http://www.agranat.com/about_agranat/news/19990614.html
Digest Authentication provides secure Web login
Embedded Web guru co-authors new security Standard
Digest Authentication provides secure Web login
MAYNARD, Mass. June 14, 1999
Agranat Systems, Inc., providers of embedded Web technology for=20
access and management of home, business and network appliances, today=20
announced its participation in the development of a new security=20
standard for the World Wide Web. Agranat's Scott Lawrence teamed with=20
software engineers from Microsoft, Netscape Communications,=20
Northwestern University, Verisign, AbiSource, and Open Market to=20
develop HTTP/1.1 Digest Authentication. Released by the Internet=20
Engineering Task Force (IETF), Digest Authentication has been=20
published as RFC 2617 as part of the new standard for communication=20
between web browsers and servers.
The new Web security standard protects against outside hackers=20
copying a password and masquerading as a legitimate user.s. HTTP=20
Basic Authentication, the previous standard for Web login, sent the=20
password over the network unprotected, exposing it to theft. Digest=20
Authentication improves on the current Basic scheme by verifying the=20
identity of both parties connected. The user is identified to the Web=20
server and at the same time, the Web server to the user, to ensure=20
that each party is who he claims to be. Basic authentication only=20
provides one-way verification of the user.
Digest Authentication will be particularly important to the embedded=20
Web market. Emerging as the new wave of the Web, the exchange between=20
users and embedded Web devices has, until now, been unsecured. As=20
users increasingly communicate with appliances, the need to control=20
authorization is imminent. Recognizing this growing need for user=20
verification, Agranat will ship the new Digest Authentication in=20
EmWeb 5.1, their newest embedded server. EmWeb 5.1 will be the only=20
secure embedded server available on the market.
"Digest Authentication is a significant advancement for embedded Web=20
technology," said Scott Lawrence, director of research and=20
development of Agranat Systems, Inc. "With this issue of Web security=20
resolved weresolved we expect an accelerated market adoption of=20
embedded Web technology. Agranat's integral role in the development=20
of this standard proves that we are dedicated to meeting the embedded=20
market's security needs."
The importance of this standard has already been recognized as=20
Microsoft has integrated the Digest login scheme into their Internet=20
Explorer version 5.
=46or more information on the publication of this security application=20
please visit http://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc2617.txt
About Agranat Systems, Inc.
Agranat Systems Inc. is a software development company specializing=20
in embedded Web technologies for datacomm, telecomm, imaging and=20
other manufacturing industries seeking to provide added value and=20
competitive advantages for their products and customers by=20
implementing Web-based management capabilities. The EmWeb product=20
family offers the most efficient compiled environment, guaranteed=20
interoperability through Web standards compliance, development=20
flexibility, and Web server scalability. Organizations that have=20
licensed EmWeb technology include Hewlett-Packard, Bay Networks,=20
3Com, Nortel, Compaq, Lucent, Nokia, Cabletron and many other=20
companies worldwide. Agranat Systems is a member of the World Wide=20
Web consortium (W3C) and the Desktop Management Task Force (DMTF) and=20
actively participates on the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)=20
for Web standards development. To learn more about Agranat and EmWeb,=20
please visit Agranat's web site: http://www.agranat.com/. You may=20
also call corporate headquarters at 1 (978) 461-0888 or send E-mail=20
to sales@agranat.com.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
EmWeb is a registered trademark of Agranat Systems, Inc.. Other=20
brands and product names are trademarks of their respective owners.=20
Copyright (c) 1999 Agranat Systems, Inc.
This site is powered by EmWeb, the Web server developed by embedded=20
systems experts.
Copyright =A9 1999 Agranat Systems, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
EmWeb and EmStack are trademarks of Agranat Systems, Inc.
The EmWeb architecture is patent pending.