2024 SC Awards Finalists: Best Authentication Technology

1Password’s passkey solutions are designed to simplify and secure the login process for businesses and consumers, driving adoption of passkey technology. Offering enhanced security, streamlined user experience, and higher conversion rates for businesses, 1Password stands out by delivering an interoperable passkey experience across all devices and platforms, avoiding the limitations of “walled garden” solutions. Passkeys, which use unique public and private keys, are inherently strong and unphishable, eliminating the human error often linked to cybersecurity breaches.

With a significant increase in sophisticated phishing and social engineering attacks, 1Password’s passkeys provide a critical layer of protection. In June 2023, 1Password became the first credential manager to offer a fully end-to-end passwordless experience across all platforms, helping businesses reduce their attack surface and potential breaches. By January 2024, over 1 million passkeys were created in the platform, doubling expectations since their launch in September 2023.

1Password actively supports passkey adoption through education, a dedicated directory of supported services, and continuous product enhancements. Their customer-first approach, rooted in company culture, ensures 24/7 support and a seamless user experience. As a member of the FIDO Alliance, 1Password is helping to shape the future of authentication and drive widespread adoption of passkeys across industries.

Aembit provides Workload Identity and Access Management (WIAM), securing access between workloads (scripts, applications, services) and non-human identities (service accounts) with a policy-based, identity-driven, secretless approach across clouds, SaaS, and data centers. By automating workload-to-workload access workflows, Aembit mitigates the growing risks associated with distributed workloads and eliminates the need for manual credential management. Aembit’s solution, which acts like Azure AD or Okta for workloads, addresses the increasing complexity and security challenges of managing access between workloads, especially as enterprises face rising threats from static, easily compromised credentials.

Aembit offers enterprises real-time validation using native workload identities, zero trust conditional access, and no-code authentication-as-a-service. The platform simplifies operations by automating DevOps processes, reducing key sprawl, and easing compliance and audit reporting. Aembit supports various environments, scales to thousands of workloads, and integrates seamlessly with infrastructure-as-code deployments.

Adopted by companies ranging from new entrants to Fortune 500 organizations in sectors like financial services, retail, and technology, Aembit is recognized for its ability to reduce operational complexity and improve security posture. With a typical payback period of three to six months, Aembit delivers significant value by automating credentialing, offloading developer authentication tasks, and simplifying compliance.

The F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) is a leading zero-trust application access solution designed to simplify and centralize access controls across hybrid enterprise environments. As enterprises increasingly face risks such as subverted access controls, privilege escalation, and malware deployment, BIG-IP APM provides a robust defense by offering identity- and context-aware access to all applications and APIs. Supporting over 6,000 global enterprises in industries like finance, retail, and government, BIG-IP APM reduces management complexity, end-user burden, and risk through a single, centralized solution.

BIG-IP APM’s versatile platform supports modern, classic, and custom apps, as well as APIs, enabling seamless integration with leading IDaaS providers like Microsoft Entra ID and Okta. It offers key features such as protocol translation for legacy applications, secure API authentication, and single sign-on (SSO) with multi-factor authentication (MFA). The solution is recognized for its high performance, scalability, and customization, making it a preferred choice for enterprises seeking to streamline operations and reduce costs.

The next-generation solution, BIG-IP Next Access, further extends these capabilities by offering API-first, access-as-code features, allowing customers to embed zero-trust app access directly into their CI/CD pipelines. With ongoing investments in innovation and strong customer partnerships, F5 continues to meet the evolving security needs of modern enterprises.

Portnox’s launch of Conditional Access for Applications in March introduces a unified zero trust access control solution, designed to help organizations combat rising device-based attacks on enterprise applications. As part of the Portnox Cloud platform, this solution offers passwordless authentication, access control, endpoint risk assessment, and automated remediation, all in a cloud-native environment. By focusing on risk-based access controls, Portnox enhances security for both SaaS and on-premises applications, helping enterprises secure their networks, applications, and infrastructure.

Portnox’s solution supports IT teams in meeting evolving security compliance requirements by continuously monitoring and mitigating risks posed by connected devices, including managed, BYOD, and IoT devices. The platform simplifies the shift to zero trust and passwordless security, offering scalability and flexibility through a subscription-based model that reduces total cost of ownership.

Portnox also emphasizes customer support, providing 24/7 service and regular updates without the need for manual intervention. Recent partnerships, such as with Bugcrowd for a bug bounty program, further strengthen the platform’s security. As organizations increasingly rely on SaaS and BYOD, Portnox’s Conditional Access for Applications is expected to see strong adoption, offering robust, adaptive security measures that protect against modern cyber threats.

WatchGuard’s AuthPoint portfolio offers a comprehensive multi-factor authentication (MFA) solution, essential for a modern zero trust security strategy. Tailored for managed service providers (MSPs) serving midmarket organizations, AuthPoint ensures high availability and verifies every user access request by default. It supports various authentication methods, including push notifications and time-based one-time passcodes (TOTP), through a mobile authenticator app or hardware tokens. Managed via WatchGuard Cloud, MSPs can configure, deploy, and manage AuthPoint from anywhere.

AuthPoint’s risk-based authentication enforces access control based on context such as time, location, and geography. Its unique geokinetics feature prevents attackers from bypassing MFA by calculating the “impossible distance” between the endpoint and the mobile authenticator. The solution also offers single sign-on with MFA protection for numerous applications and VPN user verification. AuthPoint Total Identity Security enhances protection by providing dark web credential monitoring and a password manager.

With millions of users and over 30% growth, AuthPoint is a scalable and affordable MFA solution, available through flexible payment options. WatchGuard continuously enhances the product, recently adding features like Windows Hello integration and MacBook support. With its strong customer support, AuthPoint is recognized as a leading MFA solution, crucial for meeting compliance requirements and securing modern enterprises.