NetSuite, CA team on cloud security

Software developer NetSuite, which focuses on cloud-based financial and enterprise resource planning platforms, has formed a partnership with IT security firm CA Technologies to launch NetSuite’s Two-Factor Authentication security for enterprise customers. The new solution is designed to integrate with CA Arcot WebFort, CA Technologies’ authentication solution.

The result, the two companies say, is enterprise-grade security-as-a-service across ERP, CRM, ecommerce and PSA platforms.

One of the hurdles the combined platform is designed to address is usernames and passwords as authentication methods. The combined new system addresses the risk of identity theft and online fraud by requiring the second factor to access Web resources—as NetSuite and CA describe it, pairing “something you have” (a cryptographic token) with “something you know” (a password).

According to a report in PC World’s website, the rollup will make authentication more accessible for smaller enterprises:

While NetSuite had already offered two-factor authentication, which couples the usual username and password with an encrypted token, the CA partnership takes the technology to an “enterprise” level, [Paul Turner, senior director of product marketing] said. Moreover, the cost of such a system would typically be quite burdensome for a midsized company, he said. “We can run this very, very efficiently.”

The NetSuite and CA Arcot WebFort two-factor approach supports cryptographic tokens adhering to the industry's Open Authentication (OATH) standard, the companies said.