Regional sites:
Specialized sites:
The scale of the challenge is shown in the most recent annual CSI/FBI Computer Crime and Security Survey. It reveals that identity theft and financial fraud are the fastest-growing crimes in the US, with organized crime syndicates regularly using password-hacking software, phishing and packet sniffing.
It’s not surprising, then, that governments and corporations have led the way in using USB tokens for applications such as remote access for mobile users, security for access to local networks, security for business systems such as employee portals, and storage of sensitive personal data.
Other issues in the enterprise world include health and safety, such as when controlling access to dangerous equipment. Then there are the regulatory constraints on businesses, where Chinese walls divide different parts of an organization, and where staff access to services and data (and offices and meeting rooms) must be audited. Security systems can deny access to computer networks if a user hasn’t been tracked going through the correct doors.
A single identity token solves most, if not all, of these problems. There’s no need for a proliferation of card keys and passwords, and all the authorizations associated with a token can be set up, approved and stored in a single place. If the token is mislaid, everything can quickly be switched to a new device and the old device invalidated, and centralizing security makes it easier to turn everything off when a staff member leaves or a customer relationship ends. Finally, low-cost USB tokens keep the process economical.
