The Security Division of EMC announced the availability of the RSA SecurID Software Token for Android that is engineered to enable an Android-powered device to be used as an RSA SecurID authenticator, providing convenient and cost-effective two-factor authentication to enterprise applications and resources. Additionally, RSA is releasing a new Software Development Kit (SDK) for the Android platform that is designed to allow developers to embed RSA SecurID two-factor authentication directly into Android applications and gain competitive advantage by offering this additional layer of security. Mobile applications that directly integrate RSA SecurID technology provide organizations with the assurance that their resources are engineered to be protected from unauthorized access without any usability impact to the end user.
The SDK is available free of charge for all RSA Secured®partners. “Being able to offer the RSA SecurID tokens to our users on many of the most popular mobile platforms such as Android is a convenient and cost-effective way to deploy strong authentication in our enterprise,” said Tim Prendergast, Network Architect at Ingenuity Systems, Inc. “Deployment on smart phone platforms is done electronically so it’s simple and fast for our IT organization to provision, eliminating any lag time if an end-user needs to get a new token. Our employees love it because the tokens are easily accessed on the mobile devices they already own and carry.” The new RSA SecurID Software Token for Android is engineered to generate a one-time password that changes every 60 seconds, enabling secure access to corporate resources. The solution complements the broad range of authentication methods offered by RSA, giving customers a choice in authentication methods based on risk, cost and convenience. The RSA SecurID Software Token for Android is designed for enterprise users whose organizations have implemented the RSA SecurID system. The token can be installed directly onto Android-enabled devices at no cost via a simple download from Android Market™. With minimal help from their IT department, users can enable the application with a unique software token seed, creating a convenient, secure and cost-effective RSA SecurID authenticator. “The smartphone is revolutionizing the way consumers and commercial organizations are doing business,” noted Mark Diodati, Research Director at Gartner. “The smartphone will become the default strong authenticator for users in the near-term; it means one less device that the user must carry. It’s important that strong authentication methods like one-time password devices are supported on smartphones, and that developers have an easy way to embed this high-quality authentication method into mobile applications.” The use of RSA SecurID software tokens helps decrease total cost of ownership for organizations as they don’t require any physical shipping, can be revoked and automatically redeployed if an employee leaves the company with their Android-enabled device eliminating the need for replacement tokens. Additionally, having the software authenticator on business-critical smartphones reduces the number of costly technical support calls for misplaced tokens. “It’s no secret that mobile computing has exploded recently and we do not expect that trend to slow down at all. This enormous growth and proliferation gives us a strong opportunity to leverage these devices as authenticators and enable new forms of authentication to our customers to establish identity,” said Tom Corn, Chief Strategy Officer, RSA, The Security Division of EMC. “Leveraging mobile devices running on the Android platform to deploy RSA SecurID technology allows customers a seamless delivery of two-factor authentication across cloud or on-premise applications.” The RSA SecurID software token for the Android mobile platform will be available for free download Dec. 22, 2010 from Android Market (http://www.android.com/market/#app=basesign.alltie). It is enabled for users with a unique software token seed purchased by IT organizations that have deployed RSA®Authentication Manager. About RSA SecurID With a legacy of innovation spanning more than 25 years, RSA SecurID® technology is one of the market-leading two-factor authentication systems used by more than 40 million people across more than 30,000 organizations worldwide. RSA SecurID technology is comprised of a broad range of hardware and software authenticators designed to help prevent unauthorized access to corporate applications and resources. RSA SecurID tokens are engineered to provide end users with a one-time password designed to change every 60 seconds, as well as its software engine – RSA®Authentication Manager – which scales to support millions of users and integrates with more than 350 products. RSA SecurID authenticators include hardware tokens, hybrid authenticator with smart chip; On-Demand SMS token, software tokens for smart phones including BlackBerry handhelds, Apple iPhone, Java ME and devices powered by the Google AndroidTM mobile platform, software tokens for Microsoft®Windows®and Mac OS X desktops and an Internet browser toolbar token.
