'It is time for a paradigm shift to borderless security'

Borderless security is the next big thing in Enterprise security, and is due

to be launched in India soon. Chris Fedde, senior VP and GM, Enterprise Security

Division, SafeNet, was in town, spreading the good word about the product. In an

interview with Jasmine Kaur of Dataquest he talks about SafeNet's enterprise

security offerings in India and its big-bang borderless security platform.

What is the assortment of security solutions on offer for Indian

enterprises?



We have two categories of customers. There are those who use fiber optics

and have high-speed requirements extending up to 10 GB. Our customers on this

end include the government and financial institutions. This is a very stable

customer base for us, and our third quarter of 2004 was especially robust

because of them. We are offering our other customers integrated security

solutions, so that while levels of security increases, the costs decrease and

the solutions are simple enough to be handled by them. Our new offering 'Borderless

Security' is a natural step in this direction.

How does the Borderless Security Platform differentiate itself from

previous offerings?

Chris Fedde

It is a new approach to Information security that tightly integrates

authentication, authorization and confidentiality in today's heterogeneous

computing environments. The platform is based on open standards, providing an

organization with the ability to deploy all or part of the solution, each of

which easily co-exists and complements existing technologies. This platform

marks a paradigm shift where all the backend technology pieces are woven

seamlessly.

What are SafeNet's other various projects and the different types of

client bases in India?



SafeNet's pilot systems have been deployed at NIC, Defence and Reserve Bank of
India (RBI). The Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) project of the RBI was the

first major PKI initiative to fasten reconciliation and clearances among member

banks. Banks are linked to the RTGS system at the RBI, using a participant

interface (PI). All transactions flow in and out of the bank into the RTGS

system as encrypted and authenticated messages, using PI as the gateway. The

SafeNet backend security module keeps all private keys secured, and has been in

place for the past one and a half years. We are working with the RBI on other

phases and projects.

What are the new security threats keeping security innovation on its feet?



Identity management is a key concern area. Databases are being hacked

leading to individual accounts being compromised. There can be no shortcuts in

protecting peoples' information. SafeNet is in consultation for the national

ID card project, which is still in the nascent stages in India.

What is your business plan for India?



In India, we are developing more sales channel partners and trying to expand

the portfolio of system integrators. SafeNet is targeting verticals like

finance, healthcare, insurance, law and manufacturing in the country. The

Borderless Security platform is gaining more traction since its global launch

two months ago and it positions itself as a consolidated and scalable security

solution, available from a single vendor.