Symantec offers cloud-based access control and management platform

Symantec has announced the final availability of its O3 cloud-based identity and access protection platform.

According to the corporate, this can offer a single, secure access point to cloud applications and services and supply three layers of protection for the cloud: access control; information security; and knowledge management.

Symantec said O3 enables single sign-on across any web application and leverages an enterprise's existing identity infrastructure for authentication, while enabling context-based authorisation, password management and federation services.

It can be pre-integrated with Symantec Validation and ID Protection Service (VIP), enabling enterprises to exploit their existing VPN credentials to bolster access to any cloud application. Symantec has also formed a partnership with salesforce.com, where O3 would be used to create a single sign-on, access management and robust authentication application for Force.com, salesforce.com's social enterprise platform.

Francis deSouza, group president of enterprise services at Symantec, said: “Companies want their employees so that you could make the most of cloud services, but in addition they need to be confident that their critical information is protected because it flows inside and out of the cloud.

“Symantec O3 is the reply. By enabling companies to attain consistent identity and knowledge protection across all cloud services and devices, O3 will deliver that confidence and enable a more rapid adoption of cloud services in businesses around the globe.”

The next phase will see Symantec leverage its data-loss-prevention and PGP encryption technologies to automatically detect, block and encrypt confidential information before that's stored or shared within the cloud.

The third layer of Symantec O3 is scheduled to enable information management and compliance by aggregating all cloud-related security events, providing the root for comprehensive cloud auditing, forensics and compliance.