Intel and Symantec in authentication 'game changer'

Processor

Intel and Symantec have hooked up to combine their technologies for an authentication "game changer."

The world is yet to see any fruits of Intel's McAfee acquisition, but the chip giant has teamed up with security industry leader Symantec for a product due out in March.

The pair have brought together Symantec's VeriSign Identity Protection (VIP) credential and Intel's Identity Protection Technology (IPT).

Intel IPT with VIP authentication will be availale on those systems featuring second generation Intel Core processors.

By embedding the security technology onto the chip, businesses will no longer need to download new credentials and the whole area of authentication within the enterprise should be faster and easier to manage, Symantec said.

Businesses will be able to benefit from the powers of both technologies upon release.

IPT generates one-time passwords that change at regular intervals to help protect users identities, whilst VIP offers the chance to use an additional six-digit security code to work on top of usernames and passwords.

With so much authentication to crack, hackers should find it fairly hard to break into corporate networks.

"The combination of our proven VIP service with Intel IPT provides users with a new level of built-in' strong authentication that has never been available before or easier to use," said Atri Chatterjee, vice president of User Authentication at Symantec.

"By synchronising VIP with the Intel chipset, we have created the first ever strong authentication credential that you will never see but will always have in your PC."

Tom Brewster

Tom Brewster is currently an associate editor at Forbes and an award-winning journalist who covers cyber security, surveillance, and privacy. Starting his career at ITPro as a staff writer and working up to a senior staff writer role, Tom has been covering the tech industry for more than ten years and is considered one of the leading journalists in his specialism.

He is a proud alum of the University of Sheffield where he secured an undergraduate degree in English Literature before undertaking a certification from General Assembly in web development.