Saint-Gobain Secures Access to Critical Business Data With RSA Security

S. and Canadian-based employees with secure access to sensitive business information.Saint-Gobain, one of the world's largest glass and building materials company, is using RSA Security's industry leading RSA SecurID two-factor authentication technology to verify each user before permitting access to corporate data stored on its network. The implementation is a critical component of Saint-Gobain's overall information security strategy, and complements existing installations already in use in Germany, France and the United Kingdom.

In response to a changing work force, Saint-Gobain found itself supporting a growing number of employees accessing data from remote locations. For example, Saint-Gobain's sales force often requires access to the company intranet, e-mail and other critical sales tools when working remotely. It became apparent to the company's IT department that password protection alone would not provide adequate security. "Passwords might be fine in some instances, but for a company with vast amounts of sensitive corporate data and users scattered all over the globe, they just aren't good enough," said Mike Kaufmann, head of U.S. security for Saint-Gobain. "We felt strongly that two-factor authentication was critical for our needs."

The company evaluated several options, but ultimately determined that the RSA SecurID two-factor authentication solution helped provide the best combination of proven technology, ease of implementation and cost-effectiveness. "RSA SecurID software was a cost-effective and user friendly way of integrating an added layer of protection to our Virtual Private Network that static passwords alone simply couldn't provide," said Kaufmann. "Our decision to implement RSA SecurID software was driven by our need to support a growing base of remote and mobile workers, while minimizing the risks associated with opening our network to the outside. We wanted to provide our employees with access to the information they need to effectively do their jobs, while at the same time ensuring that our proprietary data was protected from unauthorized users."

The RSA SecurID system is a two-factor user authentication solution that is designed to be as simple to use as entering a password but significantly more secure. Used in conjunction with RSA ACE/Server(R) software, an RSA SecurID authenticator is designed to function like an ATM card for a company network, requiring users to identify themselves with two unique factors -- something they know (a password or PIN), and something they have (in this case, an RSA SecurID key fob token) -- before they are granted access to secure business information.

"Organizations need to see two-factor authentication as a key element in their overall security strategy for supporting trusted identity and access management