Security Dynamics Technologies Inc. has downsized a high-powered network security system onto a smart card.
Security Dynamics on Tuesday introduced the SecurID 1100, a smart card that has been in the making for several months with Gemplus of France. The card does essentially what the conventional SecurID product does in corporate enterprises, attaching a one-time authentication code to an electronic transaction.
The regular SecurID card, which the Bedford, Mass., company has supplied to four million users in 3,000 organizations worldwide, uses battery power and a clock to generate random numbers that combine with user passwords to deliver two-factor authentication.
The chip card, cheaper to produce, performs the same function in tandem with software built into desktop computers. With Gemplus' MPCOS operating system and 7,000 bytes of programmable memory, the card is ready for additional applications such as electronic cash for cafeteria or retail purchases, corporate benefit or health-care information, or loyalty-point programs.
With a magnetic stripe, hologram, and cardholder photo burned into the card, it can also serve as an employee badge and open doors to garages or secure areas.
In keeping with Security Dynamics' emphasis on enterprise security, the company will focus its marketing on corporations, which it anticipates will be rapid adopters of smart cards.
"In the United States, we see a lot of this focused on the financial services industry," said Bill McQuaide, director of product marketing. "People want to combine the smart card with other forms of security, such as building access and network access, and applications such as e-purse and employee benefits can be added. We see this defining demand and adoption of smart cards."
He said the cooperation with Gemplus "leverages our network security expertise with theirs in smart cards."
The 1100 model will be available within a month, and in the second quarter it will be integrated with Gemplus' Gemsafe security technology, Security Dynamics said. It intends to qualify non-Gemplus card-reading devices as well.
Another card, the 2100, has been designed for the Keon security framework that Security Dynamics recently announced with its data encryption subsidiary, RSA Data Security Inc.
"The probability is that we won't be limited to smart cards," said Security Dynamics smart card product manager Ted Kamionek, though he did not elaborate on what other shapes or forms it might take. "This is not a one-off product. Our aim is to achieve ubiquity."
