WASHINGTON, July 30, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Waverley Labs, a pioneer in Software Defined Perimeters (SDP) and digital risk reduction solutions, today announced it has been awarded a contract by the Department of Homeland Security’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program to develop a dynamic access identification solution to improve Identity Credential Access Management (ICAM) used by crisis and emergency managers.
First generation ICAM systems are long overdue for improvements and modernization because identity federation and managing access based upon ICAM guidelines during emergencies is still non-existent. Existing ICAM solutions are closed, place onerous restrictions on the trust mechanism, do not account for mobile environments and are static in nature.
Waverley’s proposal, titled Dynamic AccessID™ Network, was awarded through Announcement H-SB019.1-002 and will become part of the DHS S&T SBIR program.
Much like a banking ATM network where cards from other banks are accepted for cash dispensing from ATMs, Waverley Labs' AccessID™ is the first commercial infrastructure that provides the ability to dynamically associate disparate credentials and devices with first responder systems e.g. Physical security.
However, unlike bank ATMs that are static, Waverley’s AccessID™ network will have the capability to be dynamically set up during an emergency. The State of Virginia FRAC and the Homeland Security Information Network (HSIN) infrastructure are examples of government-run systems that are still struggling to get independent parties to participate because of their closed and static system approach where a priori trust is required.
Currently it is difficult to onboard systems that use federated credentials from untrusted parties. AccessID™ is designed to address this problem. Waverley’s Panther™ Software-Defined Perimeter (SDP) architecture enables the ability to dynamically vet, identify and onboard credentials and devices on-the-fly for limited access and authorized by the emergency managers while allowing system owners to control their ICAM policies.
AccessID™ enables, for the first time, the ability for crisis and emergency managers to standup adhoc networks, dynamically federate participants and onboard privately-owned systems on-the-fly while ensuring that access control continues to be managed by the system owners.
According to Stratistics MRC, the Global Identity & Access Management market is estimated at $7.94 billion in 2016 and is expected to reach $20.87 billion by 2022.
“We are proud to be selected to support this mission critical activity supporting first responders,” said Juanita Koilpillai, Founder of Waverley Labs. “Along with open source components and specifications vetted by the first responder community, this effort expands existing ICAM implementations to provide a more open, dynamic and inclusive crisis management capability for first responders to effortlessly engage systems while minimizing their risks to participate.”
The initial version of this adhoc network will be developed to demonstrate the use of existing credentials such as driver license, personal identification verification (PIV) cards, etc. for proofing identities while embracing the bring your own device (BYOD) paradigm. Implementations using existing identity provider and multi-level trust implementations such as ADFS, IBM etc. will help to leverage what exists to define open specifications for successful commercialization.
Software Defined Perimeters (SDPs) are emerging as a key component in a new security paradigm for protecting critical applications and infrastructure. The primary effect of the SDP is that it transforms the application infrastructure into an effectively invisible or "black cloud" environment that shows no domain name system (DNS) information or IP addresses.
Waverley Labs worked closely with the Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) to develop the first commercial SDP specification and recently co-authored the CSA’s new Software-Defined Perimeter (SDP) Architecture Guide.
To learn more about reducing risk using the SDP check out this white paper - Engineering Digital Risk Protections Using Software Defined Perimeter
About Waverley Labs
Waverley Labs is a leading provider of digital risk management software and services that helps large organizations reduce their exposure to digital risk. Its products and services range from the industry’s first open source software defined perimeters (SDPs) for large federal agencies, to the assessment, quantification, and mitigation of digital risk from the business perspective. Waverley Labs’ automated analysis and visualization capabilities provide business leaders, risk officers and CISOs with an at-a-glance view of business risks prioritized according to business impact and recommended risk mitigations. Waverley Labs works closely with NIST and the Cloud Security Alliance to provide thought leadership in digital risk management. For more information visit http://www.waverleylabs.com, or call (800) 401-5180.
CONTACT:
Carter B. Cromley
ccromley@waverleylabs.com
(703) 861-7245