Julian Ashbourn

The SecuriKey Personal Edition is a single-user solution providing secure access to your workstation.

The SecuriKey Authentication System (Professional Version 1.2) is a straightforward product which supplements a conventional password with a USB token key to provide two-factor authentication.

ActivCard knows how to provide products for review – they sent us software kits for Windows, Mac, Linux and Solaris, complete with manuals and supporting literature.

This was complemented by three smartcard readers, a PCMCIA reader, USB tokens and smartcards.

This is a comprehensive and flexible product upon which may be built an equally comprehensive access security model. It is scalable and facilitates the management of both local and remote network access within various environments and, if required, across multiple authentication servers.

To many employees, the RSA SecurID tokens are a familiar sight, as is the procedure for logging in to a TCP/IP network using a onetime dynamic password technique embodied by this approach.

The Digipass pack product from Vasco is perhaps less of a product in the accepted sense and more of a security philosophy – the philosophy in question being that of dynamic, one-time password creation using portable tokens.

The ECHOsystem from Fizians Inc. is certainly different. It uses audio to transmit the equivalent of a dynamic password across the network for user authentication purposes.

Entrust is known for its expertise in managing and securing digital identities, and the Entrust USB token is a two-factor authentication product worthy of the company's reputation. The token is based upon the Rainbow Technologies iKey 2032 device, a proven product.

The iKey product from Rainbow Technologies comes in a variety of ways, according to your individual requirements. The iKey 1000 tested is a straightforward two-factor authentication product featuring a USB token and PIN.

The iKey 2000 product from Rainbow Technologies is similar in concept to the iKey 1000, but it offers additional functionality, including 2048-bit encryption and a Philips 5032 cryptographic controller.

The DigiSafe USB token seems just like any other at first glance, but it gradually reveals itself to be an exceptionally interesting device.

You might find it strange to see Novell Netware (essentially a network operating system) included in a group test of two-factor authentication products. But we are discussing secure access to information and services from both local and remote access points. We are also discussing effectively managing user profiles and administering security policies accordingly.