Smart Cards: Cryptography Advance In RSA Card Offering

delivering the SecurID 3100, a smart card with the capacity for advanced cryptographic operations.

The card is an extension of a product family that began with card-size devices that generate numbers for uniquely coding and authenticating sensitive trans-actions. RSA, the leader in commercial cryptography sys-tems, has adapted the SecurID to other "form factors," including Palm organizers, and has combined SecurID with data encryption methods and related technologies in the Keon enterprise security framework.

The smart card can store two sets of 512-bit or 1,024-bit RSA public and private cryptographic keys, a "seed record" for generating one-time codes, two X509-standard digital certificates, and other components enabling the cards also to control building access and serve as identification badges.

"Although digital certificates provide authentication of specific communications and trans-actions, they are not fully secure or reliable without strong user authentication," said RSA senior vice president of marketing Scott Schnell. The 3100 "is designed to provide customers with the most convenient and flexible means to promote companywide security policies."

The system supplies single-sign-on security with Novell NetWare and Microsoft Windows NT networks and remote access to RSA ACE/Servers via the Keon Desktop.