Securing access to corporate endpoints is made easy with RSA MFA Agent 2.0.1 for Microsoft Windows

[NandiniV]

In today’s ever-changing world, enterprises are striving to deploy the right identity management strategy that fits their current environment and future needs. Businesses with the traditional physical-office-only setup, have had to adapt and flex new muscles to enable remote access for their employees.

As the businesses shift the operations from office to home, remote working does come with its risks. Unprotected endpoints through which the workforce accesses the corporate network become easy targets. These laptops contain the organization’s sensitive data. Protecting these corporate endpoints and workstations with stronger multi-factor authentication is no longer a choice, it’s a necessity.

The timing couldn’t have been better for launching the latest RSA SecurID Access innovations, including RSA MFA Agent 2.0.1 or Microsoft Windows, considering the need to rapidly enable remote access to dynamic workforce leveraging the RSA Cloud Authentication Service. MFA Agent 2.0.1, built on a modern and secure interface, provides a seamless and consistent Windows sign-in experience from ground-to-cloud.

The traditional RSA Authentication Agent 7.4 connects to RSA Authentication Manager to provide strong and highly reliable authentication services. MFA Agent 1.2 built on REST interface, enables modern authentication such as push to approve and device biometrics leveraging RSA Cloud Authentication Service.

MFA Agent 2.0.1 merges the best of two worlds. It is a universal Agent leveraging RSA Authentication Manager 8.5 and the RSA Cloud Authentication Service to provide strong multi-factor authentication to users signing into Windows, both online and offline.

Boost Remote Productivity and Experience – With No Fail-Open

Enabling secure remote access is the top concern for organizations. Seamless and consistent authentication experience is no longer a second priority. When users are challenged for multi-factor authentication, they do not care if they are connected to an on-premises data center or cloud. They want convenience and consistency whether they are online or offline. With “no fail-open” offline authentication mechanisms, RSA ensures users are fully authenticated with strong multi-factor authentication even if they are offline. In addition to providing various options for online and offline authentication, MFA Agent 2.0.1 takes care of emergencies too. Users with lost or stolen authenticators or no network connectivity can now log on to Windows machines using Emergency Access codes without causing any disruptions.

More Power to Administrators - Dynamic workforce just got even more dynamic

The year 2020 saw a sharp increase in remote workers - comprising permanent employees, temporary workers, and third-party partners. In addition to provisioning remote access, you need to ensure the right authentication methods are enforced to the right people with the right assurance levels. Through the admin console, you can manage every user’s authentication requirements – from traditional hardware tokens to device biometrics. MFA 2.0.1 also offers administrators a slew of controls to tailor the authentication experience to meet their business needs. Policies are at your disposal to customize the settings such as - load balancing and failover mechanisms, user access with challenge groups, and password order changes. These additional controls not only empower the administrators but also provide greater flexibility.

Accelerate the journey to the cloud – Change doesn’t always have to be scary

Organizations are looking to modernize the authentication experience and migrate to the cloud. But are apprehensive about the possible disruptions it could cause to their current set-up. In that light, here are some key features to help you with this preparation. 

Connecting on-premises to the cloud: The proxy and high availability features of Authentication Manager 8.5 ensures the dynamic workforce is secured 24x7. If the cloud service becomes unavailable the RSA Authentication Manager takes over authentication requests. This hybrid approach ensures users are “always-on” and work as securely, reliably, and productively as those on the network.

Co-existence of Agents: Co-existence of traditional and MFA Agents allows you to take a phased approach. Break down the large deployment into smaller launch plans targeting the sub-population to leverage Cloud Authentication Service.

Migration & Upgrade Paths: For a smooth migration from the Authentication Agent 7.4 or later versions,  you can use the migration utility packaged with the installer. This ensures the policy settings are migrated automatically to the new policy templates.  Customers who are on MFA Agent 1.1 or later version can directly upgrade to MFA 2.0.1.

To learn more about the features see release notes.