The Teradici PCoIP Zero Client recently achieved Implementation Under Test (IUT) status as part of the Federal Information Processing Standards Publications (FIPS) 140-2 validation process. This process, co-developed by the U.S. and Canadian Federal Governments, is essentially a check and validation of the critical security parameters we must use to ensure sensitive government data is protected – including a specific type of encryption method. Full news can be read here…
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| Gil, Teradici Solutions Architect |
The obvious takeaway is that this certification will make the PCoIP Zero Client eligible for purchase by all departments of both the U.S. and Canadian federal governments. But what else should you know?
Here are a few points shared by Teradici Solutions Architect, Gil, who works closely with government organizations.
Gil, what else is significant about this certification for PCoIP Zero Clients?
The PCoIP Zero Client will be the only certified endpoint without any traditional operating system. In fact, a PCoIP Zero Client doesn’t store any data at all (also known as data-at-rest), which is why it’s called a “Zero Client.” This renders data far less vulnerable to security breaches – unlike traditional thick and thin clients which store and run an operating system.
If there is no operating system or data stored on the PCoIP Zero Client, how does it work?
PCoIP Zero Clients are built with the PCoIP protocol, a unique technology invented by Teradici. It transfers data as display information (in the form of encrypted pixels), so no sensitive data ever leaves the cloud or data center.
The PCoIP Zero Client provides a way for government workers to securely access their own desktops, applications, and work hosted in the cloud or data center – no matter where they are. There is no difference between working with a local computer loaded with software and an endpoint receiving a streamed pixel representation from a centralized virtual computer.
With the operating system and applications hosted in the cloud or data center, government IT departments can reap huge time and cost savings from managing them in a central location. As an additional benefit, the PCoIP protocol supports both Windows and Linux, so mixed deployments can be managed through one interface as well.
More details on how PCoIP works here...
In which scenarios are PCoIP Zero Clients useful?
All scenarios. Whether it be military, healthcare, or general administration, PCoIP Zero Clients can help overcome challenges of secure, remote access for staff in the field, the costs associated with managing a deployment of endpoints, and even support several smartcard technologies. Although I’m speaking more to the FIPS 140-2 validation in this post, Teradici products have been deployed by several levels of government in the past, (in Europe too), due to the many benefits PCoIP technology has to offer.
I could talk all day about this but will end my answer here by recommending a customer story I like sharing with clients. It’s a story on Bell – a producer of commercial and military vertical-lift aircraft. It’s a great example of how PCoIP Zero Clients help keep data secure in the high-classification zone.
CUSTOMER STORY: Bell Helicopters - Engineers Run Multi-terabyte 3D Simulations from Zero Clients and Laptops—with PCoIP Technology and Teradici Cloud Access Software
One last question Gil – what about departments not yet using the public cloud?
PCoIP Zero Clients support all kinds of environments, including private data centers. We know many organizations are considering a public cloud future, but many still have their hesitations.
No matter the future, the PCoIP protocol, as built into the PCoIP Zero Client, is designed to give organizations flexibility. Whether it be centralizing to a public cloud, private data center, hybrid of public and private, or multicloud environment, the PCoIP protocol can support them.
Learn more:
- What is FIPS 140-2
- PCoIP Zero Client customer stories
- Solutions for Government
