Android’s about to get a bit more secure for enterprise users thanks to the upcoming RSA SecurID application, a two-factor authentication for enterprise applications and resources. RSA is the security division of EMC, and is not only releasing an application, but an SDK for said application as well.
The SDK will allow developers to take advantage of RSA SecurID authentication process within Android applications, adding some much-needed security to Android apps. There are already exploits that a hacker could use to circumvent Android’s permissions, and any sort of security to the OS would be a very good thing.
“Being able to offer the RSA SecurID tokens to our users on many of the most popular mobile platforms such as Android is a convenient and cost-effective way to deploy strong authentication in our enterprise,” Tim Prendergast, Network Architect at Ingenuity Systems, Inc. “Deployment on smart phone platforms is done electronically so it’s simple and fast for our IT organization to provision, eliminating any lag time if an end-user needs to get a new token. Our employees love it because the tokens are easily accessed on the mobile devices they already own and carry.”
The app is aimed at enterprise users who already have an RSA SecurID system in their workplace. If that’s the case at your place of work, you’ll be able to download the free application right from the Android Market when it goes live on the 22nd of this month. The application will generate a one-time password that changes every 60 seconds, giving secure access to resources. You’d otherwise need to carry around a physical RSA token on your keychain to keep track of those passwords. The app helps you lighten your load by replacing that token.
With the smartphone beginning to replace one device after another, it’s makes sense that security is being taken much more serious than it once was, be it enterprise or personal security. Security is a good thing.
[Via: EMC]