Centrify Signs Protocol Patent Agreement With Microsoft

SUNNYVALE, Calif., Sept. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Centrify Corporation, the leading provider of security and compliance solutions to secure cross-platform data centers using Microsoft® Active Directory®, today announced that it signed a patent licensing agreement with Microsoft that will further the security of communications for remote users and for organizations using cloud environments. Centrify uses the licensed technology to enable organizations to have seamless, secure access to cross-platform servers from their mobile Windows 7 systems using DirectAccess. The flagship Centrify Suite includes the licensed technology and provides systems with secure communications into the cloud or within the cloud.

By extending the Microsoft Active Directory and Group Policy technologies into a cross-platform environment, Centrify applies the security capabilities to protect an organization's server to server communication by encrypting data-in-motion, restricting access to meet compliance requirements, and ensuring that control over these capabilities is available only to designated, privileged users.  The Centrify Suite also enables Windows 7 systems to use Microsoft DirectAccess to communicate with non-Windows servers in the same secure way that they do with Windows servers.

"Microsoft is committed to increasing the security of all systems in the data center and into the cloud," said David Kaefer, general manager of Intellectual Property Licensing at Microsoft. "Solutions from Centrify that extend Microsoft technology across cross-platform environments provide more security and increase manageability for IT administrators."

The patent license covers a broad range of protocol specifications that Microsoft has developed and extended for IP Security (IPsec) and Authenticated IP (AuthIP) which are core technologies that form the backbone of Microsoft DirectAccess. The license also includes all Microsoft Active Directory and Windows Group Policy protocols and patents. These enhance Centrify's ability to deliver innovative solutions such as Centrify DirectSecure which applies server and domain isolation (SDI) to non-Windows systems.

"People want to be confident that mobile users and remote computing resources are just as secure as they would be inside their own building," said Frank Cabri, vice president of marketing for Centrify. "Now, using Centrify solutions, they can deploy the same policies to protect their communication to their diverse, cloud-based infrastructure that they used to secure communications between local Windows 7 systems and Windows Server 2008."

Through the agreement, customers will have confidence that the Centrify technologies they use and deploy in their environments (or are deployed on their behalf in the cloud) are both technically and legally compliant with Microsoft's intellectual property. Customers can be assured that Centrify and Microsoft have a defined relationship as we apply these technologies for the benefit of their mutual customers.

About Centrify

Centrify is the leader in securing and auditing access to cross-platform systems and applications through Active Directory. From the data center and into the cloud, Centrify's identity consolidation and privilege management solutions are used by over 2500 organizations to reduce IT expenses, strengthen security and meet compliance requirements. For more information about Centrify and its solutions, call +1 (408) 542-7500 or visit www.centrify.com

Centrify and DirectControl are registered trademarks and Centrify Suite, DirectAudit, DirectSecure and DirectAuthorize are trademarks of Centrify Corporation. Other names used in this document are trademarks of their respective companies.

SOURCE Centrify Corporation