ActivIdentity introduces PKI secure mobile solution for smart phones

ActivIdentity Corp., a supplier of strong authentication and credential management, has introduced a new solution to provision public key infrastructure (PKI) and Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 201-compliant credentials onto BlackBerry smart phones.

Using a secure microSD card, ActivIdentity enables BlackBerry users to sign secure e-mails digitally or provide two-factor authentication when remotely accessing protected network (Web) portals.

For mobile professionals whose organizations have issued credentials for Personal Identity Verification (PIV), PIV-Interoperable (PIV-I), PIV-Compatible (PIV-C), and other smart cards, many mandatory digital transactions become impossible on a BlackBerry without some way to link or embed a smart chip and credential to the phone. ActivIdentity’s new mobile credential and authentication solution allows smart card credentials to be issued to a secure microSD residing in a BlackBerry smart phone’s expandable microSD card slot. The solution enables PKI to work natively at full strength on the smart phone.

“We’re excited to be showing this new secure mobile solution into the BlackBerry user community, and to demonstrate how it enables end users to secure their communications and leverage their smart phone to its fullest potential,” said Jerome Becquart, vice president of products and services at ActivIdentity. “This new solution represents the next major milestone in ActivIdentity’s evolving secure mobile strategy for the enterprise and commerce.”

In February 2009, ActivIdentity initiated support for strong mobile authentication, including PC soft tokens, Web tokens, mobile tokens and one-time passwords (OTP) via SMS. With the release of its new mobile credential and authentication solution, ActivIdentity also supports secure mobile phone PIN management, as well as one-time password generation for remote access, without the need to carry a token.

With ActivIdentity’s solution, government agency employees can also leverage their existing FIPS 201-compliant credentials without adding complexity to how they use their smart phones.