Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 26 January 2002

Comtrust, the e-business unit of Etisalat and the region’s leading provider of Public-Key Infrastructure based Certification Services, announces the launch of a SecureAccess solution.

This new solution has been designed to address the Internet security issues (primarily authentication and authorization) faced by a growing number of organizations / businesses in the UAE / Middle East region, as they embrace Internet based technologies and services. . It allows users of a corporate network to interact in a secure manner, enabling only the authenticated users to access business information resources in line with their defined access privileges.

“Much of today’s business growth is fueled by a rapid adoption of Internet based technologies and services.” says Omran Sultan Al-Owais, General Manager of Comtrust. “The technology adoption for business has experienced exponential increases as an ever increasing number of organizations are leveraging these technologies for business advantages by deploying intranet and extranet applications. While the technology adoption offers significant advantages it also brings to fore serious security issues that arise from un-seen interactions over the Internet. Additionally, the fast pace of technology evolution makes it all the more important to address the inherent vulnerabilities that may be exploited for security breaches. ”

A recent survey by the Computer Security Institute indicates that security risks are increasing significantly. More and more organisations are reporting Internet connection as most frequent point of attack, while most of these attacks are caused by unauthorised access to the systems, resulting in significant financial losses to organisations.

Based on the Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) technology, Comtrust’s SecureAccess solution includes Comtrust Server Certificate, Business User Certificates, a Certificate validation component and professional services.

It is a flexible tool not only for digital certificates based authentication for individuals but also for assigning and managing access rights for corporate network users. It allows businesses and organizations to interact in a secure manner with users of a corporate network, enabling only the authenticated users to access businesses resources.

“When a user accesses the web server, he or she is challenged to present credentials in the form of Comtrust Business User Certificate,” said Mr. Al-Owais. “After authenticating the identity of the person logging onto the network, based on Comtrust digital certificate, the individual is allowed access in accordance with permission/authorization privileges granted.” These certificates offer additional levels of security as they can also be used to digitally sign and encrypt email communication.

Finally it helps implement a security policy with respect to web servers and security of proprietary information by facilitating access to the right information by the right people only..

Notes

The server certificate is installed on the server to be accessed by users. This certificate verifies the identity of the server to the users. In addition to protecting the sensitive information on the server, it also enforces client authentication whereby users trying to access the system will only be granted access after presentation of a valid Comtrust Business User Certificate. This certificate is issued after authenticating identity of the business in accordance with Comtrust Certification Practice Statement.

Business User Certificates are issued to users authorized by the organization, providing them with access privileges on the server. Users accessing the server are asked to present their Business User Certificates before they can be granted access on the server. Additionally, the users can use these certificates to digitally sign and encrypt their emails. One hundred Business User certificates are provided as part of the SecureAccess package, allowing the organization to use these certificates as requirements evolve.

Comtrust professional services are provided to configure access level in accordance with the planned access privileges. Standard package includes single access level for all users. Comtrust professional services can also work with customers to implement different access levels depending upon requirements of access level policy of the organisations.

Comtrust digital certificates provide individuals and businesses with virtual IDs for use in the electronic world. However, sometime these digital credentials may have expired, revoked, or compromised. Validation component offers a mechanism for businesses to electronically confirm that a digital certificate is current and valid before allowing access or transaction to occur. This component further enhances security by verifying authenticity of certificates through an On Line Certificate Status Protocol (OCSP) access to Comtrust Validation Authority server, making Comtrust SecureAccess as one of the most secure method available in the market.