Computing giant IBM announced the purchase of Encentuate, a Redwood City, Calif.-based sign sign-on vendor. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Encentuate’s software manages user passwords, sign-ons, sign-offs and enforces security policies. It enabled I.T. administrators to integrate legacy and new applications into the single sign-on technology.

The system also centrally tracks and collects login attempts, providing companies with audit and reporting capabilities that help them document and report on their efforts to meet governance and compliance requirements.

Computing giant IBM announced the purchase of Encentuate, a Redwood City, Calif.-based sign sign-on vendor. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Encentuate’s software manages user passwords, sign-ons, sign-offs and enforces security policies. It enabled I.T. administrators to integrate legacy and new applications into the single sign-on technology.

The system also centrally tracks and collects login attempts, providing companies with audit and reporting capabilities that help them document and report on their efforts to meet governance and compliance requirements.

Companies using Google Apps Premier Edition can get an additional layer of security through an agreement the search engine signed with Arcot Systems Inc.

The Arcot A-OK On-Demand authentication service is a software credential that resides on a users computer, says Carol Stone Alexander, vice president of marketing at the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company. The software has the same characteristics of a smart card or other secure token but the user doesn’t have to carry it around with them.

SYSteam, an I.T. supplier in the Nordic region, is the first customer in Europe to deploy Gemalto’s Allynis Device Administration Service.

The system enabled SYSteam’s administrators to easily manage smart cards or other secure ID tokens the company has deployed. Administrators also can perform device deployment and management through a Web interface and can easily administrate PIN codes and administrative keys of authentication devices.

Titanium Group Ltd., San Jose, Calif., has developed a facial recognition sign-on system for the Hong Kong Immigration Department. The biometric sign-on solution, with audit trail, uses human face authentication combined with traditional user ID and password for securing the department’s Electronic Passport System. Further information was not available.

Thirty-seven percent of government I.T. officials don’t know when they will be compliant with government identity mandates, according to a survey commissioned by Quest Software Inc., Aliso Viejo, Calif. Another 35% think they will be compliant in the next two years.

The survey states that 69% of government I.T. professionals believe that identity management is “very important” to their organization or agency, 72% of respondents believe its importance will increase in the next five years.

Bundesdruckerei GmbH plans to demonstrate how secure identification can help in every facet of an individual’s life. The Berlin-based company will showcase these different technologies at CeBit, March 4 – 9 in Hanover, Germany.

The central topic for all the sectors will be secure identity in a digital world. Bundesdruckerei is known as a manufacturer of high-security IDs and passports but is announcing new products in the digital world.

Futronic Technology Company Limited, a Hong Kong-based fingerprint biometric vendor, announced that its latest version of its FinLogon software supports Microsoft Vista and Windows 2008 Server.

Giesecke & Devrient (G&D), Munich, Germany, is expanding its product line to include two high-performance models of USB tokens.

The StarSign USB Token model can be personalized in large numbers and flexibly adapted to project security requirements. The StarSign USB Token MicroSD model can be used on a PC without installing software and also enables applications to be started directly from the token.

The USB token with smart card plug-in is suitable for rapid industrial personalization in high numbers. Customers have the flexibility to select between various proprietary or Java-based smart card operating systems from G&D with differing security standards (such as FIPS 140-2 or EAL 4+).

Gemalto Inc. and Microsoft Corp., Redmond, Wash., have announced .NET smart card technology with support built into Microsoft Windows Server 2008. France-based Gemalto also announced its support for Windows Server 2008 with its Strong Authentication Server and family of two-factor security devices.

These solutions are designed to strengthen Windows Server 2008 security for enterprises and help protect digital identities, secure data and applications, and address the security risks of user names and static passwords.