Scope & Challenges

 

Information technologies and resources are an integral part of any business, and securing them is a strategic priority.

 

According to the most recent global surveys, information security breaches are considered to be the most threatening issues both for private and public institutions.

 

The core of any information security system is user identification and access rights management tools, designed to safeguard corporate data. The major requirements imposed on the identification components of a corporate information system are as follows:

 

• Authenticity of user identification by distinct features;
• Impossibility to steal, lose or replace identification credentials or obtain them in a fraudulent way;
• Prevention of sharing identifiers and the related user rights and permissions;
• Non-repudiation of actions confirmed by identifiers meeting the above criteria;
• Efficient integration of user identification and access management tools into the company's information infrastructure without interrupting its business processes;
• Workload reduction for users, system administrators and security staff;
• Reducing expenses related to the implementation of user identification and access management tools.

 

Popular Technologies

 

A conventional password system is widely recognized as unreliable, inconvenient, inefficient and outdated. In addition, it can hardly be called “free of charge”: according to research, up to 50% of helpdesk calls are password-related, while the average cost of processing such a request constitutes 25% to 50%.

 

Identification solutions based on smart cards, tokens or hardware keys enjoy popularity among corporate customers. Some of them ensure data protection through encryption, generation of random passwords, e-signature and digital certificates.

 

The above identifiers perform in the most efficient way when used in combination with biometric credentials. Biometrics can still be used separately as it is accurate, secure, quick and user-friendly.

 

Why Biometrics?

 

As a rule, data protection measures mean additional workload and responsibilities for users, system administrators, and security staff. Biometrics is an exception to a common rule: implementing it reduces the burden on the above groups while significantly enhancing the overall information security level.

 

To safeguard corporate data, BioLink IDenium is recommended. This software solution allows successful identification of users in corporate networks and the management of their access rights by users' biometric features - fingerprints.

 

An efficient biometric identification solution can perform the following functions:

 

• Unification of access procedures based on a single identifier – a fingerprint;
• Protection of corporate data against unauthorized access or access based on violated access rights and security policies;
• Automation and centralization of user management, user accounts and related permissions in operating systems and various applications;
• Accelerating access processes for reliable users to corporate data, and full transparency of these access procedures;
• Reduction of idle hours caused by errors while entering the login/password or blocking user accounts;
• Enhancement of system administrators' operations due to a reduced number of identification, verification and authorization helpdesk calls;
• Prompt addition of new users and modification of user accounts of transferred or dismissed employees.

 

Integration Options

 

BioLink IDenium features allow the implementation of biometric identification to access operating systems and the following applications:

 

• Remote access platforms (such as CITRIX) and thin clients;
• Microsoft Office applications (Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, etc.);
• Email applications;
• Protected Internet resources.

 

If an application uses standard Windows-based identification tools, passwords required to access such an application can be replaced by users with fingerprint identification through BioLink Password Vault, a component of BioLink IDenium. If an application uses other identification techniques, it can be supplemented with biometrics via BioLink SDK, an advanced software development toolkit.

 

Enterprise-Wide Solution

 

BioLink IDenium is fully compatible with Active Directory (AD), a platform extensively deployed by corporate IT-staff. It greatly simplifies the integration of biometric identification features, since the administrators continue using their conventional tools. Operation and user administration in BioLink IDenium is performed via a standard AD interface.

 

BioLink IDenium is installed centrally. The majority of operations are automated, and system administrators are just responsible for general supervision of the installation procedure.

 

The biometric data is processed by BioLink Authenteon, a fault-tolerant server that automatically synchronizes data with the AD database and ensures continuity of business processes.

 

The scalability features of BioLink IDenium allow system performance to be increased and they cover a vast number of territorial and functional company divisions by incorporating them into the existing information infrastructure of a company.

 

Embedded load balancing mechanisms ensure the proper performance of BioLink IDenium even in peak periods.

 

BioLink proposals to safeguard corporate data are as follows:

 

• BioLink IDenium, a biometric identification enterprise solution;
• BioLink Authenteon, a biometric identification server;
• BioLink U-Match, an optical fingerprint scanner;
• BioLink SDK, a software development kit (for applications with non-standard identification procedures).