Deque Announces Support for FIPS 201-2 PIV in its WorldSpace Web Accessibility Testing Product
WorldSpace accessibility testing software now complies with the new mandate for Secure Personal Identity Verification (PIV) for Federal Employees and Contractors
Deque’s WorldSpace®, used throughout the Federal Government for web accessibility testing and Section 508 compliance reporting, now provides for PIV-compliant user authentication and single sign-on (SSO). Software products used by Federal Government Agencies are required to comply with the updated Personal Identify Verification standard (FIPS 201-2) published by the National Institutes of Standards and Technology which is derived from Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD-12).
Federal Government employees and contractors can now use their PIV card to login to WorldSpace or be authenticated automatically using single sign-on. WorldSpace is designed to work with PIV systems from any vendor. System administrators save time by relying on their standard authentication system and are assured that any changes to access authorization are immediately and automatically enforced in the WorldSpace system itself without any additional effort or diligence being required on their part. This improves the IT security posture of the entire agency.
WorldSpace automatically scans and reports the level of compliance with web accessibility standards at several large agencies with mature web or mobile application development processes. WorldSpace tests for Section 508 (§ 1194.22), Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG1.0 and 2.0, Trusted Tester and agency-specific custom standards. is capable of scanning HTML-based applications, websites, PDF® documents and forms as well as SharePoint® sites. In addition to reporting, WorldSpace provides software developers and testers with detailed instructions on how to locate and remediate accessibility defects. Since it is used for applications internal to the agency and those facing the public, it must comply with Federal Government’s IT security requirements.
“Recent cyberattacks on Federal Government IT infrastructure have highlighted the need to ensure that every software application supports the government’s security standards”, said Keith Rhodes, Vice President of WorldSpace Product Development at Deque. “Application security begins with identity management and secure authentication. This release of WorldSpace demonstrates our commitment to ensuring WorldSpace remains secure despite an evolving threat environment.”
Current WorldSpace customers will receive this capability as part of their current license and maintenance agreement. Implementation services to integrate this capability with an agency’s PIV infrastructure are available directly from Deque.
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