The UK based ICMA Association chose comForte's SecurCS product for SSL encryption and authentication of end users accessing their system.
ICMA, The International Capital Market Association is the self-regulatory organisation and trade association representing the investment banks and securities firms issuing and trading in the international capital market worldwide. Hundreds of clients participating in the system are spread over the world and require secure access to a NonStop system. In this context, "secure access" goes beyond simply encrypting the traffic. Strong authentication of clients is also a key requirement, ensuring only preconfigured clients can access the system, authenticated by stronger mechanisms than just usernames and passwords.
"ComForte's SSL solution has provided us with a reliable secure transmission path for our clients' data. This solution replaced a proprietary, hardware based, cryptographic system with an industry standard, SSL based application," says Andy Grassick, project manager of ICMA. "This has enabled us to easily develop further SSL based facilities for our clients".
Using comForte's SecurCS product, ICMA enforces SSL client authentication using certificates delivered to end users on a USB smart card token. SecurCS on the NonStop server passes the certificate information to the ICMA application, enabling administrators to control system access based on the client certificate.
Andy Grassick concludes, "From early proof of concept through to implementation comForte have provided a first class service. They have provided sound technical guidance and support, reliable software and timely delivery along with a flexible attitude and a sound understanding of our business requirements."