Ping Identity to secure DOJ info sharing project

Ping Identity will provide identity management software for use in the intergovernmental Regional Information Sharing Systems (RISS) program, the company announced this week.The federally funded RISS program aims to help federal, state and local law enforcement agencies combat criminal activity across jurisdictional lines. The Bureau of Justice Assistance within the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs administers the RISS program. Ping Identity’s PingFederate software will be used as part of the program's Trusted Credential Project. The RISS Trusted Credential Project seeks to expand online collaboration and the sharing of selected information between local, state, federal and tribal law enforcement employees using RISSNET, a secure Intranet that links the RISS program’s six regional intelligence centers and member law enforcement agencies.The company’s PingFederate will become part of the RISSNET’s architecture, according to the company, which describes the software as a federated identity server that enables single sign-on to online services. This is the company's first federal contract.In the past, RISSNET has relied on its own strong authentication credential, said Mike Donaldson, vice president of marketing at Ping Identity. But with federated identity, a police officer in Miami, for example, can authenticate to the Miami police department’s system and that authentication will be sufficient to get into RISSNET, he said. The federated approach thus eliminates the need for the RISSNET-specific credential, he added.With its first federal deal in hand, Ping Identity has launched a broader initiative targeting the federated identity need of government agencies. In one move, the company’s PingFederate 4.1 now gives customers the option of integrating with a Hardware Security Module (HSM) for storing private and public keys.PingFederate works with SafeNet’s Luna SA HSM product, which SafeNet said is validated to Federal Information Processing Standard 140-2, Level 2 and Level 3. PingFederate also supports X.509 Attribute Sharing Profile.“Both of those are functions [HSM and X.509] that we have a lot of request for out of the military/DOD side,” Donaldson said.In addition, PingFederate is certified for use within the General Services Administration’s E-Authentication Initiative, according to Ping Identity.Advantaged Solutions Inc., a HUBZone Small Disadvantaged Business, carries Ping Identity’s products on its GSA schedule.