Many originations are moving away from single sign on authentication methods. Accessing computers using a single user ID and password increases the risk of unauthorized access. In order to protect proprietary data, organizations need a much stronger method of authentication. One solution, instead of requiring your employees to remember multiple user names and passwords, is to use two factor authentication.

You Can Use 2FA with Single Sign on Authentication Processes

Public key cryptography is an essential part of using digital certificates for increased security. This security method uses a pair of keys which are uniquely different, but must match mathematically when authenticated against one another. One set of keys is always retained by the issuer and is the private key. The other set of keys is shared with multiple users requiring access to the issuers systems or electronic data, and is the public key.

Public Key Cryptography Can Be Compared to a Door Lock and Key

Public key cryptography uses a series of numerical data in order to provide encryption for digital certificates. This encryption sequence is contained in, what is called a public key. The public key is used to authenticate with online and network systems when a connection is made. Without the correct key, the user is denied access.

Public Key Cryptography Authenticates Public Keys against a Private Key

PKI is necessary when you want to use public key cryptography. This method uses different types of digital certificates for storing public and private keys. The digital certificates also work to decrypt and encrypt data sent or received, using both types of keys. The type of transmission and whether you are a sender or receiver will determine how data is encrypted or decrypted, as well as what type of key you need to use.

How Data is Encrypted and Decrypted When You Use PKI

The amount of security needed to access different computer resources depends on the authenticating method used. Certain systems may only require a single sign on, which is simply entering a user name and password. Most organizations use this method for allowing users to log into their company-provided computers and certain network resources, like networked printers.

Never Use Single Sign on Methods for Accessing Sensitive Corporate Data

There are different processes which, in the background, users will not see on their computer screen. For example, authentication procedures are not displayed when a computer is talking to a server to gain access. The actual data being transmitted and operations performed, like in a root certificate, are never display. Instead, the hard drive light might come on or an hour glass will show up on the display while the process runs.

The Processes a Root Certificate Performs Is Related to the Type of Digital Certificate

There are different ways in which you can increase the security to your online and networked systems. One method is to use a RSA token device. This type of device has an encrypted security key which is used to authenticate the user on the system. You can use different types of keys on the same token device for multiple systems. For instance, you can use one key for online systems and another for networked systems.

Different Devices You Can Load a RSA Token Onto

Anyone who has ever used a computer has probably used single sign on authentication at some point. This type of authentication only requires the user to enter a user name and password to gain access to computing resources. For example, in secure networked environments, you are asked to provide this information each time you start up your computer. After entering the correct information, the computer log-on processes operate in the background, while connecting network drives and network printers.

There Are both Good and Bad Points to Using Single Sign on Authentication

A PKI certificate is nothing more than a digital certificate which was created following the public key infrastructure standards. These standards are used by organizations all around the world to make sharing of public certificates easier. When one company issues a public certificate to another company or individual, they do not want to also have to supply software to perform encryption and decryption processes. This would result in users having to install software from any business which issued their own public certificates, simply because they failed to follow the recognized standards.

Before the public release of the internet, computer security was not much of a concern. For most businesses, they treated computers like other types of office equipment. Anyone could get onto a computer workstation or terminal, often without any type of user ID or password. However, things have changed over time, and different types of security are needed to protect your data, including using digital certificates following the X509 standards, for authentication.

A Certificate Authority Creates a New Pair of X509 Certificates