VanDyke Software announced the delivery of a public-key management solution for the open Secure Shell protocol on Windows, Linux, UNIX, and other platforms. Public keys increase the level of security in authenticating users and allow the use of authentication options like smart cards and other physical devices.
Deploying and managing public keys in large organizations with hundreds of desktops imposed an administrative burden on network managers that limited large-scale use. While the technical superiority of public-key authentication over the more prevalent password-only method is widely acknowledged, public keys have seen limited adoption in Secure Shell.
Using the Public Key Assistant in SecureCRT 4.0 or other VanDyke secure clients, users may transfer their public keys securely to the correct location on the server, without knowing any of the underlying complexities of public keys.
Public Key Assistant is the latest innovation from VanDyke Software for using public-key authentication to secure access to network systems," said Jeff Van Dyke, President of the company. "For several years, we have been adding public-key capabilities to SecureCRT, VShell and the rest of our secure product line, emphasizing interoperability and ease of use."
To foster the cross-platform adoption of public keys in Secure Shell, VanDyke is offering an extended version of the OpenSSH source code to its customers for free download. The extended source code can be compiled on Linux, UNIX, Solaris and other popular platforms to add the public key subsystem to the OpenSSH server.
