Frost & Sullivan Recognizes the Uniqueness of SafeNet's Authentication Solution for Cloud-Based Enterprise Applications

- Unlike traditional offerings, the BlackShield Cloud™ system offers end-to-end automation for provisioning, administration and management

MOUNTAIN VIEW, California, July 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Based on its recent analysis of the cloud-based authentication services market, Frost & Sullivan recognizes SafeNet (erstwhile Cryptocard, acquired by SafeNet in March 2012) with the 2012 European Frost & Sullivan New Product Innovation Award for the development of BlackShield Cloud™, a multi-factor cloud-based authentication system.

As the mobile workforce continues to scale up, enterprises are constantly seeking efficient, low-cost authentication mechanisms to protect organizational data and deliver secured access to employees and end users. In this regard, SafeNet's cloud-based multi-factor authentication (MFA) system for enterprises is unique, as it brings together cloud, token-less mechanisms, and automation to meet the changing requirements of authentication.

The innovative element of SafeNet's solution is the vast token range it offers, including software tokens, grid-based authentication, out-of-band (OOB) SMS, USB hardware tokens, keypad tokens to enable challenge/response, credit card-style one-time password (OTP) tokens, and support for Open AuTHentication (OATH)-compliant tokens. This extensive availability of non-expiring and re-assignable tokens differentiates SafeNet from traditional authentication vendors. Moreover, the SafeNet platform offers an effective log-on mechanism for any token type across all resources accessed by users from their internal enterprise network through public and private cloud applications.

"The technical excellence of the SafeNet team is reflected by the ability to deliver OTPs on-demand in a Web-based business environment with a great level of flexibility, without compromising on security," said Frost & Sullivan Senior Research Analyst Charanya Balasubramanian. "Utilizing standards-based authentication protocols for the generation of passcodes and user PINs, BlackShield Cloud empowers organizations to determine the robustness level of their authentication methods based on the organizational requirements."

As a result, highly confidential data assets can have strong authentication mechanisms, while less valuable content can be accessed through simpler authentication methods. In addition, BlackShield Cloud is backed by multi-tenant architecture to support comprehensive management of multiple accounts. Leveraging OpenID protocols, SafeNet has increased the number of PoPs to cope up with scalability requirements, location data privacy, and regulatory requirements. In addition, the company has acquired the intellectual property (IP) for GrIDsure to support grid-based tokens.

Further, Blackshield employs RADIUS protocols to support network access devices such as VPNs and firewalls. The ability to add two-factor authentication using the BlackShield authentication programming interface (API) makes the solution identify with the Windows developer community.

SafeNet's solution also complies with different security standards, including Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), Payment Card Industry (PCI), and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and incorporates customizable reporting and alerting features for auditability.

"Quick responsiveness in embracing emerging trends, such as location-based authentication, gives SafeNet the competitive edge over conventional solution vendors," concluded Balasubramanian. "Its usage of a price-per-user model for all the authentication elements and efficient management with reduced total cost of ownership makes SafeNet's offering even more attractive for enterprises seeking commercial security at an affordable cost."

Overall, SafeNet has shown innovation and leveraged cutting-edge technologies to offer robust and flexible cloud-based authentication services to enterprise clients. In addition to supporting vast token range and delivering a comprehensive self-service portal that reduces management costs, the numerous automation capabilities, ease of deployment and compliance to several industry regulations offered by BlackShield Cloud makes it a preferred choice for customers across financial services, retail, transport, and other industry verticals.

For constantly changing its authentication delivery mechanisms to meet the demands induced by increasing mobility and localization, and for accommodating emerging trends in security, Frost & Sullivan recognizes SafeNet with the 2012 European New Product Innovation Award in the cloud-based authentication services market.

Each year, Frost & Sullivan presents this award to the company that that has developed an innovative element in a product by leveraging leading-edge technologies. The award recognizes the value-added features/benefits of the product and the increased ROI it offers customers, which increases customer acquisition and overall market penetration potential.

Frost & Sullivan Best Practices Awards recognize companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analysis, and extensive secondary research in order to identify best practices in the industry.

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 for market-leading organizations around the globe. SafeNet's 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.

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Mireya Espinoza
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SOURCE Frost & Sullivan