Certificate Service, an Assurance Program for higher levels of trust, and a multifactor authentication program.
The more than 400 InCommon participants include colleges, universities, research organizations, U.S. government agencies, and their sponsored partners.
Executive Comments
“In today’s increasingly mobile environment, more students and researchers are accessing IT services and institutional information from a variety of devices and locations. At the same time, universities are under the gun to make certain that security is strong. Second-factor solutions are a proven approach to protecting the security of individual and university information,” said Jack Suess, chief information officer and vice president for information technology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and chair of the InCommon Steering Committee. “Our partnership with SafeNet provides the education community a proven multifactor authentication solution.”
“As we continue to see an exponential growth of digital data assets, ensuring secure access becomes increasingly critical for security,” said Chen Arbel, Director of Business Development at SafeNet. “It is essential to make certain that users are who they say they are and that they can only access what they have been authorized to access. We believe two-factor authentication, backed by PKI as the root of trust, is the best way to secure these digital assets. We are pleased to offer this program in conjunction with InCommon to help protect their participants’ digital assets, whether they reside in the enterprise or are accessed remotely.”
Additional Resources:
• InCommon SafeNet Partnership: http://www.incommon.org/safenet
• SafeNet Recognized as an Authentication Leader in Gartner Magic Quadrant: http://www.safenet-inc.com/news/2012/safenet-recognized-as-an-authentication-leader-in-magic-quadrant/
• Securing PKI: http://www.safenet-inc.com/Solutions/Industry_Solutions_for/Secure_PKI/
• InCommon & SafeNet Partnership FAQ: https://spaces.at.internet2.edu/display/InCCollaborate/SafeNet+FAQ
• SafeNet’s Strong Authentication: http://www.safenet-inc.com/products/data-protection/multi-factor-authentication/
About Internet2:
Internet2® is a member-owned advanced technology community founded by the nation's leading higher education institutions in 1996. Internet2 provides a collaborative environment for U.S. research and education organizations to solve common technology challenges, and to develop innovative solutions in support of their educational, research, and community service missions. For more information, visit http://www.internet2.edu.
About InCommon:
InCommon®, operated by Internet2®, serves the U.S. education and research communities, supporting a common framework of trust services, including the U.S. identity management trust federation for research and education, a community-driven Certificate Service, an Assurance Program providing higher levels of trust, and a multifactor authentication program. The InCommon Federation enables scalable, trusted collaborations among its community of participants. The Certificate Service offers unlimited certificates to the U.S. higher education community for one fixed annual fee. InCommon has more than 400 participants, including higher education institutions and research organizations, and their sponsored partners. For more information, see www.internet2.edu and www.incommon.org.
About SafeNet:
Founded in 1983, SafeNet, Inc. is one of the largest information security companies in the world, and is trusted to protect the most sensitive data for market-leading organizations around the globe. SafeNet’s data-centric approach focuses on the protection of high-value information throughout its lifecycle, from the data center to the cloud. More than 25,000 customers across commercial enterprises and government agencies trust SafeNet to protect and control access to sensitive data, manage risk, ensure compliance, and secure virtual and cloud environments.