RSA, The Security Division Of EMC, Unveils New Two-Factor Authentication Advancements For BlackBerry Smartphones

RSA SecurID Token for BlackBerry provides direct access to BlackBerry Mobile Virtual Private Network, new provisioning options and tighter integration with BlackBerry Enterprise Server

Pub. 5.13.08 by vendor

RSA, The Security Division of EMC, today announced major developments in its mission to deliver flexibility, choice and enablement in enterprise deployments of strong authentication technology. The new RSA SecurID Token for BlackBerry® smartphones, available in late Q2 2008, is designed to provide greater convenience to users and IT administrators, and features more cost-effective deployment and management capabilities.

The latest fruits of the four-year technical relationship between RSA and Research in Motion (RIM) (Nasdaq: RIMM; TSX: RIM) now allow BlackBerry smartphones to be more easily activated and deployed for use as RSA SecurID two-factor authenticators, and enable users to leverage enterprise wireless networks for secure, no-cost access to corporate applications. RSA's authentication solutions, including the RSA SecurID Token for BlackBerry smartphones, are engineered to assure identities and mitigate risk according to the value and criticality of the data, application or transaction.

"Aberdeen's latest benchmarking of best practices in strong user authentication showed a very strong trend towards increasing diversity of form factors as 'containers' for authentication credentials, underscoring the market shift towards flexibility and choice," said Derek E. Brink, vice president and research director for IT Security at Aberdeen Group. "RSA's enhancements in provisioning, user support, and integration with the BlackBerry Enterprise environment are well-aligned with the selection criteria valued most highly by the companies in our research who achieved best-in-class results."

New Features of RSA SecurID Token for BlackBerry smartphones:

The following new technology advancements will help enable organizations to truly leverage employees' identities as a business asset, as well as helping to increase convenience for administrators and end users and decrease overall costs:

• Direct Access to the BlackBerry Mobile VPN (Virtual Private Network)
  This allows a user with a BlackBerry smartphone enabled with Wi-Fi® technology to securely and easily connect to in-office enterprise wireless network access points. Once connected, the user can leverage their company's wireless connection for email and application access, without accumulating charges on their data plans that can get charged back to the business.
  
  
• New Dynamic Seed Provisioning based on CT-KIP Protocol
  This feature provides customers with a simplified process for a BlackBerry smartphone to function as an RSA SecurID authenticator by more easily provisioning the software tokens that produce one-time passwords (OTP). This more cost-effective 'over the air' method of token provisioning simplifies and automates the end user experience that can result in reduced call volume to technical support resources.
  
  
• Tighter Integration with BlackBerry Enterprise Server
  By implementing IT policies through BlackBerry Enterprise Server, administrators of the RSA SecurID Token for BlackBerry now have an increased ability to customize and configure the application for better centralized control. For example, administrators can choose to mask users' PINs and passwords to help enforce compliance with corporate policies.
  
  
• Support for Software Token Backup and Restoration Across New or Wiped Devices
  This new feature enables the automatic restoration of a software token to a user's new or wiped handset, removing the time-consuming task of deploying the software token - from scratch - to existing and established customers facing this scenario.

"There is no 'one-size-fits-all' security solution, so RSA offers a full range of solutions to authenticate and store credentials that balance cost, end-user convenience and security. As BlackBerry smartphones have become standard business devices, our joint customers are able to leverage integrated two-factor authentication technology to streamline IT operations," said Sam Curry, Vice President of Product Management and Product Marketing, Identity and Access Assurance Group at RSA. "By providing a more convenient and cost-effective strong authentication mechanism, we can help our customers gain the most value from their BlackBerry smartphone deployments by enabling more seamless and secure access to sensitive assets."

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