CryptoNET: Integrated Secure Workstation

In most of the current applications security is usually provided individually. This means that various applications use their own security mechanisms and services, applied only to their own resources and functions. Furthermore, procedures to configure security parameters are usually inconvenient and complicated for non-technical users. As an alternative to this approach, we have designed and implemented Secure Workstation, which represents an integrated security environment and protects local IT resources, messages and operations across multiple applications. It comprises five components, i.e. four most commonly used PC applications: Secure Station Manager (equivalent to Windows Explorer), Secure E-Mail Client, Secure Documents System, and Secure Browser. These four components for their security extensions use functions and credentials of the fifth component, Generic Security Provider [5]. With this approach, we provide standard security services (authentication, confidentiality, and integrity and access control) and also additional, extended security services, such as transparent handling of certificates, use of smart cards, strong authentication protocol, SAML based single-singe-on, secure sessions, and other security functions, to all PC applications with the same set of security modules and parameters.