Northern Ireland’s health service realises big savings in switch to CRYPTOCard for authentication

Health & Social Care in Northern Ireland (HSCNI) reported significant cost savings through moving to CRYPTOCard for protection against unauthorised network access and have reaffirmed their technology leadership status in the sector by upgrading to BlackShield ID, CRYPTOCard’s premier authentication service.

Secure data access is crucial in public health administration, but authentication systems have traditionally represented a significant investment for cash-strapped health trusts. With its affordable, high-security solutions, CRYPTOCard became the new provider of two-factor authentication (2FA) hardware tokens to HSCNI enabling its six trusts to benefit from secure authentication for remote access via the Internet and PSTN. 

The previous system’s one-time password generating hardware tokens required regular replacement, leading to high fixed costs. There was a clear need for a 2FA solution which offered lower medium and long-term cost of ownership. CRYPTOCard met this need with CRYPTO-Shield, which also delivered a range of added benefits. “We switched to CRYPTOCard two-factor authentication as they offered the best total cost of ownership when evaluated over a three-year period,” says Michael Harnett, ICT Security Manager, HSCNI. CRYPTOCard’s hardware tokens are highly durable and do not have an expiry date, giving them a longer life span than competitive tokens. This allows for more affordable token replacement as well as cost and resource benefits from reduced logistics and deployment requirements. The result? Real savings across the health system, from hospitals and care centres to the ambulance service.

Since the switch, HSCNI expanded the use of CRYPTO-Shield from remote and third party access to web-based applications, such as hospital waiting lists and applications that track and monitor trends in certain illnesses. These applications hold large volumes of sensitive data and therefore require 2FA protection. “We forecast substantial cost savings by switching to CRYPTOCard, arising from lower administration and hardware costs,” says Harnett. “These savings will easily cover the cost of changing to a new 2FA supplier.” CRYPTOCard worked closely with HSCNI to ensure a smooth hand-over. Users, including administrators, payroll staff, medical staff and contractors, can now access confidential information quickly and securely.

Based on this success, HSCNI is upgrading the service to BlackShield ID, CRYPTOCard’s award-winning server-based 2FA application that offers powerful added features and benefits. “The broader range of tokens, including SMS and BlackBerry tokens, will better meet our end user needs and ultimately achieve additional cost savings,” explains Harnett.  “BlackShield ID gives HSCNI the flexibility to roll out tokens in soft, USB and SMS formats to suit individual needs. For example, software tokens will be allocated to contractors, removing the need for them to return hardware tokens when the contract expires,” says Jason Hart, senior vice president for EMEA at CRYPTOCard.

For more information please contact : 

Jason Hart
SVP EMEA, CRYPTOCard
jason.hart@cryptocard.com
or Visit www.cryptocard.com