Review: ALADDIN eTOKEN

For: Offers strong authentication and flexibility to integrate into any environment
Against: Non-intuitive to set up and deploy
Verdict: A competent product, challenging to set up and manage, but easy on the end user

The solution’s security-rich features keep user security a top priority through secure handling of lost or damaged tokens, secure backups and the ability to restore user keys and credentials even while the user is on the road. This product also contains built-in data encryption with separate keys for different domains within the organisation’s environment.

Initially eToken can be challenging to manage, but once you become familiar with the features, administration becomes easier. Management is done through the TMS authority manager, which assigns roles and task definitions. Users self-enroll within the TMS self service manager, where they can control their own tokens.

The product’s performance is good, however, tie-in with Active Directory is limited and this makes managing users somewhat more difficult than we would like. The clients can be deployed via group policy, but the user has to have administrative privileges in order to load the product. One of eToken’s strong points is its flexibility within an organisation’s architecture as it supports various token types and smart cards.

Aladdin’s documentation is satisfactory, containing numerous guides and manuals to support the multiple install files that accompany this product. However, we found the files to be long and difficult to navigate due to the lack of a hyperlinked contents table.

Support is acceptable. Aladdin’s website is easy to navigate for support and downloads, including configuration and reference guides. The support site has a downloadable version of TMS 2.0 Service pack 1. The technical support number is a bonus, as is an enquiries form for non-emergency questions.

Aladdin’s eToken is priced in around the middle of the price spectrum for this group.

aladdinetokensecurity