Actu
certgate cooperates with the Israeli provider Ceedo
October 2011 by Marc Jacob
Agent 007 unobtrusively enters the Internet café, connects his smartphone with the first best computer and logs in. In a matter of seconds his virtual working environment opens on the anonymous computer. He downloads information from the database of his organisation, transfers a status message to M and quickly sends an encrypted email to Miss Moneypenny. Then he disconnects the data link, puts his smartphone back in his pocket and leaves the café without leaving any digital traces behind him. Is this another one of Q‘s ingenious gadgets ?
This scenario could have been taken from a spy movie but by no means belongs to the realm of fantasy such as the watch with powerful laser beam or the Aston Martin with integrated rocket launcher. The secure virtual working environment is reality today and is available to a few “exclusive” users. It can make the work of field staff so much easier and has been conceived for all sectors wishing to equip their mobile employees with predefined applications and secure access to corporate resources which run on any computer with Internet access. The entire working environment of an employee is located on a special microSD card with smartcard function – securely encrypted and protected from unauthorised access. The card can be connected to any computer which happens to be available by smartphone or directly via a USB reader.
The entire system of hardware and software components is the result of a cooperation between the Nuremberg-based IT security experts certgate GmbH and Ceedo, the specialist for virtualisation solutions from Israel. Any number of Windows programs which are to be made available to the employee wherever he may be can be installed in the secure working environment such as browsers, emaiI programs, VPN clients, business applications and much more. The user no longer needs his own computer with permanently installed applications. Gone are the days when he takes his laptop with him on his travels; he simply makes sure he has the special microSD card in his pocket.
The certgate SmartCard in microSD format serves not only as a storage medium but also provides a hardware-protected key and cryptographic functionalities. Depending on security requirements, it can encrypt the complete virtual system and secure communication with the company’s server. Emails can be signed and encrypted on hardware base or certificate-based SSL connections created.
“As far as data security goes, our solution would be just the thing for James Bond,“ explains Axel Stett, as COO responsible for marketing and sales at certgate. “However, our actual target group is all companies for whom efficient staff operations in the mobile environment are critical.“
