Entrust Customers

Qunara Inc. Builds Security Solution for Large Service Company

Qunara Inc. recently completed the implementation of an Entrust public-key infrastructure (PKI) for the head office of a large service company. This framework provides the head office and its franchises with a security architecture for exchanging sensitive information over the Internet. The company is also using this security infrastructure, in conjunction with Entrust/ICE™, for protecting information on the company's desktop computers. For reasons of confidentiality the security, the company has requested anonymity.

Customer's Objective
The company embarked on the development of a distributed database application for capturing confidential information at the franchise offices. Using standard database replication, the company planned to capture and consolidate information from its franchises into a single corporate database. The communications infrastructure for this database needed to support the daily exchange of high volumes of information and to be assembled in a manner that encouraged the franchises to participate. To satisfy these requirements and to keep communications costs under control, the company needed efficient communications and a system that minimized user intervention.

Solution
The Internet was selected as the most cost effective solution for communicating with its franchises. Deals were made between the company and several Internet Service Providers, which will fix the costs at a minimum. A routed Internet connection and a firewall were installed at the head office to protect the network. The franchises use dial-up connections.

The company selected a remote access product to provide scripted exchange of information. However, the implementation of automated database replication over the Internet raised concerns with the company's Security Manager, specifically with the authenticity and confidentiality of the data traveling over a public network. He was also interested in implementing a corporate security strategy that would integrate with the other informatics and security initiatives being planned. The security solution to be adopted had to be flexible in the event that the company acquired or lost franchises, or implemented other applications needing security.

The company contacted QUNARA INC because of its experience with secure remote access solutions and status as an Entrust Partner. After gaining a more detailed understanding of the company's requirements and its need for flexibility in the security solution, QUNARA INC suggested using Entrust for user authentication and to encrypt the Internet TCP/IP traffic. QUNARA INC had been working extensively with a number of technologies as part of its secure remote computing solution.

QUNARA INC was awarded a contract with the company to implement a pilot of an Entrust Public-Key Infrastructure, including the installation and configuration of Entrust, the X.500 directory, the authentication server and assistance with the integration of the remote access product. QUNARA INC sent a small team of engineers to install the solution and to help smooth out some of the integration issues with the company's environment. During the implementation, QUNARA INC worked closely with the Security Manager and provided the company with training on each of the products involved, knowledge transfer on their specific implementation, and access to the product development teams.

Advantages and Benefits
The company's pilot lasted about four months, during which they tested the reliability and integrity of the solution. QUNARA INC coordinated the development on minor enhancements to some of the products, to provide for a more tightly integrated solution that automated inter-company communications. QUNARA INC also provided assistance to the company's development team in their efforts to construct a single interface.

The Entrust PKI pilot proved successful and the company has now contracted with QUNARA INC for all the products and for annual support and maintenance. The upgrade of the pilot to full implementation was completed remotely, and followed up with a site visit to provide additional training and optimization of the X.500 directory, and a cross-certification test with another Entrust site. The company also acquired Entrust/Toolkit™ and copies of Entrust/ICE for its desktops. They are already looking at expanding the implementation to include additional franchises and a fully redundant infrastructure.

Authentication and Data Protection Solutions

Entrust security products are trusted by security experts and are known for their reputation for reliability and manageability. Our innovative suite of authentication solutions include digital certificates (including device certificates), two factor authentication and token security products that provide trusted security for less. Entrust's data protection solutions can help organizations meet regulatory mandates such as FFIEC or PCI security. For this reason, business and governments alike rely on Entrust over other solution providers and certification authorities to meet and exceed rigorous IT security requirements.