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ActivCard
Gold™
Specifications
Industry
Solutions
Demo Packs available to qualified customers
ActivCard®
Gold Datasheet
Smart
card-based digital identity solution
Managed Digital Identity
ActivCard
Gold is a multi-function smart card-based authentication and digital
signature solution. ActivCard Gold can be used as a stand-alone
end user client for securing remote access, local login, email
and other applications or as a key component to the ActivCard
Digital Identity Solutions, which enables enterprises to manage
and update smart card content during and following issuance.
As
the most deployed smart card client software on the market, ActivCard
Gold is the most open: It supports multi-vendor smart cards, dynamic
and static passwords along with digital certificates and biometrics,
leading certification authorities. ActivCard Gold is standards-based
and extensible, allowing enterprises to leverage their existing
network security investments. As a key component to the ActivCard
Digital Identity Solutions, ActivCard Gold enables enterprises
to manage and update smart card content during and following issuance,
for increased return on investment. ActivCard Gold consolidates
multiple credentials into a single and portable smart card to
access a variety of e-business services, such as remote access,
web access, local network access and email.
ActivCard
Gold increases network security while enhancing user convenience.
- ActivCard Digital
Identity Solutions allow enterprises to manage users' digital
identities by consolidating, issuing and updating them centrally
and remotely post-issuance - without disrupting services. ActivCard
helps reduce the cost of user ID management.
- By its standards-compliance
and its open architecture, ActivCard Gold integrates easily
into your environment. ActivCard Gold enables you to leverage
your network security investment.
Unlike other smart
card middleware, ActivCard Gold is flexible and open — it
supports multiple technologies from PKI and static passwords to
biometrics and dynamic passwords. ActivCard Gold is also part
of the ActivCard Digital Identity Solutions, for a global perspective
on managing users' identity.
Key
Advantages
• Open
Industry Standards
• Advanced Manageability
• Enhanced Security
Open Industry
Standards
Open
Platform Support
ActivCard is committed to the GlobalPlatform cross-industry Open
Platform initiative towards card infrastructure interoperability
and management. ActivCard Gold:
• Provides secure card initialization and personalization
• Enables post-issuance updates of applets and credentials
• Reduces the limitations and costs of a rigid card infrastructure
• Allows card issuers to leverage their smart card platform
• Provides multiple application card services
Seamless Interoperability
ActivCard Gold open architecture ensures seamless interoperability
across a complex mix of heterogeneous systems and independence
from vendors. Organizations have the flexibility to offer diverse
services and to select from different deployment strategies and
providers for:
• Authentication technologies
• Card operating systems
• Directory services
• Certificate authorities
• Network management systems
Flexible Integration
ActivCard provides a set of application programming interfaces
(APIs) that ensure compatibility across a variety of applications.
Using these APIs, organizations can easily:
• Enable applications and credentials to interoperate on
multiple card operating systems
• Integrate digital certificates, biometrics, and one-time-use
passwords into applications
• Leverage card applets for securely storing records, demographics,
and cryptographic keys
Advanced
Manageability
Post-Issuance
Updates
ActivCard Gold contains advanced client "hooks" that
make it possible for administrators to remotely deploy and update
the credentials, applets, and data on the smart card, and to instantly
enforce policies. Once issued, cardholders can also personalize
the content of their cards-if the administrator enabled these
features.
Consolidated
Services
ActivCard Gold consolidates multiple security credentials in a
single secure smart card-allowing organizations to centralize
policies and user profiles, leverage existing infrastructure,
cut the costs of managing digital identity, and streamline business
processes. Access to services can be controlled with a choice
of static passwords, one-time-use passwords, biometrics, or digital
certificates.
Secure
Card Management
ActivCard Gold provides a secure channel for administrators to
remotely issue, personalize, and manage cards. Communications
between smart cards and server applications are made over public
networks via a secure SSL driven HTTP connection using XML and
SOAP messages.
PIN
Management
Unlocking a smart card that has become locked from entering wrong
PIN codes can be an operational challenge. ActivCard Gold enables
administrators to remotely unlock cards via a secure channel or
to provide authorized cardholders with randomly generated one-time-use
unlock codes. These codes can never be guessed or reproduced because
they are different every time.
User-Level
Administration
Administrators can enable cardholders to review and manage their
credentials and settings without the need for other tools. An
easy-to-use tree structure GUI allows end users to:
• Manage PIN codes
• Import new certificates
• View certificate attributes
• Manage static passwords
• Define network login and dial-up configurations
Ease of Deployment
To streamline large-scale deployments of smart cards, organizations
can centrally distribute, install, and upgrade ActivCard Gold
using Microsoft® Installer/Active Directory™ capabilities.
A "silent setup" can also be used to eliminate the need
for end-user involvement. Administrators can pre-define user options
and customize the master installation CD by:
• Configuring the PIN and unlock policies
• Adding and installing drivers and applications
• Localizing all messages in any language
• Branding all icons and messages
Enhanced Security
Familiar
Login
ActivCard Gold strong two-factor authentication requires something
the user has and something the user knows. Cardholders simply
insert their cards and enter their PINs into a familiar ATM-like
interface. The credentials are then transparently processed for
secure access to LAN, WAN, and Internet-based services. A single
version of ActivCard Gold provides the same user experience across
all platforms.
PKI
Integration
ActivCard Gold tightly integrates with leading PKI vendors, delivering
enhanced security, mobility, non-repudiation, and certificate
management. ActivCard Gold strengthens PKI by adding two-factor
authentication at the front end, and by storing private keys,
public keys, and digital certificates on the smart card. The private
key is generated and processed in the microchip on the card-and
is never exposed outside this secure environment.
Dynamic
Passwords
ActivCard Gold one-time use passwords are randomly generated with
a patented three-variable algorithm and processed on the smart
card. Dynamic passwords are different every time a cardholder
logs into a system so they do not need to be memorized, and they
can never be reused if intercepted during transmission.
Automatic
Card Lock
If a user enters six consecutive wrong PIN entries, the smart
card automatically "locks," and it cannot be used. This
capability prevents non-trusted parties from stealing the card
and trying many different PINs to access the credentials and applications
on the card. The number of consecutive failed entries before the
card locks can be configured either higher or lower by the administrator.
Automatic
Logout
ActivCard Gold can be configured to automatically log out the
user or lock the screen when the card is removed from the system.
This security feature is ideal for terminals, kiosks, and computers
that are shared by numerous cardholders in healthcare, government,
financial, or corporate settings.
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