02.6.2018 - Optimal IdM Chief Revenue Officer Mike Brengs to Preside on Panel at the 2018 KNOW Identity Conference
Optimal IdM, a leading provider of Identity and Access Management (IAM) solutions, today announced it will preside on a panel at the OWI 2018 KNOW Identity Conference March 26-28 at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, D.C. Mike Brengs, Chief Revenue Officer, Optimal IdM will discuss, “Rethinking Identity Management in the Enterprise” on Tues., March 27 at 1:30 p.m. “Given recent technological advancements and new methods on the horizon, many enterprises are experiencing dramatic shifts in identity management,” said Brengs. “This session will provide practical strategies for transformation and explain how identity holds the key to securing critical data and infrastructure, while delivering the convenient access users demand.” Brengs has over 20 years of experience in the software industry and has been deploying identity management solutions since joining OpenNetwork Technologies in 2000 (acquired by BMC Software), and later with Oblix (acquired by Oracle). Brengs attended the University of South Florida where he earned an undergraduate degree in Management Information Systems and is a Microsoft Certified Professional holding the following certifications: Microsoft Certified Professional 2003, Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator 2003 and Security+. “Pairing a unique and diversified program with the world’s leading identity experts just makes sense,” said Travis Jarae, Co-Founder and CEO of OWI. “In 2017, we had over 120 speakers, including more than 70 C-Level executives. We are proud to have Optimal IdM join our speaker lineup and share their invaluable knowledge, experience and strategies with our attendees.” ...
02.5.2018 - Old Logins are White Hot on the Dark Market: American Security Today
Employers have faith that most of their workers are trustworthy. So when an employee falls for a phishing scam, bosses assume it was an innocent mistake that could happen to anyone. But some of those employees aren’t as innocent as they appear. In a recent study, 27 percent of people employed by large corporations said they would sell their corporate passwords for as little as $150. Read the full article at American Security Today. ...
02.5.2018 - Optimal IdM Featured On PCMag Best Identity Management Solutions List of 2018
Optimal IdM is featured on the Best Identity Management Solutions list of 2018 put out by PCMag. Optimal IdM received 4 stars and an editor rating of Excellent. See the complete matrix here. ...
01.22.2018 - Enterprise CIO
The shortcomings of single sign-on in the age of information security. ...
01.11.2018 - Optimal IdM Honored with Homeland Security Award from Government Security News
Optimal IdM, a leading provider of Identity and Access Management (IAM) solutions, today announced it has been named “Best Multifactor Authentication Solution” of the 2017 Government Security News (GSN) Homeland Security Awards (HSA) Program under the Cyber Security Products and Solutions category. Announced in January of 2018, the 9th annual award program’s judging in this category is based on a combination of client organization, technological innovation or improvement, filling a recognized government IT security need and flexibility of a solution to meet current and future organizational needs. According to Lead Judge, Chuck Brooks, “Each year the quality and scope of the submissions makes it more difficult to judge. They are all deserving. There are no inferior security products or services that I evaluated – they are all stellar. The approaches and methods sometimes differ among the entries and that is largely because they are highly focused on their specific client needs. As to the government entries, these submissions exemplify the best in public/private cooperation. Government is moving rapidly into the digital era and integrating technologies, processes and accordingly new mandates of their government agencies and programs.” The Optimal Authentication Service (OAS) from Optimal IdM is a multi-factor authentication-as-a-service offering that allows customers to implement a variety of MFA solutions using their existing web and non-web applications. As a MFA service, OAS helps prevent phishing and man-in-the-middle attacks by delivering push notifications to a user’s registered mobile device which optionally works with fingerprint enabled systems. OAS includes time-based one-time password (TOTP) and traditional one-time passcodes (OTP) that can be sent via short message service (SMS), email or voice calls. Each can be used as a stand-alone option or in conjunction with a complete IAM program. The service can also be used to provide passwordless access to applications by leveraging mobile device push authentication. “We are honored to be acknowledged as the industry’s best technology for multifactor authentication solutions,” said John Maring, COO & Managing Partner of Optimal IdM. “The HSA award inspires us to continue to set the standard for innovative and affordable multifactor solutions, as well as deliver superior customer service.” Optimal IdM was also recently positioned by Gartner, Inc. in the Niche Players quadrant of the Magic Quadrant for Access Management, Worldwide, named a Leader in KuppingerCole Leadership Compass Identity as a Service: Single Sign-On to the Cloud Report, and featured on the Best Identity Management Solutions list of 2017 by PC Magazine. Optimal IdM received 4 stars and an editor rating of Excellent. ...
12.18.2017 - Keeper Security Patches Password Protection Flaw Reported by Google
Optimal IdM provides a few best practices to keep passwords safe including this quote on multi-factor authentication (MFA). “2FA does a good job of allowing only individual account owners access to their login credentials,” Bohren said. “If hackers do succeed in guessing a password, they must still breach additional authentication steps before they can reach important data.” Continue reading the full story on eSecurity Planet. ...
