RSA to Turn Cells, PDAs Into Security Tokens

On Tuesday, RSA Security is expected to unveil its new user authentication method that will turn cell phones, handhelds, and other devices that contain RSA’s SecurID algorithm into traditional security tokens, CNET News.com reports.

RSA is currently working with Motorola, a cell phone maker, and SanDisk, a storage consumer memory-device producer, to morph everyday devices into security tokens, CNET News.com reports.  The move is meant to alleviate concerns about security tokens’ difficulty of use, and their high implementation costs.

“We’re making it easier for people to have some form of strong authentication,” Art Coviello, RSA’s CEO, told CNET News.com. “The device that you normally carry can now be your token.”

Users can currently connect a PDA or other handheld to a PC when logging into a network, allowing that user to be authenticated via the device.  In cases where a direct connection is not feasible, a token number could be generated by the device and then entered into the system as an additional form of identification, CNET News.com reports.

“Banks could download the software to any device you have and this could be your token to authenticate to the bank,” Coviello told CNET News.com.  “We can proliferate the technology more readily for either the consumer or enterprise.”

According to Coviello, Motorola is currently working on a new phone will the SecurID algorithm built in, and the device could be available to the public as early as March.

For CSO’s latest on online banking security, read Second Thoughts on Second Factors.

On a separate note, are you a Harrison Ford fan?  Have you seen his new flick, ’Firewall?’  Check out what a handful of security chiefs had to say about the movie at Security Mavens’ Reviews of the Movie ’Firewall’.

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