Law firm uses two-factor authentication for remote access
Remote access to office IT resources is becoming increasingly popular in these days of hot-desking, mobile workforces and staff working from home, but what about the IT security issues?
Against this backdrop, it's interesting to see a major law firm - Hodge Jones and Allen - has started using two-factor authentication technology to allow 170 of its staff to access the firm's IT systems remotely using a laptop.
The firm is using the RSA SecurID two-factor authentication system which involves staff using a pocketable device that generates an authentication code which changes every minute or so, and identifies them clearly and without repudiation.
In addition to providing senior staff with access to company resources and applications, selected clients, partners and third-party companies can also log-in securely using the service.
Users are issued with a small RSA SecurID token that produces a new unique one-time passcode every 60 seconds.
By using this, along with their known user name and secret PIN via the web-based Citrix Application Portal, they can log in safely at any time and from anywhere.
This, the law firm reports, gives users the same desktop look and feel and access to authorised applications and data as if they were sitting at their desks in the office.
What's interesting about the firm's use of two-factor authentication is that it's agreed to act as a case study for its IT systems supplier, Cambridge-based Signify.
You can read more on their use of two-factor authentication technology online:
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Guides related to remote accessing:
Remote data Access
Accessing email remotely
By Steve Gold, News Editor
