Securing Your Future with Two-Factor Authentication
RSA SecurID® two-factor authentication is based on something you know (a password or PIN) and something you have (an authenticator) providing a much more reliable level of user authentication than reusable passwords. It offers a unique, time-synchronous solution that automatically changes the user’s password every 60 seconds. This makes the solution more secure than event-synchronous systems with passwords that can be valid for an indefinite period of time and easier to use than challenge-response systems that require multiple steps to generate a valid code.
RSA Security offers enterprises a wide range of user authentication options to help positively identify users before they interact with mission-critical data and applications through:
- VPNs & WLANs
- Intranets & extranets
- Microsoft® Windows® desktops
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Web servers
- Other network resources
They are designed to fit seamlessly into the existing e-business infrastructures of over 21,000 customers worldwide. With a 20-year history of outstanding performance and innovation, RSA Security’s authentication solutions remain an industry standard for organizations looking to protect their key business data assets.
Authentication Manager
RSA Authentication Manager software is the management component of the RSA SecurID solution, used to verify authentication requests and centrally administer user authentication policies for access to enterprise networks. Working in conjunction with RSA SecurID authenticators and RSA Authentication Agent software, the solution provides two-factor user authentication that protects access to more VPN's, wireless networks, web applications, business Windows operating system, applications and operating environments, including the Microsoft than any other system available today.
SecurID® Authenticators
RSA SecurID® hardware tokens provide "hacker-resistant" two-factor authentication, resulting in easy-to-use and effective user identification. Based on RSA Security’s patented time synchronization technology, this authentication device generates a simple, one-time authentication code that changes every 60 seconds.
To access resources protected by the RSA SecurID system, users simply combine their secret Personal Identification Numbers (PIN’s) (something they alone know) with the token codes generated by their authenticators (something they have). The result is a unique, one-time-use passcode that is used to positively identify, or authenticate, the user. If the code is validated by the RSA SecurID system, the user is granted access to the protected resource. If it is not recognized, the user is denied access.
RSA SecurID software tokens support the same algorithms as the industry-leading RSA SecurID hardware authenticators, including the industry-standard AES algorithm. Instead of being stored in an RSA SecurID hardware authenticator, the symmetric key (or "seed record") is safeguarded securely on the user’s desktop, laptop, PDA, handheld, or mobile phone. RSA SecurID symmetric keys may also be stored on smart card and USB devices and used in conjunction with the RSA SecurID software token on the user’s desktop.
The RSA SecurID® On-demand Authenticator is an innovation that enables users to securely access the network without pre-assigned credentials. Requiring no physical hardware token or software to be installed on a laptop or mobile phone, the On-demand authentication method provides flexibility and ease of deployment, while still maintaining all the security strictures required for two-factor authentication. The On-demand authentication method generates a unique, time-based one-time password (OTP) at the server and distributes it to a remote user globally using the short message service (SMS) standard or SMTP e-mail. This way, organizations can take advantage of the most commonly deployed devices end users already have: the cellular phone or laptop computer.
