SafeNet Unveils Unified Identity Federation For Cloud Applications

PRESS RELEASE

BALTIMORE October 11, 2011 SafeNet, Inc., a global leader in data protection, today announced new cloud functionality for its SafeWord 2008 strong authentication management platform. SafeWord 2008, which has become known as one of the simplest OTP authentication platforms to deploy, integrate and manage, now includes identity federation and single sign-on (SSO) capabilities for Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) applications, including Salesforce.com and Google Apps. As key solutions in SafeNets cloud security portfolio, both of SafeNets authentication management platforms, SafeNet Authentication Manager (SAM) and SafeWord 2008, now enable customers to seamless extend enterprise identities to SaaS-based applications.

The worlds most user-friendly authentication management platform is now cloud enabled, said Andrew Young, vice president, product management at SafeNet, Inc. As organizations start to widely adopt SaaS applications, they are looking for ways to leverage the operational efficiencies and scalability that the cloud brings, while still ensuring the security of their virtual assets. SafeNet now enables customers to easily and pragmatically extend their security strategies to include the cloud, without any changes to authentication platform or infrastructure.

SafeWord 2008, along with SafeNet Authentication Manager (SAM), now provides a seamless and extensible strong authentication and SSO experience for customers accessing SaaS-based applications. By federating an enterprise user identity via Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML), SafeNets authentication management platforms now enable organizations to leverage existing infrastructure, and allow users to have the same login credentials for both on-premise and cloud-based applications.

"By extending enterprise identity management to the cloud, businesses and organizations can achieve greater efficiency through SSO and better visibility into business processes through workflow monitoring, and reporting functions, said Sally Hudson, Research Director, Security Products and Services at IDC. "Further, as cloud infrastructure absorbs routine activities performed by employees today, employers have greater freedom to deploy resources on adjacent or new business-critical strategies benefitting the overall business.

This extension of SafeNets authentication management platforms to accommodate both on-premise and cloud-based applications is significant for customers who are making the move to the cloud, or planning for a future infrastructure that includes cloud-based or virtual environments. A unified platform that includes features such as SSO allows users to log on to enterprise and cloud-based applications with the same set of credentials. This simplifies and accelerates the log-on process for end users, and supports customer goals of driving down costs and better utilization of resources through central management of operations by IT staff. Administrators no longer need to manage several sets of entitlements or credentials for disparate systems and applications, which also improves the process of attestation for both regulatory and internal policy compliance.

How It Works

Many organizations are relying on SaaS applications for core functions of their businesses. Nowhere is this more apparent than in online CRM applications like Salesforce.coms Sales Cloud'. In fact, online CRM applications often hold the most valuable data in the company: pipeline information, customer data, and documentation that contains intellectual property. Yet often, a simple username and password combination is all that stands between an attacker and an online gold mine. SafeNet strong authentication solutions, including SAM and SafeWord 2008, can now be configured to protect the front door of Salesforce, Google Apps, and other software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications.

About SafeNet

Founded in 1983, SafeNet, Inc. is one of the largest information security companies in the world, and is trusted to protect the most sensitive data of market-leading organizations around the globe. SafeNets data-centric approach focuses on the protection of high value information throughout its lifecycle, from the data center to the cloud. More than 25,000 customers across commercial enterprises and government agencies trust SafeNet to protect and control access to sensitive data, manage risk, ensure compliance, and secure virtual and cloud environments. www.safenet-inc.com.