Redwood City, CA – February 5, 2007 – Authernative, Inc., the developer of innovative user authentication and identity management technologies, announced today that the European Patent Office has granted the company its patent for a user authentication method.

The newly issued patent number EP1434408 titled “Authentication System and Method Based upon Random Partial Pattern Recognition” describes a “what user knows” authentication method which provides stronger security than traditional passwords.

Unlike the standard static password recognition algorithm which requires the user to enter the entire password in one authentication session, the patented Random Partial Pattern Recognition algorithm requests only a random session-specific subset of the user’s credential. This technology significantly reduces the credential’s entropy leakage and renders one-time authentication responses difficult to compromise. Moreover, the method’s virtual keyboards and menus containing alpha-numeric characters, images or colors enable high combinatorial security and an easy cognitive way to select, remember, and enter the user’s credentials. The combination of these security and usability features provide stronger protection against known attacks while delivering a simple and more engaging user experience.

The patented technology is just one of the authentication methods available in Authernative’s AuthGuard® authentication product. Authernative was the first to pioneer what Gartner calls Versatile Authentication Server (VAS) — “a common enterprise infrastructure supporting multiple open and proprietary authentication methods. This approach enables an enterprise to use different forms of authentication depending on who is logging in, where the login is taking place and for what purpose. A VAS also gives an enterprise a simple means of migrating to new authentication methods as its needs change and new methods emerge.”1

AuthGuard® versatile authentication server offers a range of legacy and innovative authentication methods having scalable security, high usability, low total cost of ownership, and self-service capabilities. Authentication options include the following methods: legacy password, enhanced password, patented one-time challenge - one-time response, patent-pending next-generation out-of-band, and strong mutual authentication. These authentication factors, used alone or in combination, allow for one-factor, layered, and multi-factor authentication security. All are provided through a single product which allows the personalization of the level of security and the ease-of-use particular to users’ needs or companies’ policies - whether at service providers with millions of users, global enterprises, ASPs, or small and medium businesses.

Use of advanced authentication factors for stronger, layered, or multi-factor authentication is increasingly becoming a generally accepted approach around the world. However, key challenges remain not only when it comes to the ease-of-use, the cost to purchase, deploy, and manage authentication solutions, but also to provide a flexible range of options appropriate for different business requirements and user personalized choices. Authernative solutions best address these requirements.

About Authernative:

Authernative provides innovative patented software security solutions offering identity and access management capabilities including strong authentication, authorization, administration, and auditing. The company’s products are used to prevent unauthorized access to confidential data, protected resources, and financial transactions. They allow businesses to lower the cost of providing, deploying and managing strong user authentication for enabling e-commerce and addressing regulatory compliance requirements.

1. Gartner "Token Price Obscures the True Value of Entrust Offering" Ant Allan & Ray Wagner