Verizon Business, Symark Craft Government Bundle

Verizon Business announced yesterday that it will integrate
access management software and applications from Symark into the assortment of
products and services it bundles for government customers.

Designed to better aid federal agencies in complying with
the access control and accountability requirements mandated by updated Federal
Information Security Management Act (FISMA) regulations, Verizon Business’ new partnership
with Agoura Hills, Calif.-based Symark brings the Symark PowerSeries suite into
the Verizon Business fold. According to Verizon Business executives, the move
augments and complements the set of identity management products picked up
through the company’s landmark acquisition in 2007.

“Verizon Business, through its acquisition of Cybertrust and
its identity management solution, acquired a strong capability to help its
customers efficiently manage user identities across multiple systems and
applications,” Susan Zeleniak, group president of Verizon Business’ Verizon
Federal division, said in a statement. “Adding Symark’s PowerSeries solutions
enables Verizon Business to even more comprehensively help agencies manage user
activities and address insider threats."

PowerSeries focuses on password management and provisioning
within heterogeneous UNIX and Linux environments. It also helps extend
ActiveDirectory access control into Unix and Linux environments in order to
create a single sign-on infrastructure across Windows, Unix and Linux servers.

The deal between Verizon Business and Symark comes right on
the heels of the publication of the final draft of the National Institute for
Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication 800-53, Revision 3.
Published on Aug. 3, this <a href=” http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/nistpubs/800-53-Rev3/sp800-53-rev3-final.pdf”>Guide
for Assessing the Security Controls in Federal Information Systems and
Organizations</a> lays the foundation for a standard set of security
controls across civilian and military agencies in the federal government.