CRYPTOCard Launches CRYPTO-MAS, the First Managed Authentication Service for Mac OS X, at Macworld

Business Wire, Jan 4, 2007

Low-Maintenance Two-Factor Authentication Service Enables SMBs without In-House IT Personnel to Eliminate Unauthorized Network Access

OTTAWA & LONDON -- CRYPTOCard (www.cryptocard.com), the leading authentication technology developer for heterogeneous environments, today announced the launch of CRYPTO-MAS, the first Managed Authentication Service to fully support Apple's Mac OS X. Developed for small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) that either do not want the headache of managing their own authentication solution, or do not have the resources to install and administer two-factor authentication, CRYPTO-MAS makes it simple to eliminate unauthorized network access by protecting employees against shoulder surfing, social engineering, and other forms of password theft. CRYPTOCard will demonstrate the CRYPTO-MAS managed service administration portal at Macworld 2007 (Booth 1544).

CRYPTO-MAS makes it easy for users to utilize CRYPTOCard's two-factor authentication tokens to positively identify themselves when logging in from any workstation. Trusted by major organizations in over 70 countries, CRYPTOCard's tokens display a randomly-generated password for every log-on attempt, to not only make stolen credentials useless to hackers but also eliminate the need for users to memorize complicated passwords - significantly reducing the help-desk costs associated with forgotten passwords, and the security risk resulting from users writing them down. Also, as the user requires their PIN as well as their token to access the network, a lost or stolen token is useless to a hacker.

To protect the network with CRYPTO-MAS an organization simply has to purchase hardware or software tokens from any of CRYPTOCard's global channel partners, and then pay a low monthly subscription fee based on the number of users. CRYPTO-MAS eliminates the expenditures usually required to purchase and support an authentication solution in house - freeing up valuable IT resources for other mission-critical activities.

To activate the service, an organization's authentication node (AuthNode) is pointed at the CRYPTO-Server for servicing authentication requests. CRYPTO-Server supports a wide range of AuthNodes, including VPN concentrators, SSL VPNs, Firewalls and IIS and Apache websites. CRYPTO-MAS provides full support for Mac OS X, Windows, Red Hat, and SuSE when using a Software, Smart Card, or USB Dongle tokens. The operating system on an end-user's machine is irrelevant when using Hardware Tokens.

"Recognizing that password theft is one of the greatest threats facing network security today, many companies are looking for stronger user authentication to protect their data and other digital assets," said Jason Hart, CEO CRYPTOCard Europe. "Unfortunately, most SMBs lack the requisite skills, manpower, infrastructure, or budget to implement critical services such as two-factor authentication," Hart continued. "CRYPTO-MAS provides an affordable "pay-as-you-go" no-maintenance alternative to traditional in-house solutions to make it easy for any SMB working on Mac OS X to eliminate the security risk associated with static passwords."

U.K. Fashion Company Relies on CRYPTO-MAS for Remote Access

"CRYPTO-MAS provided the right level of security we were looking for and it fits perfectly with Rubicon Retail's VPN environment," said Peter Lloyd-Jones, project manager for Retail Assist, a company that provides outsourced IT services to Rubicon Retail, one of the UK's leading fashion and accessories suppliers. "Using CRYPTO-MAS, Rubicon can now give remote access to any of its staff it needs to without worrying about the security of their connections," Lloyd-Jones continued. "It was fast to install, less expensive than the other vendors, and all round we're very happy with it."

James Turner, CRYPTOCard's Technical Services Engineer, will join Mac OS X experts, IronGate Server Management & Consulting, on Thursday, January 11 at 1:00 p.m. for Macworld's "IT835: Token-Based, Two Factor Authentication on Mac OS X," presentation.

About CRYPTOCard, Inc.

CRYPTOCard is a leader and innovator in the Network Authentication Industry. Its multi-awarded Two-Factor Authentication options include both a server based or 'product' solution (CRYPTO-Shield) and a Managed Authentication Service (CRYPTO-MAS). The combination allows organizations of any size and means to adopt a strong authentication policy. CRYPTOCard is unique in the industry in its commitment to ensuring its products/services work with any common network architecture including OS compatibility (Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) Windows, Linux, and/or Mac OS X), web-server flexibility (IIS, Apache), and database options (Active Directory, LDAP, Open Directory, etc). Add to that the outstanding 'out-of-the-box' interoperability with many top industry network solutions including Citrix (Nasdaq: CTXS), Checkpoint (Nasdaq: CHKP), and Cisco (Nasdaq: CSCO), and it is clear how CRYPTOCard has grown since its origin in 1989 to become a thriving enterprise doing business in more than 70 countries.