Germany's Siemens Nixdorf said it is now making intranet security software, called TrustedWeb , which uses 128-bit encryption, available for free trial and download from the TrustedWeb Web site. The federal government has barred U.S. firms from exporting 128-bit encryption software. Siemens, however, is shipping the software from Ireland to other countries, including the United States, and is thus immune from domestic export controls, according to the company. The token, which lasts for ten hours, allows users to see information only at their authorized access level. Because TrustedWeb handles access control by role rather than by setting permissions for each employee, administration time is cut as much as 80 percent, according to the company.
Users have a secure single sign-on, so they only have to type in their name and password once.
TrustedWeb runs on Sun Solaris and Sinix, a popular Unix platform in Europe. A Windows NT version is planned for this summer. TrustedWeb client software runs on Windows and Windows NT and works with any Web browser. The software only monitors the HTTP protocol, said the company.