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DAILY NEWS AND INFORMATION
FOR THE GLOBAL GRID COMMUNITY /
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Breaking News -
Security:
Sun Defines Infinite Access
Security Model
Sun Microsystems Inc, the creator and leading advocate of Java technology,
defined its new infinite access security model, helping businesses securely
open up their enterprise to the network and extract more value from the
Internet. Sun plans to invisibly integrate multi-factor authentication,
identity management and containment support into all of its software products
and platforms. Sun's Java Desktop System, an affordable, secure and open
standards-based alternative to Microsoft Windows, will be Sun's first product
to integrate complete out-of-the-box support for Java Card multi-factor
authentication technology.
"Network security is not the oxymoron our competitor would like you to
believe. But it's time the industry admitted that the defensive approach to PC
security with bigger moats, taller walls and memos from the CEO have clearly
failed," said Jonathan Schwartz, executive vice president of software for Sun
Microsystems. "It's time we went on the offensive by proactively
authenticating and differentiating service to the good guys, instead of always
hunting the bad. This approach is more befitting a limitless internet --
spanning all network devices and services, not just PCs -- and the products
and technologies already in deployment by some of the highest security yet
most open and interoperable network operators in existence. Infinite
possibility requires infinite access based on simplicity, integration and
automation."
Web services, utility computing, .NET, CPU harvesting and distributed
computing are just a few of the technologies that fall under the Grid
computing umbrella. Gt04 -- a premiere enterprise Grid computing conference
targeting industrial and commercial users -- will gather experts, and outline
strategies and road maps for Grid deployment. For more information, visit
www.gt04.com.
Grid computing is here!
Sun's new infinite access security model is designed to make security
integrated, invisible and infinite for customers. It helps create a managed
risk environment that allows access to be appropriate and acceptable to the
service providers in enterprises, consumer and governmental organizations.
Integrated: Systems integration across physical and virtual access,
infrastructure integration between enterprise and consumer services (employee
lifecycle management, single-sign-on), and business integration between
partners, and suppliers make the experience as seamless as possible for users,
and as cost-effective and scalable as possible for providers. Invisible: Security should deliver convenience with confidence. An
infinite
access system lets users get what they want, when they want it. It is visible
enough to be comforting and allow individuals confidence in privacy,
regulatory confidence in compliance, and business confidence in risk
mitigation. It is invisible as much as possible so that user experience does
not disrupt security policy. Infinite: Everything of value is connecting to the network. And as more
and
more objects connect to the network, the world is accessing more resources.
Sun, along with the Java community and its open standards and open source
partners, is working to reveal the potential of the infinite network while
enabling the up-time and social mores that protect business values.
Collectively the doors to opportunity can be opened, and the windows that
create risk and fear can be closed.
Three architectural pillars underscore Sun's infinite access security
model:
strong authentication, identity management, and risk management through
containment.
Strong Authentication: Multi-factor authentication assigns a verifiable
identity to a user, data, application or service. Once authentication occurs,
the identity management infrastructure can authorize or refuse entry to or
communication with the next tier of access. Authentication opens the doors to
services across many different devices and ends the need for multiple
passwords and token cards. Identity Management: The management of authenticated identities
delivers
authorization control over role-based access to data, and centralized
provisioning and de-provisioning capabilities over user access to data or
applications. It also enables authorization escalation, allowing the
enterprise to set and enforce policy authorizing what levels of access are
allowed under pre-defined levels of authentication, including federation.
Federation of authentication allows single-sign-on across services and allows
seamless access to multiple capabilities. Containment: Strong containment and partitioning capabilities manage
the
risk of infinite access, allowing authenticated and centrally managed users or
data to only interact with the data or application contained within a specific
partition. Even if unauthorized access is achieved, the violation is
restricted to a limited area of the network. Sun's N1 Grid Containers will
deliver this functionality to the next version of the Solaris Operating
System.
Sun's expertise in the three core principles of infinite access security
--
authentication, identity management and containment -- is unparalleled. The
world's leading government agencies, such as the U.S. Department of Defense,
depend on Java Card technology for secure network identification cards; Sun's
Java System Identity Server is the industry's leading identity management
platform and Sun is a founding member of the Liberty Alliance, the
inter-industry group dedicated to establishing open standards for federated
network identity; and the next generation of Sun's Solaris operating system
will include N1 Grid Containers, one of the industry's most advanced
containment and partitioning technologies.
Secure Authentication Across Every Area Of The Network
Java Card technology is one of the best secure authentication technologies
for
trust, privacy and verification of identity on the network, deployed in over
500 million smart card and mobile phone environments around the world. Sun is
building on this success and applying its expertise to the Windows environment
though inclusion of Java Card technology support in its Java Desktop System
and Java software systems. This model will not only secure access to the
device (mobile handset, desktop or infrastructure), but access to network
services, and ultimately access to and distribution of content. This
guarantees authentication of the device, of the sender, and of content
represented, helping reduce victimization through fraudulent Web sites, and
e-mail spam and viruses.
In addition to Java Card multi-factor authentication support, the next
version
of Java Desktop System will include the Java Desktop System Configuration
Manager, a tool for central management of user settings. This enables systems
administrators to set security preferences and easily and effectively manage
them across the entire enterprise.
Security Innovation Through Open Standards
Sun believes in security through openness. Security standards should be
open
to being created, tested, analyzed and challenged by a huge community of
intelligent programmers, developers and security experts.
Today Sun also announced support for leading security and identity open
standards efforts, demonstrating its continued commitment to building security
into the underlying standards defining the Network.
OASIS PKI Action Plan: Today, with Sun's strong participation and
endorsement, the OASIS Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) Technical Committee
released its PKI Action Plan. The OASIS PKI Action Plan calls for clear and
specific guidelines for using PKI in the most relevant application types
(document signing, secure email, and electronic commerce); interoperability
testing; improved educational materials; best practices and other measures to
reduce cost; and outreach to software application vendors to increase PKI
implementation. Sun is proud to support expansion of PKI, an important
security technology used in many widely deployed standards (such as SSL and
IPSEC) to secure network connections. Liberty Alliance: Sun strongly endorses the Liberty Alliance
announcement
of its mobile business guidelines, the first set of vertically oriented
business guidelines, outlining near-term market opportunities and business
requirements for federated identity deployments in the mobile space. Federated
identity, which securely links and manages identity information among
different systems, has particular application to the mobile industry.
About Sun Microsystems Inc
Since its inception in 1982, a singular vision -- "The Network Is The
Computer" -- has propelled Sun Microsystems Inc to its position as a leading
provider of industrial-strength hardware, software and services that make the
Net work. Sun can be found in more than 100 countries and on the World Wide
Web at sun.com/.
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