East Orange Police Department Using RSA Security to Help Lock Down the Department’s Crime Reports, Arrest Files and Criminal Records
Bedford, MA— RSA Security Inc. (NASDAQ: RSAS), the most trusted name in e-security®, today announced it has joined forces with the East Orange Police Department (EOPD) in New Jersey to help the department gain rapid access to sensitive data to investigate crimes, arrest offenders and work closely with the community to solve problems of crime and neighborhood disorder. With ultra-sensitive information at rest and in transit on computer systems both inside the headquarters and on the road in squad cars, EOPD started an information security initiative based on RSA Security technology to help ensure the privacy of sensitive departmental information and the authenticity of individuals who access the information. The department will be utilizing RSA ACE/Server® software with RSA SecurID® 3100 multi-application smart cards and keyfob tokens, and RSA Keon® Desktop digital certificate management software to help ensure the integrity of departmental communications, files and computer systems.
At the East Orange Police Department’s headquarters, more than 25 officers use RSA SecurID tokens to log onto their workstations and authenticate onto the EOPD network. RSA SecurID authenticators function like an ATM card for a network. Users must identify themselves with two unique factors — something they know (PIN) and something they have (an RSA SecurID authenticator) — before they are granted access to confidential network resources. Because computers at EOPD’s headquarters can be easily accessed by anyone walking through the office, it was paramount to issue authentication tokens to the force to help ensure only authorized police officers could access the sensitive information on EOPD’s desktops.
“Within the law enforcement and public safety communities, the effective, secure use of information isn't just a question of improving operational efficiency, it’s a matter of community safety,” said Chief Charles Grimes of the East Orange Police Department. “Since East Orange is functioning as a pilot program for the rest of the police departments in New Jersey, we felt it was very important to go with RSA Security, which is the most reliable name in security. RSA Security is helping make our police more efficient and the data they access more secure, in order to create a safer community in which to live, work and play.”
The EOPD is also deploying RSA SecurID multi-application smart cards to officers in the field. Each police officer’s digital identity is stored on an RSA Security smart card, enabling field officers to authenticate their identity before accessing the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s National Crime Information Center (NCIC) criminal database from a Mobile Data Terminal (MDT) and gaining physical access to restricted departmental buildings. RSA SecurID smart cards provide the same level of security as the traditional token, and also protect digital credentials used to encrypt local files, secure Web and e-mail sessions and access to buildings. The smart cards authenticate field officers before they can access, send or verify information on an MDT. In addition to providing secure access to the NCIC criminal database, RSA Security helps secure the data accessed from the terminal. This enables real-time communication to support investigations. The smart card is also used by officers to gain physical access to restricted departmental buildings.
For example, if an EOPD detective was investigating a burglary of a local resident, the detective could take a fingerprint sample from the scene of the crime. Then, after logging into the Mobile Data Terminal in his/her car with an RSA SecurID smart card, the detective could send the fingerprint sample through the MDT and match the print to a fingerprint in the NCIC data base, verifying the identity of the thief while in the field. Thus, the resolution of criminal investigations is accelerated.
“The East Orange Police Department is one of the leaders in law enforcement technology in the North East,” said Norman Price, network administrator at EOPD. “We believe that since crime is advancing to the Internet and computer related crimes, law enforcement agencies must remain one step ahead of the criminals. RSA Security offers the security solutions needed to safeguard our sensitive information.”
“Security is a great concern, both inside and outside of the technology world,” said John Worrall, vice president of product marketing at RSA Security. “East Orange’s implementation of technology for physical and information security illustrates that all businesses, ranging from e-businesses to police departments, require security technology. RSA Security has extensive experience in the national government market and is happy to begin working more with local government customers such as East Orange.”
Enhancing desktop security for the EOPD is RSA Keon Desktop, which makes it easier for end users to employ the security features enabled by a sophisticated public key infrastructure (PKI). The RSA Keon Desktop supports several methods of file encryption that are flexible, easy-to-use and fully integrated into the operating system via Windows Explorer. Desktop-protected folders enable the user to transparently encrypt files by moving them into the folder. The easy-to-use encryption technology helps make it easy for officers to encrypt files on the MDT and securely transmit sensitive information to and from the MDT in a squad car.
About RSA Security Inc.
RSA Security Inc., the most trusted name in e-security, helps organizations build secure, trusted foundations for e-business through its RSA SecurID two-factor authentication, RSA ClearTrust® Web access management, RSA BSAFE® encryption and RSA Keon digital certificate management product families. With approximately one billion RSA BSAFE-enabled applications in use worldwide, more than ten million RSA SecurID authentication users and almost 20 years of industry experience, RSA Security has the proven leadership and innovative technology to address the changing security needs of e-business and bring trust to the online economy. RSA Security can be reached at www.rsasecurity.com.
