Arcot WebFort PKI-Based Strong Authentication - Overview

The Authentication Challenge
Simple usernames and passwords are no longer sufficient for verifying and protecting the identity of your online users. Regulatory requirements or identity theft concerns are driving you to upgrade to strong authentication. OTP tokens are expensive to manage, and do not protect you from man-in-the-middle attacks. Traditional PKI approaches are complex and expensive, and require you to change your business processes.

The Arcot WebFort Solution
Arcot WebFort combined with the ArcotID Software Smart Card is a 100% software, two-factor, strong authentication solution. It adds the strength of PKI to any login process while maintaining the simplicity of a username/password interface. Your users' login experience and your business processes do not have to change. You can add PKI-strength authentication to the SSO or access management products you already have. There are no additional elements of a PKI infrastructure to install or deploy—WebFort includes everything you need. Arcot partners with leading certificate authorities making WebFort completely compatible with all major digital certificates. WebFort provides the lowest cost of ownership of any two-factor authentication solution on the market today.

New ArcotID Flash client
Flash eliminates any user interaction in upgrading to strong authentication. There are no pop-up browser messages, no security warnings, and no calls to the help desk.

Eliminate the risk of man-in-the-middle attacks
Prevents man-in-the-middle attacks automatically. The ArcotID authenticates only with the domain that issued it, protecting your users when one-time password tokens and grid pads cannot.

Simple to use and easy to manage
Delivers the strong authentication you need while keeping your users' familiar username/password login. There are no OTP tokens to deploy, no user training to conduct, no help desk calls to answer.

Anytime, anywhere access
Automatically install the ArcotID flash client, Install on a PC, carry it on a USB drive, load it on a PDA, or even download it for secure remote access when you users are away from their PC.

Meet regulatory requirements
Enables you to meet requirements for strong authentication. Our customers use WebFort to meet a number of government regulations, including FFIEC, SOX, HIPAA, SAFE-BioPharma Association, and IdenTrust.

Lower cost of ownership
Delivers two-factor strong authentication completely in software, giving you the lower cost of ownership and simplicity of management that hardware-based alternatives cannot provide.

Easy integration with access management
Integrates with leading SSO and IAM/IDM products, including those from CA, Cisco, IBM, Nortel, and Oracle.

Future-ready authentication
Provides the foundation for you to upgrade to other valuable business services like digital signing and eStatements, when you are ready.

Protect existing investments
Integrates with your existing Identity/Access Management and other security products, eliminating the need for you to change other parts of your network to add strong authentication.

One-of-a-kind software smart card
Combines the protection of a hardware smart card with the lower cost and ease of use a software solution.