Signify delivered first ever tokenless two-factor authentication (2FA) as a fully hosted service in 2002

30 April 2012 – Signify is proud to announce that for ten years organisations have relied on its tokenless Passcode OnDemand service to authenticate users and grant them secure remote access to their computer networks. When it was launched in 2002, Signify’s Passcode OnDemand was the first service of this kind that delivered a one-time passcode (OTP) as an email or SMS message to a registered mobile phone.  It gave Signify customers another authentication option on top of the existing token-based service so they could choose a solution that most suited the needs of its end users.

From its launch in 2000, authentication experts Signify recognised the benefits to organisations of providing traditional token based two-factor authentication as a fully hosted and managed service, which means users that require secure access carry around a hardware token.  It soon became clear that different types of users had different working patterns and security needs; and, while a hardware token was appropriate for most, another form of authentication would be better suited for others.  For some, especially occasional or temporary users and those requiring emergency access, it was more cost effective and convenient not to carry around a token.

Since the introduction of Passcode OnDemand by Signify 10 years ago, there has been increasing demand for both token based and tokenless authentication. Signify has also added tokenless RSA software tokens to their service, making it even more flexible for its customers.

“When we started the company in 2000, we could see a definite niche in the market and since then, 2FA has become the de-facto standard for securing remote access to company networks,” said Dave Abraham, CEO and joint founder of Signify. “We have always invested in staying one step ahead and were the first UK company to offer both token and tokenless 2FA as a fully hosted service with the launch of Passcode OnDemand in 2002.”

Amidst a string of recent headlines of data security breaches in some of the world’s most prolific organisations, it is now very clear that relying on weak passwords to protect valuable corporate information is simply not enough.  This is something Signify has recognised for over a decade.

“With such a disparate and mobile workforce, we were struggling in-house to provide staff with seamless 24x7 secure remote access to confidential project information,” said Terry Walker, Kier Group IT Director and a Signify customer for over ten years.  “As well as deploying token based authentication, Signify gives us the flexibility of authenticating occasional users with Passcode OnDemand, which works out more cost effectively but with the same high level of security.”