Oct 24 2009
Ricoh Americas Corporation, a leading provider of digital office equipment, today announced that its Common Access Card (CAC) Authentication Solution V2.0 is now available for exclusive use by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD).
This latest update to the smart card technology solution, developed in response to Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12) that requires strong and substantial evidence of an individual's identity to access the DoD's vast global computer infrastructure including connected multifunctional products (MFPs), now adds an enhanced Scan-to-Email feature.
Digital imaging systems have become the great enabler for sharing knowledge across an enterprise. However, advances in digital technology have now led to the unauthorized collection of confidential, classified and proprietary documents and data. Ricoh's CAC Authentication Solution V2.0 Scan-to-Email feature offers Scan with Digital Signature and Email Encryption through Secure/Multipurpose Internet Mail Extension (S/MIME), a technology that gives authenticated users the ability to digitally sign and encrypt email, allowing only recipients with associated private and public keys to decrypt a message.
The Scan-to-Email feature comes fully integrated into many Ricoh MFPs with 20 to 90 page-per-minute output speeds and requires users to insert their CAC into a reader on the MFP at walk-up. When a user selects Scan with Digital Signature, their user credentials are automatically embedded in the scanned document's file properties. A token encrypted with the sender's private key is then sent with the document to the recipient who confirms the authenticity using the sender's public key. This verifies the sender's signature, thus providing assurance of document integrity and accountability. When using Email Encryption, the sender uses the recipient's public key to encrypt and lock the email message/attachments. This protects the confidentiality of email communication as only the recipient with the correct key information can decrypt and unlock the email. Ricoh's CAC Authentication Solution V2.0 Scan-to-Email feature also supports AAA (Adaptable Authentication API) which allows for easy integration with other Ricoh and third party software, solutions and applications.
When it comes to encryption technology, the DoD often seeks products that are certified in compliance with the Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) Publication. Ricoh's CAC Authentication Solution V2.0 is currently pending FIPS 140-2 Level 1 certification. A U.S. government computer security standard, FIPS 140-2, issued by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), is used to accredit cryptographic modules that include both hardware and software components.
"With the many security threats the government faces, the U.S. Department of Defense needs assurance that their sensitive and classified information will not become compromised," said Hede Nonaka, executive vice president, Marketing & Document Services and Solutions Division, Ricoh Americas Corporation. "Ricoh's CAC Authentication Solution V2.0 gives the U.S. Department of Defense the peace of mind that their MFP resources are effectively safeguarded, therefore improving the security and enhancing the integrity of their electronic communications."
Source: http://www.ricoh-usa.com/