MHI unleashes Hawk, Eagle and Merlin

MHI image stack
One suite, multiple devices

MH Invent (MHI) has launched a trio of new products under its Secure Communications Suite.

Named Hawk, Eagle and Merlin, they are said to be device and protocol agnostic and not to require certificates or tokens, but can be made compatible with legacy security infrastructure and support a range of services.

Hawk is the underlying platform that secures communication between users and services on whatever devices they use, and Eagle is a picture based log-in method that MHI said is stronger than standard two-factor authentication and removes the need for any form of tokens or secondary device. This generates an extremely long, one-time passcode that is claimed to be immune to man-in-the-middle, keystroke or screen logging and to prevent most social engineering scams or shoulder surfing exploits.

Merlin is MHI's own patented stream cipher. It uses standard hardware and is non-algorithmic, making it resistant to algorithmic encryption cracking techniques, the company said.

The suite works by creating a secure client that creates multiple secure tunnels. This is strengthened by MHI's patented anti-tamper and anti-cloning technology.

The company said the service supports forensic audit, location validation and network identification, and an image-based authentication option removes the need for user names or passwords.

The services within the suite can be used stand alone or integrated into a family of products.

MHI's chief scientific officer, Mike Hawkes, said: "We have taken the approach that every part of the network (or any device) is already comprised, and have therefore created a secure client server environment, which provides an easy way to implement, deploy and manage security. As companies can use our services with their existing security solutions we are confident we can provide the necessary resilience to combat the ever-increasing risks inherent with online communications."