Michigan State University Federal Credit Union Deploys DigitalPersona Pro to Simplify Password Management and Strengthen Security

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Nov. 10, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- DigitalPersona, Inc., a global provider of authentication and endpoint protection solutions, today announced Michigan State University Federal Credit Union (MSUFCU) has deployed DigitalPersona® Pro software and U.are.U® Fingerprint Readers.  The DigitalPersona solution eliminates the need for employees to remember and manually type separate strong passwords to more than 60 applications.  DigitalPersona Pro uses fingerprint biometrics to verify the user's identity, and then securely and automatically enters the appropriate password needed for each application.  As a result, MSUFCU has improved customer service times and reduced overall risk.

MSUFCU is one of the largest university-based credit unions with more than $1.8 billion in assets and more than 153,000 members.  The Credit Union has more than 300 employees who access over 60 applications to handle everything from transactions with the Federal Reserve or American Express to inputting daily timecards.  Given the high access security requirements of these applications, employees must change each application's password every 90 days.  MSUFCU's security policies require the use of strong passwords that contain three or more types of characters, such as lower or upper case letters, numbers or symbols, making password memorization a major challenge.  The Credit Union sought a solution that could simplify application login to improve customer service and overall productivity while improving the protection of confidential data.  MSUFCU selected the DigitalPersona Pro software to solve these challenges.

"Our members require fast, accurate service," said Debbie Serrano, network technician, MSUFCU.  "DigitalPersona Pro provides us with an enterprise-class authentication and single sign-on solution without the large price tag that often comes with big enterprise security solutions.  The system integrated seamlessly into our environment and enables us to reduce our business risk while allowing employees to do what they do best – focus on assisting our members.  Instead of getting frustrated with having to remember dozens of complex passwords, now they simply use their finger to log in."

DigitalPersona Pro is a centrally-managed suite of security applications that guards business information against unauthorized access.  DigitalPersona Pro protects data and controls access to computers and applications, providing features such as strong biometric fingerprint authentication and single sign-on that enable businesses to increase security and achieve compliance while reducing costs.  MSUFCU leverages DigitalPersona Pro's single sign-on functionality to free users from having to memorize numerous frequently-changing passwords. With DigitalPersona Pro, MSUFCU employees use biometric fingerprint authentication to log in to applications.

"The emerging trend of requiring strong, frequently-changing passwords for both applications and Windows login is turning password management into an even bigger issue than ever before.  As businesses of all sizes add more applications, the resulting password sprawl places a tremendous strain on employees and the helpdesks that support them," said Jim Fulton, vice president of marketing, DigitalPersona, Inc. "By integrating strong authentication with single sign-on, DigitalPersona Pro provides organizations with an effective way to reduce the problems and expenses of managing passwords while boosting overall security."

About DigitalPersona

DigitalPersona, Inc. is a global provider of authentication and endpoint protection solutions that make security simple, practical and affordable for businesses of all sizes. The company helps enterprises, government agencies, custom application developers and independent software vendors to efficiently address growing security, compliance and fraud-prevention demands. DigitalPersona's award-winning technology is offered by market-leading computer manufacturers and solution providers around the world. For more information contact DigitalPersona, Inc. at: +1 650.474.4000, or visit www.digitalpersona.com.

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

SOURCE DigitalPersona, Inc.