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VeriSign, Inc. an Internet infrastructure provider, reportedly announced that the WiMAX Forum has chosen its Public Key Infrastructure in order to protect a fast-growing wireless broadband ecosystem.

 

The company will provide security solutions which are based on PKI for WiMAX (News - Alert) networks. This offers a combination of speed for broadband along with wireless for delivering the “last mile” of connectivity on high-speed, metropolitan networks.

 

As an independent PKI provider authorized to deliver services to WiMAX service providers and device manufacturers, VeriSign (News - Alert) powers both public and private trust communities.

 

The PKI-based digital certificate services have been employed in over 80 million devices worldwide. They include cable modems to ATM machines which have to offer secure access to various services. The addition of the WiMAX ecosystem will result in more growth in this sector.

 

“Ensuring secure communication over WiMAX-based networks is critical for the successful growth of the WiMAX ecosystem,” said Matt Wangler, Director of Operations of the WiMAX Forum (News - Alert), a not-for-profit organization that promotes the adoption of WiMAX-compatible products and services.

 

Wangler continued: “Seamless security that is transparent to the end user is also crucial for widespread adoption. We selected VeriSign because of its long track record in providing PKI solutions that feature the scalability and reliability required for WiMAX technology to flourish. With VeriSign, WiMAX is in good hands.”

 

Certificate lifecycle functions for WiMAX service providers and device manufacturers will be performed by VeriSign as it is a trusted certification authority. It will perform functions like secure key generation and storage besides certificate issuance, validation, revocation, and renewal. This will ensure a seamless and strong authentication between WiMAX networks and devices.

 

The WiMAX PKI Service will be available to WiMAX service providers and device manufacturers. It will support several million PKI-based WiMAX digital certificates world wide. This service is derived from VeriSign’s PKI infrastructure which delivers hosted and managed security. Its architecture includes highly integrated hardware, software and processes which are highly secure.

 

Adam Geller, vice president, Enterprise and Government Authentication at VeriSign said that as WiMAX capabilities become more available it becomes imperative to offer a structured and scalable security framework. He further assured WiMAX service providers and device manufacturers that the company will provide vendor-agnostic services to all participants in the WiMAX community.