12.12.2017 - Optimal IdM Chief Software Engineer Jeff Bohren to Present at InfoSec World 2018
Optimal IdM, a leading provider of Identity and Access Management (IAM) solutions, today announced it will be presenting at InfoSec World 2018 Conference and Expo, March 19-21 at Disney’s Contemporary Resort, Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Jeff Bohren, Chief Software Engineer, Optimal IdM will discuss, “Bridging the Protocol Gap on Cloud Identity Projects” on Mon., March 19 at 3:20 p.m. The breakout session will help attendees learn the origin of protocols and when to use them, best options to use with mobile apps, how to deal with situations outside of specifications and security concerns to consider. “Bridging the divide between newer authorization and federation protocols, such as OAuth2 and OpenID and connecting to older federation protocols like SAML2 and WS-Federation, presents some unique challenges,” said Bohren. “We will discuss those challenges and look at some practical, real-world solutions.” Bohren has over 30 years of software development and architecture experience and over 20 years of knowledge in identity management and federation. He served on several OASIS technical committees including SAML, SPML, and DSMLv2. He was the BMC Software representative to OASIS, Project Liberty, and OpenAuthentication.org. “InfoSec World 2018 brings together practitioners, researchers, and experts at every level to create an interactive forum that helps security professionals learn about the latest advances in cybersecurity and the critical threats facing their organizations,” said Katherine Teitler, Director of Content, MISTI. “We are especially pleased with the content that will be presented at this year’s conference and are proud to have Optimal IdM join our program lineup. The knowledge, experience, and strategies shared will be invaluable to InfoSec World attendees.” InfoSec World 2018 features expert keynote addresses, stimulating panel discussions and interactive roundtables, hands-on tech labs, as well as informative breakout sessions. Additionally, pre- and post-conference workshops and summits on CISO Leadership, Cloud Security, and Privacy and Risk are scheduled. To top it off, this gathering provides a rare opportunity for information security professionals to network in an intimate yet vibrant setting, with more than 1,000 attendees from a range of industries, professional backgrounds, and countries. ...
11.8.2017 - Optimal IdM Now OpenID Connect Certified
Optimal IdM, a leading provider of Identity and Access Management (IAM) solutions, today announced it has received OpenID Connect (OIDC) certifications Basic OP and Implicit OP for The OptimalCloud, strengthening security, compatibility and performance for its customers. OpenID Connect Certification is a program that enables organizations to certify that their OpenID Connect implementations conform to specified profiles of the OpenID Connect standard. The certification program is a tool to ensure that implementations by different parties will successfully interoperate. The OpenID Foundation is a non-profit organization that manages the efforts to increase adoption of the OpenID standard across the web. ...
09.26.2017 - Optimal IdM Honored with CyberSecurity Breakthrough Award
Tampa, FL, Sept. 26, 2017 – Optimal IdM, a leading provider of Identity and Access Management (IAM) solutions, today announced it has been awarded the CyberSecurity Breakthrough Award for Multifactor Solution of the Year. CyberSecurity Breakthrough is an independent organization that recognizes the top companies, technologies and products in the global information security market today. “We are honored to receive the award of Multifactor Solution of the Year, said Mike Brengs, Managing Partner, Optimal IdM. “This recognition clearly validates Optimal IdM’s leadership in identity management and our influence within the global cybersecurity sector. Our customers receive a customizable enterprise identity management solution that meets their specific security and scalability needs at an affordable price. It is The Optimal Difference that puts us ahead of the competition.” OptimalMFA™ is a multi-factor authentication-as-a-service offering that allows customers to implement a variety of MFA solutions using their existing on-prem or cloud federation solutions. OptimalMFA includes Time-based One-Time Password (TOTP), Short Message Service (SMS), Email and Push Authentication. Each can be used as a stand-alone option or in conjunction with a complete Identity Access and Management (IAM) program. The mission of the CyberSecurity Breakthrough Awards is to honor excellence and recognize the innovation, hard work and success in a range of information security categories, including Cloud Security, Threat Detection, Risk Management, Fraud Prevention, Mobile Security, Email Security, and many more. This year’s program attracted more than 2,000 nominations from over 12 different countries throughout the world. All nominations were evaluated by an independent panel of experts within the information security industry. ...
08.22.2017 - Optimal IdM Appoints Industry Veteran Mark Foust as Director of Worldwide Sales
Former Microsoft sales executive to oversee new demand following accelerated growth Tampa, FL, Aug. 22, 2017 – Optimal IdM, a leading provider of Identity and Access Management (IAM) solutions, today announced it has appointed Mark Foust as Director of Worldwide Sales. He brings over 16 years of sales experience from Microsoft. “We have been experiencing accelerated growth with the recent roll-out of our Optimal Authentication Service and accolades from leading analyst firms Gartner and KuppingerCole. Also, CIO’s are recognizing the acute need for managed services and that IAM is the foundation of a robust security program,” said Mike Brengs, Managing Partner. “To meet that demand, we are pleased to announce the addition of Mark Foust to our senior staff. Mark’s strong background and significant contributions in these areas will accelerate Optimal IdM’s influence within the industry.” Foust has held multiple roles including Hybrid Cloud Solution Sales and Technology Strategist for Microsoft where he interfaced with CxOs, IT Directors, System Integrators and software partners within the commercial and government technology sectors. Prior, he was a senior consultant for Novell and has authored and contributed to several books on Directory Services. As Director of Worldwide Sales, Foust will be responsible for managing global sales strategy and revenue generation. ...
