HID Global and Keyfactor team up for zero-trust security

HID Global and Keyfactor have entered into a collaborative partnership with the shared aim of improving how organisations secure data and protect privacy.

The new solution, which sees HID IdenTrust digital certificates to the Keyfactor platform, is targeted towards enterprises and provides a single solution for zero-trust security.

Digital certificates are used as a foundational security layer within IT and PKI frameworks. Transport Layer Security (TLS)/Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificates establish an encrypted connection between a browser or user's computer and a server or website to ensure data security, privacy and authenticity.

According to HID Global, increasing cyber risk has prompted further adoption of digital certificates as businesses look for ways to improve overall security posture and prevent downtime due to system misconfiguration or certificate exploit. However, this is not the best approach, the company states.

Keyfactor chief security officer Chris Hickman says, "Misconfigured systems, unprotected enrollment servers such as Simple Certificate Enrollment Protocol (SCEP), or other weaknesses can be exploited by hackers or rogue users to obtain fraudulent certificates that enable system access or 'imposter' certificates that represent other users with elevated access.

"Finding rogue user or device certificates and preventing administrator impersonation can only be achieved by gathering and inspecting every internal and external certificate within the organisation's PKI.

As a result of looking to address these issues, HID's IdenTrust business offers a bank-grade identity authentication system, delivering a legally and technologically interoperable environment for authenticating and using identities in more than 175 countries.

The Keyfactor platform manages HID IdenTrust certificates by providing visibility and control to track, renew, replace and manage certificates across the enterprise through the interface. As a result, certificate management can now be automated.

HID Global vice president and managing director of the Identity - Access Management Solutions (IAMS) Brad Jarvis says, "Today's zero-trust environment highlights the need for securing and managing identities of users, machines and devices on a network.

"The combination of HID IdenTrust digital certificates and the Keyfactor platform enables our enterprise customers to achieve frictionless management and deployment of digital certificates. Customers can use this combined solution to achieve greater control of their information security assets along with effective risk management.

Keyfactor chief strategy officer and co-founder Kevin von Keyserling says, "This solution delivers end-to-end, secure certificate management that empowers business leaders to manage the operational and security risks that growing digital identity adoption presents.

"HID Global and Keyfactor share a common vision to support customers as they implement and scale digital identity management across the enterprise. This solution brings that vision to life, meeting our customer's PKI needs today, and as they scale.