Strong authentication tool certified

DOD Public Key Enabled Application Status

Secure Computing Corp.'s SafeWord PremierAccess solution recently became the first strong authentication tool certified by the Defense Information Systems Agency's Joint Interoperability Test Command (JITC) as interoperable with the Defense Department's public key infrastructure (PKI). SafeWord PremierAccess 3.1 meets the following JITC criteria:

* Allowed for the addition and deletion of DOD PKI trust points.

* Used the Lightweight Directory Assess Protocol to communicate with the DOD PKI.

* Resolved the status of digital certificates with zero failures.

* Processed and developed a path of digital certificates and certificate revocation lists with zero failures.

* Demonstrated its capability to be configured for use with the DOD PKI.

* Provided adequate documentation on its proper and secure use.

The product was tested during a three-day period in late September 2002 at Secure Computing's Concord, Calif., facility. It is the first tool to pass all 107 tests on the first try, according to a JITC spokeswoman.

SafeWord PremierAccess adds strong authentication and controls access to Web, virtual private network, wireless and network applications, and more, said Jay Goldlist, vice president and general manager of the enterprise security division at Secure Computing.

In addition to PKI support, features include user self-enrollment, multiple authentication options, role-based authorization and brokered authentication to external systems.

The product's support of multiple authentication choices and its certified interoperability for digital certificate authentication make it a viable solution for government customers, the JITC spokeswoman said. Goldlist said the JITC validation would open new opportunities with government agencies that must have products to authenticate DOD PKI users via Common Access Cards (CACs) or other interfaces with DOD PKI.

DOD employees with CACs should be able to use them to access any military system they are cleared for, no matter where a system is situated.

Secure Computing's top government customers are the Air Force, the Defense Finance and Accounting Service, and the Federal Aviation Administration. The San Jose, Calif.-based firm also does funded research and development for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, according to a company spokeswoman.