Gemalto unveils cloud access management enhanced for smart card users

Gemalto launched a solution that will enable organisations which have invested in Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) security applications to leverage their investment without compromise on security or user experience when moving to the cloud.

Through SafeNet Trusted Access, organisations whose employees log into enterprise resources with smart cards can use those same credentials to access cloud and web-based apps and benefit from single sign on (SSO).

PKI hardware’s limitations meant companies could not adopt cloud and mobility projects without having to replace their security framework. As a result, companies have been using smart cards and tokens to allow their employees to authenticate themselves while accessing corporate resources, but this was limited to activity within the enterprise perimeter. In addition, companies that use PKI credentials for email encryption and digital signing have also been limited to on-premises environments.

This new offer from Gemalto enables employees and organisations to benefit from SSO and PKI-based authentication, making it easier and more secure to access cloud and web-based apps and resources from wherever and on any device. Employees will no longer have to re-authenticate each time they access a resource with their smart card, while allowing enterprises to maintain security when needed.

In addition, Gemalto will also help users access PKI applications from new environments, including mobile devices and virtualised desktops environments (VDI) and use PKI credentials for security applications including digital signing and email encryption.

“As much as cloud computing is recognised for its many benefits, the reality for most firms is that they will be operating in a hybrid environment for years to come,” said Garrett Bekker, Principal Security Analyst at 451 Research. “By enabling firms to extend their existing PKI investments to cloud and web-based resources, SafeNet Trusted Access can help firms build on their existing security frameworks to accelerate their digital and cloud transformation.”

Gemalto is offering different ways to build on current PKI investments, so companies embrace digital transformation without compromising on security.

• Enabling cloud transformation: Organisations can extend PKI credentials to access policies, allowing CISOs to maintain security in the cloud by triggering the use of step up PKI-based authentication to cloud and web-based apps when needed.
• Facilitating mobility: Employees can access enterprise applications within virtual environments with their PKI credentials. This means that employees and consultants will be able to perform all the same actions they would perform with a smart card, with a virtual smart card.

“With the rapid development and adoption of cloud services, many organisations are struggling to balance their digital transformation projects with the need to keep themselves secure,” said Francois Lasnier, senior vice president of Identity and Access Management at Gemalto.

“For organisations that are using high assurance PKI deployments for an added layer of security, our SafeNet Trusted Access solution makes it easier for them to expand into the cloud, virtual desktop infrastructures and mobile devices easily and securely, without putting themselves at risk. Our solution enables companies to allow their employees to operate as normal, while introducing them to the benefits of cloud, mobility and SSO.”