EasCorp already on its second generation digital certificate

WOLBURN, Mass. - Corporate credit union EasCorp here is moving on to its second generation digital certificate technology. Digital signatures are all over the news these days with the new digital signature law, but credit unions have been dealing with a related technology in digital certificates for quite some time-whether they've known it or not. EasCorp is a bit unique in that it manages its own digital certificate program. It in essence is acting as a Verisign (one of the better known digital certificate firms) for its member CUs which are accessing EasCorp's extranet through the EasCorp Web site (www.eascorp.org). "The cool thing here is that we're acting as our own certificate authority. We're using certificates to authenticate users," said Chris Smith, vice president of computer information systems for EasCorp. Not only does EasCorp verify that their extranet is being accessed by an authorized person at one of its member CUs, EasCorp can also give varying levels of access to different individuals depending on their role with the CU. "We can build profiles of individuals, so not only do I know it's you, but I know you can view check information, for example, but can't do any cash management," said Smith. To get access to EasCorp's extranet, an employee at a member CU has to install a new EasCorp Certificate Authority on their computer, which basically adds EasCorp as a CA in a person's Web browser.Verisign is the standard CA that comes with the Microsoft Explorer browser. "When they download that CA, they are basically saying `We trust EasCorp' for the security of the access," said Smith. When an employee logs on to their CU's server each day, they then get access to their browser and their unique certificate. Depending on who that employee is, the access levels of the certificate will vary. EasCorp has currently issued 500 digital certificates. Smith notes that some certificates are shared. For example, a terminal in the member service department may give all employees in that department access to share draft info. EasCorp has chosen RSA Keon Certificate Server software to deploy its digital certificates. Smith said the RSA product is more robust and scalable than the Entrust product EasCorp was formerly using. EasCorp was deploying digital certificates so rapidly that it basically outgrew its former solution. EasCorp went from pilot test to full deployment of the new certificates in just three months. The system was completely up and running in June. To ensure a seamless-and fast-transition from the old system to the new one, EasCorp used a tech technique that became popular in credit union land during Y2K days. EasCorp ran its existing certificate solution, while simultaneously running the new solution on a parallel system, making it easier to issue new digital certificates. Security is particularly important to EasCorp because it offers four applications its member CUs can use to get access to their accounts and other information. EasCorp has over a terrabyte worth of share drafts that can be viewed from its site. Share drafts can be viewed going back as far as a year. CUs can also view ACH posting files twice a day; upload statement print files; do account reconciliation; and see transaction history, settlement information and more from the EasCorp site. EasCorp has $1 billion in assets and serves 285 CUs. -pgentile@cutimes.com