Review: TACS

For: Good ease of use and a strong feature set
Against: Deployment is best with the optional (extra cost) TriCipher Application Gateway (TAG)
Verdict: Very good product with solid capability, flexibility and ease of use. Recommended

The TriCipher Armored Credential System (TACS) is a truly integrated system that delivers authentication combining the strength of PKI with the ease of entering a user name and password. TACS’ main components are the ID vault, a FIPS 140-2 level 2-rated appliance that manages user information, digitally signs transactions and authenticates.

The TriCipher Authentication Gateway (TAG) acts as the services layer for web-based applications to provide the user with appropriate level access. The TAG comes with preconfigured logon pages to make deployment and integration easier. The Armored VPN provides a strong authentication for VPN applications, enabling remote users to authenticate with just user name and password.

This product, from an end-user perspective, was very simple to use, especially considering all the high-level authentication actions being performed seamlessly in the background. The TriCipher ID tool, Togo, is a simple, cost-effective USB smart drive that authenticates user credentials. The initial deployment of the product is easy and the addition of the TAG appliance within an existing corporate architecture will aid system integration.

The systems’ performance is first-rate. The speed at which a user can authenticate and start working is excellent. The ability to customise banners and logon screens is a definite plus.

Documentation is in-depth and concise. All manuals are well laid-out and easy to understand. Even end users have their own instruction manual. All manuals are in hyperlinked PDF format.

Support for the TACS is good. Mission-critical support is available 24/7 by email or phone. Upon purchase customers are given a name/password for access to the technical support website and Knowledge Base.

The TriCipher ID vault, which is required, starts at £15,000, the optional TriCipher Authentication Gateway is £7,500 and credentials cost between 50p and £5.00 each per user, based on volume and credential type. Additional modules include Armored VPN, Armored Identity Management and Armored Transactions.

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