Intercede®, the producer of MyID®, a world-leader in identity and credential management systems, today announced a partnership with NitroDesk the global provider of the No. 1 Exchange ActiveSync? email solution for mobile devices, to provide secure email solutions on iOS devices such as the iPhone and iPad, that are compatible with PIV cards.

Building on NitroDesk's market-leading email client, TouchDownTM, and Intercede's proven track record in smart card and credential management, the special MyID PIV-enabled edition of TouchDown offers the ability to easily exchange signed and encrypted emails protected by keys and certificates held securely on a PIN-protected PIV smart card.

Standards based smart cards such as PIV, PIV-I, CIV and TWIC, have become the gold standard of security in U.S. federal government and associated organizations, providing strong authentication of an individual when accessing corporate resources such as buildings or computer systems. While these cards work well on desktop computers equipped with smart card readers, the same security and ease of use benefits are more difficult to deliver on mobile devices, where the siloed approach of smartphone apps does not naturally fit with smart card usage.

The Intercede and NitroDesk partnership makes extending the benefits of PIV card security to mobile devices easy. The MyID mobile credential management libraries embedded into the NitroDesk TouchDown email client make it credential aware, allowing smart cards to be used in a similar manner as on a desktop computer. This enables organizations to provide secure yet simple communications solutions both in the office and in the field using a combination of COTS product and readily available consumer electronic devices.

"Email is the primary method of information sharing for two thirds of organizations but using a non-secured mechanism leaves them open to a range of threats," said Richard Parris, CEO of Intercede. "The bring your own device (BYOD) trend and increased use of consumer devices means securing mobile communications is a challenge many of our customers are looking to solve. By partnering with NitroDesk, our shared expertise delivers a cost-effective, easy-to-use and highly secure solution for mobile communications, enabling organizations to benefit from both improved security and increased efficiency."

Commenting on the partnership, Ron Goins, chief operating officer at NitroDesk said: "The integration of the Intercede MyID technology with the TouchDown client allows government and enterprise customers to maintain the security of their sensitive data while ensuring compliance with their organization's credential management and security policies in a BYOD environment. This is a huge win for those who must meet these requirements, as well as their IT organizations that need to manage the devices and data security."

Notes to editors

  • The special version of NitroDesk TouchDown uses embedded MyID mobile credential management libraries to make it smart card aware
  • Combined with a smart card reader for iOS devices such as the Tactivo? from Precise Biometrics, the solution works with PIV (Personal Identity Verification), PIV-I (PIV-Interoperable), CIV (Commercial Identity Verification) and TWIC (Transport Worker Identification Credential) smart cards
  • The solution enables email signing, encryption and decryption ensuring secure data exchange at-rest and in-transit between known and trusted individuals

Follow Intercede (@IntercedeMyID) on Twitter.

About Intercede

Intercede® is a security software provider whose MyID® identity management platform enables global organizations and governments to create trusted digital identities for employees and citizens on secure devices such as smart cards, smartphones and tablets. MyID enables the protection of IP, assets, and digital content, delivering trusted digital identities as the cornerstone of cyber security strategies for government, defense, financial services and other industries. Intercede has been developing ID management systems since 1992 and MyID is currently deployed by end customers located in 24 countries. The company is headquartered in the United Kingdom, listed on the London Stock Exchange AIM: IGP and ISO 9001 and TickIT certified. For more information please visit www.intercede.com.

About NitroDesk

Founded in March 2008, NitroDesk Inc. is the leading provider of secure ActiveSync email solutions for the Android and iOS and Windows RT/8 platforms. The company has nearly 2 million licensed users from Fortune 100 companies to SMBs located across the globe and in nearly every industry vertical. NitroDesk is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington. For more information, please visit NitroDesk online. Copyright (C) 2012 NitroDesk

Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone, iPod and iPad are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. All other trademarks and trade names are the property of their respective owners.

Racepoint Group
Leslie Clavin, 415-694-6717
lclavin@racepointgroup.com