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Smart Card for Mac


enables Mac OS X users to join Microsoft AD environments

Centrify Corporation, a leading provider of Microsoft Active Directory-based access control and identity management solutions for non-Microsoft platforms, today announced DirectControl for Mac OS X, SmartCard Login Option, which enables Mac OS X users to join Microsoft AD environments that require two-factor authentication via smart cards. The first smart card standard to be supported is Department of Defense Common Access Cards (CAC), used pervasively throughout the DoD and related agencies to authenticate both military personnel and contractors to systems around the world. DirectControl runs natively on both PowerPC- and Intel-based Macs.

"Providing smart card support for the Mac reflects Centrify's commitment to maintaining parity for non-Microsoft systems by integrating them into the identity management, access control and authentication capabilities of Microsoft Active Directory," said Jim Chappell, Vice President of Field Operations at Centrify. "The millions of smart card users in the Federal government benefit from having the leading provider of Mac-Active Directory integration deliver smart card support."

"The unique combination of rock solid UNIX stability, security and ease-of-use is driving increased adoption of Mac OS X by Federal employees," said Ron Okamoto, Apple's vice president of Worldwide Developer Relations. "We're thrilled that Centrify has taken advantage of the interoperability of Mac OS X to deliver a two-factor smart card authentication solution."

Smart cards are recognized as the de-facto standard for two-factor authentication. For Federal agencies, Homeland Security Presidential Directive #12 mandates the use of two-factor authentication for all Federal computer systems. To address this requirement, Centrify DirectControl for Mac OS X, SmartCard Login Option enables a user to log in to any DirectControl-enabled system without requiring any special user configuration on the local system, because all authentication and access control data is stored in Microsoft AD. Administrators can use AD to centrally control which users may or may not log in to which Macs. Additionally, Centrify DirectControl's unique Zones capability allows custom grouping of systems for delegated administration and fine-grained control of access.

Centrify DirectControl supports both online and offline login with smart cards, so an organization can require a user who is using a Macintosh on an airplane to authenticate using their smart card.

Centrify DirectControl's core feature is its ability to enable UNIX, Linux and Mac systems to participate in an AD domain. The Centrify DirectControl Agent effectively turns the host system into an AD client, enabling organizations to secure that system using the same authentication, access control and Group Policy services currently deployed for their Windows systems.

Centrify DirectControl for Mac OS X
Centrify DirectControl for Mac OS X is priced at $60 per workstation. The SmartCard Login Option is priced at $30 per workstation. The DirectControl for Mac OS X, SmartCard Login Option will be generally available in early March 2007.

author = Tom Cromelin
url = http://www.centrify.com/news/release.asp?id=2007010501
dept = Security, spam, virus or other "evil"
audience = Mac programmer or network administrator
About Centrify -- With Centrify solutions, organizations can improve efficiency and better comply with regulatory requirements in their heterogeneous computing environment. Centrify is headquartered in Mountain View, California. For more information about Centrify and DirectControl, call 650-961-1100 or visit www.centrify.com.

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