Big Blue secures the PKI way for bridging authentication

IBM has begun shipping its PKI security package which it claimed will kick-start the ecommerce market and shore-up online security.

SecureWay FirstSecure, is an integrated security product allowing administrators to identify and authorise user access from a central point. It is a permission-based security system, which IBM said delivers encrypted authorisation and authentication of users through a standard directory.

The SecureWay FirstSecure is built on a standards-based internet infrastructure with a policy director that features integrated support for LDAP and the PKI X.509 standard. An intrusion detection offering, Tivoli Cross-Site for Security will also detect, log and respond to unauthorised activities in real-time.

IBM claimed that the PKI functionality, coupled with the inclusion of IBM's Trust Authority, would allow users to issue and manage digital certificates for two-way authentication and transaction verification.

Michael Collins, marketing manager for software business at IBM, said: "There are two e-business chasms to cross, the first is security when letting users access the network from outside the firewall and the second is carrying out transactions securely." He added: "PKI is vital and is fast becoming the accepted way of doing transactions, it is a way of crossing the second chasm."

But Neil McEvoy, director at analyst Consult Hyperion, said that PKI may not be absolutely vital to the uptake of ebusiness. "But it does solve a number of problems and is the most cost effective way of carrying out electronic transactions," he said.

First appeared in Network News