Leading SSL VPN product company Aventail is partnering with two of Japan’s leading authentication technology companies, Computer Systems Engineering (CSE) and Thirdnetworks. Both companies use innovative authentication processes to ensure secure remote access and integrate with the Aventail SSL VPN for a seamless user experience and ease of management.

These partnerships are part of Aventail’s best-of-breed Technology Partnership Program. Through this program, Aventail partners with more than 30 other best-of-breed solutions to ensure strong interoperability and layered security. In addition to CSE and Thirdnetworks, Aventail integrates with several authentication solutions, including RSA Security, VeriSign, PassGo and Swivel.

“Our technology partner program is fundamental to our best-of-breed strategy, which allows us to integrate with other leading technologies to give our customers a powerful and flexible overall solution for remote access,” said Randy Boroughs, senior director of product management, Aventail.

CSE’s solution, SecureMatrix, is a Web-based, one time password solution that does not require client PC software or additional hardware tokens. This enables users to be authenticated on PCs and PDAs anytime, anywhere, using only a browser.

For authentication using SecureMatrix, a user first creates a sequence of numbers taken from the matrix shown in the browser. This sequence of numbers will be registered in the SecureMatrix server to represent the user's password pattern. Each time the user attempts to authenticate, the numbers in the matrix will change, but the password pattern stays constant. The user will enter the numbers represented in the sequence. In other words, the password is the combination of positions in the matrix rather than a static set of numbers. This password pattern can only be changed by the user directly or by an administrator of the SecureMatrix server. The Aventail SSL VPN appliance integrates with this solution by providing single sign-on capabilities with SecureMatrix.

Thirdnetworks provides a managed authentication service, called “Secure Call,” which leverages the ubiquity of cell phones in the Japanese market with its innovative technology. The authentication system works similar to a token-based solution but uses a cell phone instead of a token.

Customers pre-register their cell phone numbers with Thirdnetworks, and the customer data sits in a RADIUS server back-end system. When a user attempts to authenticate on the portal page of the Aventail SSL VPN, the system automatically connects into the Secure Call center, and the center calls the user’s cell phone, providing a unique PIN (personal identification number), which the user then uses to authenticate and gain access.

These latest partnerships add to Aventail’s growing presence and market share in Japan. Aventail recently released the Japanese localized version of its Smart SSL VPN version 8.5, featuring patent-pending Smart Tunneling technology. Smart Tunneling enables universal application reach with complete control and security.

About Aventail
Aventail is the leading SSL VPN product company and the authority on secure application access technology. Aventail delivered the first SSL VPN solution in 1997, and today, Aventail meets the secure communication needs of more than one million end users in over 75 countries. Aventail's family of SSL VPN appliances increases productivity for end users and IT professionals, while maximizing security and lowering costs. Aventail appliances are built on Aventail's proven platform, which leads the industry in End Point Control, policy management, and transparent, easy-to-use access options to the broadest range of applications. Aventail is the SSL VPN of choice among leading enterprises and service providers worldwide, such as AT&T, DuPont, IBM Global Services, MCI, Netifice, Office Depot, Sanyo, and TNT. Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, Aventail has an extensive global network of channel partners and sales support offices. For more information, go to www.aventail.com.

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