City of Winter Park Looks to DigitalPersona Software for Stronger Security and CJIS Compliance

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Jan. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- The City of Winter Park has selected DigitalPersona, Inc., a leader in fingerprint identity and authentication solutions, to help address the two-factor authentication component of Criminal Justice Information System (CJIS) mandates. Located in Central Florida, The City of Winter Park employs approximately 550 people who serve more than 28,000 residents. The City chose DigitalPersona® Pro and DigitalPersona® Privacy Manager Pro to help secure access to networks and applications used by employees at city hall; central facilities including vehicle maintenance and the department of motor vehicles (DMV), electric division, and water plants; as well as emergency vehicles such as police cars and fire trucks.  DigitalPersona's software tightly integrates into the City's existing systems, including Active Directory Services, Naviline and "green screen" AS/400 applications. Additionally, DigitalPersona Privacy Manager Pro enables sensitive information to be protected through digital signing and encryption of email and documents.

"CJIS mandates advanced authentication.  In evaluating solutions, finding an easy-to-use solution was critical," said George Maldonado, systems administrator for the City of Winter Park. "DigitalPersona fit seamlessly into our existing infrastructure and City employees have embraced the solution. This is especially crucial for our first responders in the Police and Fire Departments which can't be slowed down by a new system that is difficult to use."

Before choosing DigitalPersona fingerprint authentication, the City of Winter Park relied on usernames and passwords to secure networks and applications. According to the CJIS mandate, however, the City needed to implement "advanced authentication" such as biometrics, public key infrastructure, smart cards or token-based devices in addition to typical security methods such as usernames and passwords. According to the City of Winter Park, DigitalPersona biometric authentication addressed the City's need for a security solution that could not be shared between users and wouldn't get in the way of performing critical public and emergency services. Because of the ease-of-use and widespread acceptance of the DigitalPersona solution by the City's employees, the City's IT department has already met the deadline for compliance with the CJIS Security Policy.

"Strict regulations are being put in place across the U.S. to better safeguard confidential information," said Jim Fulton, vice president of marketing, DigitalPersona. "Fingerprint biometrics strengthens security and compliance while remaining easy to use. DigitalPersona Pro software helps a wide range of organizations address compliance mandates without disrupting ongoing operations."  

DigitalPersona Pro is centrally managed software that allows organizations to implement stronger authentication policies and strengthen compliance. It integrates with Microsoft Active Directory, enabling IT organizations to use their existing servers and management processes. DigitalPersona Pro helps organizations such as the City of Winter Park protect access to computers, networks and confidential data. When combined with DigitalPersona Privacy Manager Pro, users can also digitally sign and encrypt documents and email. In addition, Privacy Manager Pro helps streamline document approval workflows and allows organizations to share information more safely.

For additional information on DigitalPersona products, please visit: http://www.digitalpersona.com.

About DigitalPersona

DigitalPersona, Inc. is a leading provider of fingerprint identity and authentication solutions for enterprises, custom application developers and consumers. The company offers software and hardware that protects people and businesses by enabling them to control their digital identities. For end users, DigitalPersona provides strong identity protection that's uniquely easy to use; the company's business solutions help organizations address growing security, compliance and loss prevention demands. DigitalPersona's award-winning technology has been used worldwide by over 95 million people, and its solutions are offered by market-leading manufacturers such as HP, Dell, IBM and NCR. For more information contact DigitalPersona, Inc. at +1 650.474.4000, or visit www.digitalpersona.com.    

© 2010 DigitalPersona, Inc. All rights reserved. DigitalPersona is a trademark of DigitalPersona, Inc. registered in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

SOURCE DigitalPersona, Inc.