Computer Associates provides an integrated security approach through partnerships

April 17, 2003 SAN FRANCISCO - Software company Computer Associates this week announced a string of partnerships with companies in the physical security market, deals that are expected to solidify its reach as it looks to provide an integrated approach in the enterprise security market. The first round of partnerships with Tyco, HID and Gemplus marks the formation of the Open Security Exchange, a collaborative group of companies in both physical and systems security formed to define best practices and promote vendor neutral specifications for integrating the management of security devices and policies across the enterprise. Initially the group will focus on integrating physical and cyber security technologies. In a separate deal, Computer Associates said it would work with Pinkerton Consulting and Investigating to offer clients both cyber and physical security services. During a presentation during the RSA Conference, Ron Moritz, senior vice president and chief security strategist at Computer Associates, called for an end to fragmented approaches to access, authentication and auditing operations. He stressed the need for total security management across IT and facilities systems. "If someone is using their ID badge to gain access to a facility in one city while they’re apparently logging into one of your systems from an access point somewhere else, you should know that," said Moritz. "That’s just the simplest example of the type of vulnerability that goes away once you take a more integrated approach to enterprise security."