Anne's Diary

Success Story

To provide a safe educational environment for children, Anne's Diary is pioneering the use of biometric technology for its social networking site. The company implemented a Novell identity management solution to establish the highest level of security using fingerprint technology, instead of passwords.

Overview

Under exclusive license to Anne's World, (a subsidiary of Logica Holdings Inc.), Anne's Diary is the first secure social networking site for children. Inspired by the "Anne of Green Gables" novels, the Web site offers girls between the ages of 7 and 15 a secure environment in which to keep a private online diary and communicate with their peers around the world. Annesdiary.com is under exclusive license with Anne's World, Inc., also a subsidiary of Logica Holdings, Inc.

Challenge

As Internet usage grows, social networking sites where people can meet, communicate and interact are becoming increasingly popular. For these sites, protecting confidential user information and allowing users to communicate securely is a primary concern - particularly when the users are children.

As the first social networking Web site for children, Anne's Diary wanted to create a secure educational environment. The cornerstone of the site is the personal interactive diary and scrapbook that walks children through daily tasks and reminders, and provides them with a unique space to record their adventures and wishes. Users also have access to a secure chat room and forum.

To maintain the highest level of security for its site, Anne's Diary needed an identity management solution that could manage a large volume of users, as well as work with its innovative biometric login system based on fingerprint technology.

Novell solution

"Security is at the heart of our business and Novell provides us with the most secure and versatile identity management solution. We are committed to provide our young users with a safe educational environment."

Emily Want
CEO
Anne's Diary

After evaluating both Microsoft Windows and Linux, Anne's Diary decided to run its Web servers on Linux for greater stability and security. The company selected SUSE Linux Enterprise Server to run its identity management solution consisting of Novell eDirectory, Novell Access Manager and Novell Modular Authentication Service (NMAS).

"We chose Novell because we wanted to work with an industry leader," said Nick Murray, CTO of Anne's Diary. "We realized we could build our own identity management solution with third-party applications, or we could get a comprehensive solution from Novell. With Novell, we also get great support, including on-site help when we need it."

Anne's Diary worked with Novell to create an innovative identity management solution. Novell Access Manager provides users with secure front-end access to all areas of the Web site, based on accurate user information stored in Novell eDirectory.

"Security is at the heart of our business and Novell provides us with the most secure and versatile identity management solution," said Emily Want, CEO of Anne's Diary. "We are committed to provide our young users with a safe educational environment."

To achieve the highest level of security, Anne's Diary is pioneering the use of biometric authentication for children. Once users register with Anne's Diary, they receive a welcome pack that includes a fingerprint sensor and a one-time authentication code. Each child must be registered by a parent or guardian to further safeguard security.

Anne's Diary has partnered with Fujitsu Microelectronics and 123ID to provide biometric login kits for fingerprint authentication that replaces password authentication. The biometric solution uses Novell Modular Authentication Service (NMAS) to enroll users into Novell eDirectory. As a result, children will not need to remember complicated passwords, but will simply touch the fingerprint sensor for secure authentication to www.annesdiary.com.

"With NMAS, Novell provides a universal solution for our biometric sensors that can authenticate with any system and browser," said Murray. "Other biometric solutions we evaluated required particular readers or lacked the right Java connections. The ability to rely on biometric authentication instead of passwords gives our Web site an unprecedented level of security."

Anne's Diary plans to use its biometric login technology to expand its Web site by integrating with other partners and children's educational solutions. The company has formed a recent alliance with Web Wise Kids, a nonprofit organization that shares a common desire to protect children from Internet abuse.

Results

"With NMAS, Novell provides a universal solution for our biometric sensors that can authenticate with any system and browser. The ability to rely on biometric authentication instead of passwords gives our Web site an unprecedented level of security."

Nick Murray
CTO
Anne's Diary

With Novell solutions, Anne's Diary has created easy access to the first secure social networking environment for children, without the need for complicated passwords. The company's biometric login technology will provide the highest level of security for children as they take advantage of educational opportunities on the Internet.

The company estimates that it was able to implement its identity management solution on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server at 65 percent the cost of an equivalent Microsoft Windows solution.

"Without Novell, we would not have been able to develop the secure foundation to run our business," said Want. "Now we have a multi-layered security solution in place to appeal to a young audience, while safeguarding them from any Internet users who might do them harm."