News Archive 2003

17.11.2003
Nortel and Valimo enable VPN-users identification with mobile phones
Easy-to-deploy identification solutions facilitate IT administration work.

The leading supplier of data communications equipment, Nortel Networks, Finland and the software company Valimo Wireless, Finland have launched solution combining a VPN infrastructure and user authentication management. With the new solution, user identification for VPN connections, is done with a mobile phone. The product is very easy to use and pleasantly surprises IT administrators with its reduced user management demands. Secure connections are established with IPSec-certificates or through the SSL-stack in TCP/IP. Thus, no additional VPN client software is needed.

By using the mobile phone, password lists and security tokens are no longer needed. For establishing a secure connection, an employee submits his user name to the PC. A few seconds later, his mobile phone receives an authentication request. By returning a digitally signed message, the VPN authenticates the user and grants access to the VPN. The digital signature generation requires typing a 4-digit, secret signing PIN into the mobile phone.

This authentication solution reduces the maintenance work, as management processes linked to passwords or security tokens are scraped. Also the information security is improved. The user will notice attempts to misuse their login name, because of the authentication request sent to their mobile phone. Therefore, it is easy to react to VPN intrusion attacks.

The digital signature generated as a response to an authentication request can be used to establish trustworthy logging information. This is a priceless feature for the financial industry and government where strong audit requirements exist.

In brief, this solution fits well to companies, which have remote access needs and which maintain the system in their own premises. It is also suitable for Application Service Providers (ASPs), which offer secure connections as a service to small business customers. A suitable version for operators is at work.

"With the Valimo-software, value can be added when forming a VPN-connection to the user authentication. Also, it is helpful when collecting trustworthy log records about VPN usage patterns. Finnish solutions are well known world wide for their innovativeness and combining the Valimo software with Nortel’s Contivity offering is a natural step forward", says Nortel Networks technical manager Mr. Jani Salokannel.

Detailed description of the solution

More Information:

Jari Salokannel
jari.salokannel@nortelnetworks.com
Tel. (09) 4768 7751

Vesa Peltola

Tel. (09) 4365 0080

Nortel Networks is a global leading communications equipment provider. The company is focused on delivering communication technology and infrastructure solutions to operators and other enterprise customers. These solutions enable added value to IP-based data-, voice-, and multimedia applications in mobile, fixed line and optical network environments. Nortel Networks is operating in 150 countries. For more information: www.nortelnetworks.com.

Valimo Wireless Ltd is a Finnish company specialized in developing software to secure and perform transactions in both mobile and fixed-line network environments. The company’s product portfolio consists of transaction management solutions enabling strong user authentication in multi-channel environments and assuring non-repudiation of legally binding transactions. With Valimo, the customer can concentrate on their business models and service portfolios letting Valimo manage network security and data integrity issues as well as to assure the best possible service availability with multiple end devices.