CLIENT STORY

Electrosoft assisted an independent oversight agency in obtaining Personal Identification Verification (PIV) cards for all agency personnel. Electrosoft also designed, configured and implemented an enterprise-wide mandatory PIV authentication solution to enable agency users to access on-premise and cloud applications.

PROBLEM

To align with federal mandates related to strong identification and authentication to access federal information systems, an independent oversight agency sought to transition away from username/password–based authentication and toward Homeland Security Presidential Directive-12 (HSPD-12) PIV card–compliant authentication and single sign-on (SSO) for on-premise as well as cloud-hosted applications.

SOLUTION

Electrosoft developed a process and rolling schedule to enable agency personnel (working at agency offices and at nearly 100 field sites) to obtain PIV cards through the GSA USAccess program. We designed, engineered, tested and deployed a solution to support mandatory PIV authentication for agency users working on site, remotely and in field environments and using agency workstations as well as mobile devices. We designed and configured the infrastructure to support network authentication, access to on-premise applications and integration of cloud-hosted capabilities (such as Microsoft Azure and Office 365) through SSO. Electrosoft ensured that the implementation met HSPD-12 requirements and standards, while maximizing the usability and security posture of the implementation.

RESULTS/BENEFITS

The solution Electrosoft developed put the agency on the path toward eliminating passwords – and password resets – across the entire enterprise environment. In addition, it ensured compliance with federal Identity, Credential and Access Management (ICAM) requirements while improving the agency’s overall security posture.