At the RSA Conference 2006, Quest Software announced support for multi-factor authentication using smart cards across Windows, Unix and Linux environments with Vintela Authentication Services.

User authentication is at the core of identity management, and through its Vintela products, Quest extends the strong user authentication capabilities of Microsoft Active Directory to Unix and Linux. Vintela Authentication Services will provide built-in support for smart card technology, allowing customers to benefit from secure, multi-factor authentication that is consistent across multiple operating platforms. This capability is valuable to any heterogeneous organization wishing to implement multi-factor authentication. For example:

• U.S. financial institutions wishing to comply with recent guidance from the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council are looking into multifactor authentication methods (such as smart cards) to provide stronger fraud deterrents for online transactions.

• U.S. public sector agencies seeking to meet the Oct. 27 deadline for compliance with three directives related to government-wide common access cards are investigating smart card options. The Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD-12), the Federal Information Processing Standards Publication 201 (FIPS-201) and PIV II (Personal Identity Verification) specify that agencies must issue secure, interoperable personal ID cards to employees and contractors.

• Organizations moving toward a “password-less” security environment are implementing smart cards as a secure way to protect end users’ credentials.