* Cleared Security Platform USB token; looking forward to identity management shows
There aren’t many three-way multi-factor authentication schemes on the market, but one I do know of is the Cleared Security Platform from Priva Technologies.
This involves a keychain-sized USB token with an integrated fingerprint reader all under password protection – and encrypted, of course. See the picture at https://www.cleared.com/products_cleared.html to understand how fingerprint reading has advanced over the past couple of years.
It’s an amazing little system that needs a better explanation than I can give it here. Download and read the technology overview (https://www.cleared.com/Cleared_TechOverview.pdf), which is, unfortunately, in PDF format.
Succinctly, the system consists of a server and the USB token. Inserting the token into a computer’s USB slot establishes a connection to the server using one-time use, randomly generated passwords. You then have one or more fingerprints read and an optional PIN entered to identify the user of the device. The fingerprint(s) can also be required to follow a pre-determined sequence, which can vary depending on the resource you wish to access. It is fascinating and augers well for identity and access management ingenuity in the near future – do check it out.
On a separate note, I’ll be on the road the next two weeks – in San Diego for the Catalyst conference next week, followed by a trip to Portland for the Open Source conference the following week. As always, stop me in the halls and tell me what you want to see discussed in the newsletter.
Catalyst was the first – and still is the most energizing – conference devoted to identity management, attracting a veritable “who’s who” of vendors, analysts, implementers and gurus of identity management. Federated identity, provisioning, single sign-on, and more will be thoroughly thrashed out over the three-day event. That’s to be expected. But, the Open Source conference?
It was at OSCon just a couple of years ago that I first heard mention of Shibboleth during a session on the Liberty Alliance protocols. This year, as just one example of how identity management is everywhere, OSCon features a 4-hour tutorial called “Enterprise Identity Management: Implementing Robust Authentication Services.”
You can expect to be hearing about both of these events – and the news they generate – for months to come.
On a sad note, I just heard that Trish Gulbranson, former CEO and current Vice President of Business Development of NetPro is leaving the ranks of the identity management vendor fraternity/sorority to devote more time to some non-technology pursuits. She will be missed by all who know her in the industry, but I do believe the pool-shooting, Corvette-loving Dakota farm girl will be back in the identity management spotlight in the not too distant future. We’ll be looking for you, Trish.
