Power LogOn Secures the Cloud by Bringing Security Down to Earth
ByWhy are cyber thieves attacking the clouds? Because that’s where the information is!
Power LogOn by Access Smart® has proven itself to secure cloud application access without the high cost of ownership found in other security solutions. The cloud has helped make businesses more competitive, employees more efficient and consumers more connected. Cloud solutions are available for almost every business need: legal forms to healthcare patient records, accounting data to word-processing, CRMs to order processing. With so much valuable data out in the clouds data, the allure is too great for cyber thieves.
Cyber attacks are becoming an epidemic. While companies are trying to add more backend security like firewalls, encryption and CAPTCHAs to protect their data, the user’s access point or “front door” is still being locked with a virtual hook and eye latch.
User name and password authentication is still the easiest and most cost effective way for users to access electronic data. The weak link, however, is how we choose and manage those passwords. As new privacy laws place security responsibilities directly on companies, they in turn try to mitigate their risks by implementing cumbersome authentication policies that force employees to circumvent security for their own convenience.
Power LogOn combines security, low cost and convenience so the three work together. Imagine implementing complex passwords with no backend server modifications and employees never have to remember or type another password! IT can even update passwords without the user caring – or even knowing.
“Recently, for example, large corporations like Microsoft, Google and Intuit have all announced Personal Heath Information (PHI) cloud application”, said Dovell Bonnett founder and CEO of Access Smart. “While the cost benefits may be huge to patients and care givers, the risk is also huge since all this confidential data is only secured by other cloud applications like LiveID or OpenID where the user types in their user name and password for access. Spyware, keyloggers and phishing scams have already made these access portals insecure. The first time a PHI gets hacked because of careless password management, the whole service may come down like a house of cards.”
Real security requires many different levels of authentication and authorizations. That is why Power LogOn implements the “7-levels of assurances.” Not only is the individual authenticated to the smartcard, but the smartcard is authenticated to the cloud application and the individual to the data by what Access Smart calls “Double, multi-factor authentication”.
“If you make security cumbersome, even honest people will circuvent it for their own convenience; and if you make security too expensive to deploy, very few companies will implement it”, said Mr. Bonnett. “That’s why we developed Power LogOn and have formed alliances with a number of other security companies to address security, convenience and cost of ownership.”
Cloud computing has made it so easy to manage all our electronic data. Now Power LogOn secures access to that data. It’s time to replace the latch and upgrade to a 21st century smartcard solution to secure your data’s front door.
