Authentication (User) Blog

User Authentication solutions provide two-factor authentication, public key infrastructure (PKI) services, and risk-based authentication to protect interactions between consumers, business partners, and employees. User Authentication solutions are delivered as cloud-based solutions, enabling enterprises to add strong authentication to applications, networks, and devices without the capital cost of hardware and software associated with traditional strong authentication solutions.

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  Updated: chalcon 08 Aug 2012

  Facebook to offer more security for the social world

  This week Facebook announced the availability of new security features for its users. Two significant features of note are the always-on "HTTPS" secure sessions, as well as the availability of two-factor authentication (aka strong authentication). The use of "HTTPS" by websites enables secure information transmission, which helps protect users when sharing or sending personal information online. Many popular websites have added the HTTPS (where the "S" at the end of HTTP stands for "secure") this year due in part to the availability of interception tools like Firesheep. The presence of an...
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  Updated: vipmobile 08 Aug 2012

  Cloud computing security standards - Vinton Cerf, father of the internet, has got your back

  Han Dong, Senior Product Marketing Manager, User Authentication It's a good thing that people much smarter than me are thinking about the future of the internet, cloud computing, and ensuring I'm properly indoctrinated on the right social networking sites du jour. More importantly, these same smart people are constantly thinking about really critical things, like 'standards', 'interoperability', and 'security'. Guys like Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the Web and HTML, Paul Mockapetris, the inventor of DNS, and Vinton Cerf, the father of the internet and co-designer of TCP/IP, are constantly analyzing what's happening today and thinking about what's coming in the future. These people are part of the founding fathers of the web, the internet, and how all the intricate pieces work together seamlessly -...
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  Updated: vipmobile 08 Aug 2012

  Layered Security Strategy, the Key to Trust

  Han Dong, Senior Product Marketing Manager, User Authentication Some thoughts on a couple of recent articles, one from Gartner Research: Where Strong Authentication Fails and What You Can Do About It, by Avivah Litan and a similar article by Jaikumar Vijayan in Computerworld, which also references Ms. Litan's article. The basic idea presented in these two articles is that "one-time passwords...are no longer enough to protect online banking transactions against fraud." These one-time password (OTP) token-based two-factor authentication methods may be compromised by man-in-the-browser malware that overwrites the user transactions to steal their assets. So the general recommendation from Avivah Litan is "A...
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  Updated: vipmobile 08 Aug 2012

  Password for my password

  Han Dong, Senior Product Marketing Manager, User Authentication I just read an article in CNET, by Jonathan Eunice, Character limitations in passwords considered harmful. And immediately after reading the story I thought to myself, Jonathan (may I call you Jonathan), we have the answer to your troubles. It's called VeriSign Identity Protection (VIP) Authentication Service and it's precisely what you need to address your goal to have strong authentication for your "4,000 web services." Jonathan's article described the issue of how various websites will frequently restrict your ability to create 'stronger' passwords that use symbols (i.e. !@#$%^&), and thus relegate the user to simple (and easy to steal) phrase or nickname passwords. So he is thwarted from his...
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  Updated: vipmobile 08 Aug 2012

  Bourne Identity Protection

  Han Dong, 'Blogger of Light' Did you catch it on the tube last night? Did you see the VeriSign Identity Protection Access for Mobile credential in action? In case you missed it, check out the link on YouTube (0:21) As for how this relates to you, me and your everyday secret agent, I think this fun video demonstrates the need for leveraging One-Time Passwords for strong authentication of your mobile applications. Yes, we have an "app" for that. Kudos to our esteemed Product Manager, Erica Huang, and her efforts to have VeriSign included in the AT&T commercial.
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  Updated: vipmobile 08 Aug 2012

  Blogging about Blogs - VIP Access for Mobile getting noticed

  Han Dong, Sr. Product Marketing Manager, User Authentication Getting noticed is a hard thing. But when you do get recognized by adoring fans, it's like living the life of a beauty queen. And just look at who noticed us: CrackBerry.com and BlackBerry Cool So you ask, what's the news? We all know that VeriSign Identity Protection (VIP) Access for mobile has already been available for free on Blackberry® smartphones and downloadable...
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  Updated: vipmobile 08 Aug 2012

  Meditations in an Analyst Summit

  Han Dong, Sr. Product Marketing Manager, User Authentication Greetings VIP Blog fans, I'm here at the 2009 Gartner Identity & Access Management (IAM) Summit. The day started off with a keynote presented by Earl Perkins, one of the lead Gartner analysts who explained how much IAM has evolved over the years - highlighting the fact that there are several IAM lifecycle elements (Planning, Process, and Problems) to consider and several key business drivers (improving security, reducing risk, and meeting regulatory requirements) in deploying an IAM solution. And at the end of the day, four of the analysts presented as a panel and reviewed the 2009 "Magic...
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  Updated: chalcon 08 Aug 2012

  RSA and VeriSign team up on Cloud-based, Two-Factor Authentication offering

  Today, we are pleased to announce that our customers' options have been broadened by our technical and sales partnership with RSA, another "Best-in-Class" Authentication Provider. The agreement will provide organizations with the mutual benefit of an expanded VIP Authentication Service through the availability of RSA SecurID® two-factor authentication technology for more choice in one-time password (OTP) authentication. Organizations in search of strong authentication solutions will benefit from being able to use VIP in combination with RSA SecurID hardware tokens and the convenience of a single platform. This technical and sales partnership between RSA and VeriSign signals a new chapter in the longstanding relationship between RSA and VeriSign, both of whom were recently rated Best-in-Class for Multi-Channel Authentication Technology...
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  Updated: vipmobile 08 Aug 2012

  Email Phishing Scheme Takeaway: More than Just the High & Flighty Need Stronger Security

  CNET reported this morning that fraudsters phished thousands of email account passwords from multiple email providers. You don't have to be a government official, political figure or celebrity to be the target of the phishing and password-reset hack. This latest incident demonstrates that hackers have moved beyond just the high and flighty to target ordinary people. With each security breach, the shortcomings of weak passwords and the need for stronger authentication solutions become more and more evident. One-time passwords via two factor authentication provides a critical layer of security to counter such threats. If you're an organization that has been on the fence on rolling out two-factor authentication, you're in luck. VeriSign is offering a 90 Day free trial of the VeriSign Identity Protection Service -- see more details at...
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  Updated: Tim Callan 08 Aug 2012

  Why Cloud Security is only as Strong as Your Weakest Password (and what you can do about it)

  Posted by Fran Rosch, SVP of User Authentication, VeriSign This article was also published in SC Magazine. All too frequently, reports surface of high-profile hacks victimizing individuals using weak password protection. But, unlike the inconsequential account break-ins hitting Britney Spears, Ashton Kutcher or Sarah Palin, the consequences of some compromised accounts raises serious implications for cloud services security. Your personal and professional security is only as strong as your weakest password. And for IT managers, the security of an organization's cloud-based resources is only as strong as your most careless employee's weakest password. Personal information can be harvested many ways - and the viability of traditional usernames and passwords are undermined by the "forgot your password...