Press Release
Keys Re-united
25 February 2008
Local authority director avoids key drama with Signify token and the kindness of strangers!
Users of the Signify Secure Authentication Service carry a handy RSA SecurID token. This device which lives on their key-ring generates a dynamic ‘one-time passcode’ which, when combined with the user’s secret PIN, verifies their identity before they are granted access to their company network. Sometimes these tokens can provide an entirely different but equally useful function, as Gill Davies, strategic director of environment and housing for the London Borough of Southwark, found out recently.
In a hurry to get to a meeting last month, Gill left her keys along with her Signify token, in the back of a London black cab; an incident all too familiar to many of us. Reaching her doorstep later that evening, Gill experienced the stomach churning moment of realisation as she rummaged in a desperate attempt to locate her keys. She had visions of breaking windows, calling locksmiths and filling out insurance forms. While the token was no good to anyone without her secret PIN code, her house keys were a different matter.
Despite being locked out of her house that night, there is a happy ending to Gill’s story. Taxi driver Les Burr noticed Signify’s logo and web address on the token and contacted the Cambridge-based company to report the lost keys to Dave Kirby, Signify’s Customer Services Manager.
Dave was able to match the token serial number to Gill’s account and emailed her with the good news the very next morning. Les dropped the keys off at TFL lost property where Gill was able to pick them up.
“I am so grateful to Les Burr who made the effort to contact Signify and to Dave Kirby whose prompt action reunited me with my keys and my Signify token.” Gill explained.
“It’s good to know that there are people like Les and the Signify team who are prepared to put themselves out to help others,” Gill added.
Dave Kirby commented: “While most of our support work is quite technical, about once a month we are able to reunite our users with their keys, and in one instance with their lost luggage at Heathrow! It’s a great bonus when our technology can also help people in their daily lives.”
Signify tokens provide users with secure network access over Internet, Virtual Private Network (VPN) or wireless connections. However, as Gill discovered, the combination of Signify’s branding and its 24x7 service back up, means that a user’s token can also act as their confidential business cards.
