Using VeriSign Inc.'s digital certificate technology, Lucent Technologies will build the use of digital IDs into its firewall product, the company said today. The new feature will let Lucent Managed Firewall require a digital ID before providing firewall-layer access between a browser and server.
Like a passport or driver's license, digital IDs are meant to secure and validate the identity of a person or organization in online activity, from email to network access. In Lucent's firewall, VeriSign's digital IDs will allow remote administration of a network via secure access to the Firewall's Security Management Server through the Internet.
This deal, the first use of VeriSign's digital IDs in a firewall product, marks a continued push by the company to get its certificate technology into the business mainstream. Today's deal follows others in recent months establishing use of the company's certificates among legal firms and banks.
So far, authenticating company Web servers has been the core of VeriSign's business in digital IDs. Companies use an authenticating certificate that Web browsers recognize and accept before transmitting sensitive information.
To increase awareness - and sales - of its technology, VeriSign is pitching digital certificates as necessary to secure access to corporate intranets and e-commerce servers. The hope is that increased use by company employees, partners, and most importantly, customers, will help put digital IDs in every pocket as they become the driver's licenses of the Net. So far, though, the company has failed to grab the Net-surfing public's attention.
