First there were the Zeus malware designed specifically to compromise tokens using pre-issued either ‘time-based’ or ‘until used’ codes. Now a leading token manufacturer has had a recent online break-in that has caused concerns. Everybody knows that these threats is something that can cause concerns in corporations resulting in work and efforts to re-evaluate security. To increase security quickly during such security reviews or to augment existing solutions with the secure SMS PASSCODE two-factor authentication via SMS solution, we today announced a new co-existence program enabling legacy two-factor authentication customers that are concerned with modern internet threats to migrate smoothly to SMS PASSCODE at their own pace. Both last years Zeus malware and the recent online break-in has put the core concept of the traditional tokens ‘pre-issued’ codes under pressure.
However, these threats against legacy two-factor authentication technologies also help demonstrate the subtle but very important difference between these and new generation solutions like SMS PASSCODE®, where the code is generated and send in real time based on the individual login session and thus cannot be phished and re-used or calculated in advance.
It is natural that corporations are hesitant to make major changes to the existing security infrastructure over night. Therefore, when unforeseen threats like above arrive, it is often a desire to have a rapid response that do not require major rework. SMS PASSCODE® responds to this need with the support of a co-existence configuration in which customers can run a legacy token system and SMS PASSCODE side-by-side during a migration and architecture decision process. It solves the immediate security threat pain without a major effort.
How do SMS PASSCODE co-exist with tokens
With SMS PASSCODE, the user first validates user ID and password and it is not until that has been validated that it generates and sends a code in real-time that is only valid for that log-in session. This is more secure than any other alternative on the market. SMS PASSCODE has garnered international recognition for this more secure log-in process with many awards including Secure Computing Top 5 global innovator, Citrix Ready Partner of the year finalist, White Bull Top 30 IT company and most recently the Red Herring Global 100 most interesting IT companies.
When customers run SMS PASSCODE and a legacy token system side-by-side, SMS PASSCODE will forward users that enter the token code on to the token system while the rest are prompted to enter a SMS PASSCODE. It is done very transparent and very easy to deploy.
The SMS PASSCODE co-existence configuration is a proven configuration that is part of the standard product and come at no extra cost. As customers migrate legacy tokens, the program offers trade-in options on a case-by-case basis. Please visit www.smspasscode.com to find our local representative or to request more information. To learn more about SMS PASSCODE or try it out live on your own mobile phone, visit: https://demo.smspasscode.com
