RSA Security
New-Age Computational Cryptography

Many centuries ago, when secret messages had to be sent, it was either by trusted aides on horsebacks, or in a box that had a lock and identical keys, one for the sender and the receiver, until Euclid came along. A mathematician who introduced prime-factorization to the world of cryptography, Euclid changed the way people decipher encrypted information forever. Millenniums and several experiments later, Ron Rivest, Adi Shamir, and Leonard Adleman, esteemed scientists and cryptographers met at MIT and formed a bond that saw them co-write the RSA algorithm based on the factorization of two large prime numbers and its importance in cryptography. In 1978, they made their theory public, and it sent people in the computational cryptography industry into a frenzy. Few years down the line, Rivest, Shamir, and Adleman went on to found their company “RSA Security” to develop and deliver solutions for the network security and authentication arena. Owing to their success, EMC Corporation made an acquisition offer, and in 2006, a deal was struck for RSA to become a division of their new owners. The takeover of EMC Corporation by Dell Technologies in 2016 made RSA a subsidiary of the tech leader. RSA is a recognized industry leader in the cybersecurity and risk-management arena and produces the most outstanding, robust, and customizable business-driven security solutions. Currently, RSA serves as a cybersecurity partner of their parent company, Dell Technologies, while continuing to create and distribute identity and access management solutions for public and enterprise usage.

In early 2018, RSA in collaboration with Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG) conducted a study to understand the impact that IT security had on business risks. The feedback from the survey shed some light on the measures that were taken to control security fallouts. Many employees in the IT sector believe that not enough is being done to protect high-risk information. While outside elements cause cybersecurity lapses, the personnel in charge of security must have an in-depth knowledge of the internal task force as well, and watch how they are accessing and using data that is prone to attacks. However, not all have fallen on deaf ears, as CIOs and CTOs are on the verge of increasing the revenue they spend on cybersecurity to decrease anomalies that affect their business structures.

The Robust Security Architecture

RSA is changing the way CIOs and CTOs at organizations view their confidential data and leverages present-day technologies to eliminate business risks. Their flagship product suite, “SecurID” is in use at more than 25,000 firms, and has a stellar operational record in the level of protection insights it offers the IT staff and access management personnel.

The products in the suite— SecurID Access and RSA Identity Governance and Lifecycle—automate the cybersecurity processes in operation at various industry arenas.

The company provides its services to organizations in the financial sector, banks, insurance agencies, to name a few, and a common feature they deploy for all the industries is their user identification techniques. Most applications use a two-step authentication process to verify if a user is the same person as the owner of the account and deploy security tokens—one time passwords (OTPs), biometrics, hard-coded USB drives—for this process. The additional security layer works on a concept that recognizes a person by identifiers only known to them, such as secure password sent to their mobile devices, fingerprints, et al.

Most companies that offer cybersecurity services have platforms as individual software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions. At RSA, the complex and sophisticated algorithms allow multiple products to run on top of each other. The advantage of an interoperable tech stack is that clients don’t have to seek additional products from different vendors to control the issues they have with cybersecurity or risk management. Gudmundur Ingvarsson, CSO at Landsbankinn, and customer of RSA mentions, “All of RSA’s solutions work together. So we can connect our RSA SecurID with our RSA Adaptive Authentication, and can then connect those to the eFraudNetwork.”

We remain focused on our customers and partner ecosystem, and will continue to power their security transformation initiatives

Real-Time Solid Authentication

RSA’s premium platform for multi-factor authentication “SecurID Access” is available both as an individual product and as part of their “SecurID” product suite, which is also home to their access management platform “Identity Governance and Lifecycle.” SecurID Access has won many accolades in the cyberspectrum, and delivers solutions that are concise and unmatched in the identity authentication arena.

"“SecurID” is in use at more than 25,000 firms, and has a stellar operational record in the level of protection insights it offers the IT staff and access management personnel"

The platform comes with a wide range of authentication methods, both modern and conventional—push notifications, SMS, OTP, biometrics, and hardware, software, and FIDO tokens—that clients can leverage based on their requirements. It also offers support across multiple mobile platforms including Microsoft Windows, Mac OSX, iOS, and Android. SecurID Access ensures users also have seamless access to their accounts, and it offers external security during the entire process.

To verify the authenticity of a user’s identity, a range of contextual elements undergoes an examination to correlate them against end-user information in hundreds of ways. A decision is made based on the feedback the platform receives, and it either grants entry to the person or further initiates a step-up authentication process.

Resplendent Service Acumen

RSA has a vast clientele and has operations that run successfully at 94 percent of all Fortune 500 companies. “I am thrilled to join RSA’s mission to deliver Business- Driven Security solutions, a transformational architecture that connects insights with business context to enable customers to manage business risk and protect what matters most,” says Rohit Ghai, RSA’s president. “RSA has a highly talented leadership team and incredibly dedicated engineering and sales teams globally. We remain focused on our customers and partner ecosystem, and will continue to power their security transformation initiatives.”

Every once in a while, an innovation in the tech arena catches the interest of the people in its society; the RSA algorithm is no exception. The algorithm plays a huge role in the way many cybersecurity platforms operate. Many open-source cryptography encryption libraries— OpenSSL, Crypto++, and cryptlib, to name a few—pre-package RSA’s code in their bundle for use by other researchers and developers who are looking to embed the algorithm in their own encryption solutions in the network and access management arena.

A Resounding Success Account

Infosys, the IT services giant that creates out-of-the-world tech for their clients, was looking for a solution that could help them mitigate their cybersecurity problems. As the organization grew in size, the infrastructure grew along with it, and so did the challenges. The management was looking for a platform that would see them through their daily woes, and shield their prodigious and expanding computing environment. They found the response to all their issues at RSA; the identity and access management suite of RSA “SecurID” enabled the IT personnel at Infosys to reduce identity risk affairs without impeding daily operations. They were able to provide the users multiple services with state-of-the-art login services, and smooth entry into their accounts. The multifactor authentication capability helps to eliminate risk, ensure compliance, and improve business workflow at Infosys.

“We have a very extensive and complex infrastructure to protect, and we have enjoyed a collaborative relationship with RSA over an extended period of time. I view it as a two-way partnership where we both contribute, and we both benefit. RSA’s portfolio of products delivers what customers need,” states Vishal Salvi, CISO and SVP at Infosys. “The RSA mantra of ‘Business-Driven Security’ totally resonates with me: This really is the only way that effective security can be deployed,” he concludes.