BIO-key Unveils PortalGuard® Feature Enhancements Including Support for MacOS Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for Enterprise

PortalGuard adds core capabilities, innovating secure access across diverse and difficult use cases

WALL, N.J., May 25, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — BIO-key International, Inc. (NASDAQ: BKYI), an innovative provider of Identity and Access Management (IAM) and Identity-Bound Biometric (IBB) solutions, today announced a significant product feature update to its PortalGuard^® Desktop, which secures initial desktop authentication as part of BIO-key’s PortalGuard^® suite of IAM products. The new release now supports MacOS sign-in to enterprise Active Directory and other LDAP environments. Prior versions of PortalGuard Desktop supported Windows sign-on only. Now, organizations of all sizes and industries can secure server and desktop logins for MacOS users, bringing many executive and creative workforce users into MFA compliance.

“Many products from competitors cannot enforce MFA when unlocking their Mac users’ devices. This becomes a major security and productivity issue if company policy requires users to fully log out of their MacOS whenever they leave their workstation,” said Gregg Browinski, VP of Engineering, BIO-key – PortalGuard. “With more and more companies seeing significant segments of their user population using Macs as their primary workstation, it’s critical that the proper security protocols are implemented across all devices and operating systems. I believe this latest enhancement to PortalGuard Desktop will allow businesses to tackle some key use cases previously too difficult to manage.”

This recent update to offer MacOS functionality builds on PortalGuard Desktop’s original core capabilities:

1. Desktop Self-service and Enrollment capabilities to reduce downtime and helpdesk calls by allowing users to manage their account preferences, privacy controls, and self-enrollment where allowed.
2. Desktop Multi-factor Authentication at the operating system level bolsters security and protects sensitive device-resident data and shared resource access.

BIO-key believes the core capabilities of PortalGuard Desktop allow any organization to overcome challenges commonly presented in typical business use cases, including:

• Shared or Local Workstations: employing roving users on shared workstations or desktops is an operational business mandate across many industries. PortalGuard Desktop provides true MFA when unlocking the device, offering the security and flexibility to keep your organization protected and productive.
• IT Access to Servers & Infrastructure: protecting access to the back-end servers that power an organization’s operations have long been required for IT teams. PortalGuard Desktop can be easily installed on Windows servers to enforce this MFA requirement for console-based access through hypervisors and remote access through RDP or third-party Privileged Access Management solutions.
• Remote Users: many of today’s potential points of attack have fewer cybersecurity protections than traditional office buildings, and businesses must have the proper protocols when employees require remote access. PortalGuard Desktop allows organizations to enforce flexible, secure MFA for users and admins working remotely.
• Cyber Insurance: with more users using Macs as their primary workstations, it’s critical to ensure that your MFA requirements – including those around security controls and internal processes around cyber risk – are fulfilled for all users across the entire organization. PortalGuard Desktop brings powerful, flexible Multi-factor Authentication to all employees, regardless of their device.

With the ability to secure logins from both desktops and servers with flexible MFA options, including Identity-Bound Biometrics, and self-service password reset, BIO-key is confident that its latest offering sets it apart from competitors’ IAM solutions in several ways:

• PortalGuard supports Identity Bound Biometric authentication options that allow identities to be secured to the person, not simply a token or their phone.
• While many other solutions are cloud-only, PortalGuard Desktop works with both on-premises and cloud or IDaaS (Identity-as-a-Service) deployments of PortalGuard;
• PortalGuard Desktop enforces MFA when unlocking the Mac device – a function many alternative IAM vendors do not support; and
• The greatest number of authentication options and factors makes PortalGuard Desktop the most flexible security product of this type.

To learn more about the latest enhancements to PortalGuard Desktop, please visit the official BIO-key website.

About BIO-key International, Inc. (www.BIO-key.com)
BIO-key is revolutionizing authentication and cybersecurity with biometric-centric, multi-factor identity and access management (IAM) software managing millions of users. Its cloud-based PortalGuard IAM solution provides cost-effective, easy-to-deploy, convenient, and secure access to devices, information, applications, and high-value transactions. BIO-key’s patented software and hardware solutions, with industry-leading Identity-Bound Biometric (IBB) capabilities, enable large-scale Identity-as-a-Service (IDaaS) solutions, as well as customized on-premises solutions.

BIO-key Safe Harbor Statement
All statements contained in this press release other than statements of historical facts are “forward-looking statements” as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the “Act”). The words “estimate,” “project,” “intends,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “believes,” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are made based on management’s beliefs, as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, management pursuant to the “safe harbor” provisions of the Act. These statements are not guarantees of future performance or events and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those included within or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, our history of losses and limited revenue; our ability to raise additional capital; our ability to protect our intellectual property; changes in business conditions; changes in our sales strategy and product development plans; changes in the marketplace; continued services of our executive management team; security breaches; competition in the biometric technology and identity access management industries; market acceptance of biometric products generally and our products under development; the duration and severity of the current coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on our business operations, sales cycles, personnel, and the geographic markets in which we operate; delays in the development of products and statements of assumption underlying any of the foregoing as well as other factors set forth under the caption see “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. Except as required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to disclose any revision to these forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Additionally, there may be other factors of which the Company is not currently aware that may affect matters discussed in forward-looking statements and may also cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed. In particular, the consequences of the coronavirus outbreak to economic conditions and the industry in general and the financial position and operating results of our Company, in particular, have been material, are changing rapidly, and cannot be predicted.

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Investor Contacts:
William Jones, David Collins
Catalyst IR
BKYI@catalyst-ir.com
212-924-9800