PRESS RELEASE: The European Patent Office has granted SSH Communications Security Corporation a further patent for PrivX® technology

The European Patent Office has granted SSH Communications Security Corporation a further patent for PrivX® technology

Helsinki, Finland – January 20, 2021 – The European Patent Office (EPO) has granted SSH patent number EP 3495976 on the use of virtual smart cards in temporary certificate-based passwordless access such as the SSH PrivX technology.

Passwords are a hassle to use, and they present significant security risks for users and organizations of all sizes, with an average of one in every 250 corporate accounts compromised each month. The World Economic Forum (WEF) estimates that cybercrime costs the global economy $2.9 million every minute, with roughly 80 percent of those attacks directed at passwords. Furthermore, password management is very costly: according to the analyst firm Gartner, up to 20 to 50 percent of all help desk calls are for password resets.

The temporary certificate-based access concept used in PrivX removes the need for permanent privileged credentials or passwords altogether, helping customers implement a zero standing privileges (ZSP) strategy through a just-in-time (JIT) model.

The invention enables the extremely high security provided by traditional smart card-based authentication without the associated high cost of issuing plastic smart cards, maintaining them, and exchanging credentials. The invention lets enterprises use the existing and widely adopted smart card access infrastructure for PrivX based access, further lowering the cost and effort of implementing PrivX to provide secure access to critical systems, applications, and data.

PrivX authenticates users just-in-time based on their roles and entitlements and by using certificates that automatically expire after the authentication is complete. The patented innovation does not leave any standing credentials or passwords behind, and the users never handle or see any secrets. This mitigates the risk of privilege abuse, increases productivity, and reduces the complexity of Privileged Access Management.

"We are proud that EPO has further recognized the uniqueness of our PrivX technology and granted this patent,” said Dr. Teemu Tunkelo, CEO of  SSH.COM. "The patent validates the uniqueness of our core design choices of PrivX and gives it a sustainable differentiating edge in next-generation Privileged Access Management (PAM) tools. It also aligns well with recognized industry guidelines like Gartner’s zero standing privileges and just-in-time framework and Zero Trust authentication.”

SSH.COM has an extensive portfolio of patents or patent applications covering all key products and creates shareholder value by giving SSH.COM both the freedom to operate and significant product differentiation.

SSH COMMUNICATIONS SECURITY OYJ

Teemu Tunkelo
CEO

For further information, please contact:
Teemu Tunkelo, CEO, tel. +358 40 5499605

Distribution:
Nasdaq Helsinki Oy
Major media
www.ssh.com

About SSH Communications Security

SSH.COM helps organizations access, secure, and control their digital core – their critical data, applications, and services. We have over 3,000 customers worldwide, including 40 percent of Fortune 500 companies, many of the world's largest financial institutions, and major organizations in all verticals. We are committed to help­ing our customers thrive in the cloud era with solutions that offer secure access with zero inertia, zero friction, and zero credentials risk. SSH.COM sells online; through offices in North America, Europe, and Asia; and a global network of certified partners. The company's shares (SSH1V) are quoted on the NASDAQ Helsinki. For more information, visit www.ssh.com.