Hitachi ID Password Manager can be accessed through a variety of user interfaces:

  • Transparent password synchronization is initiated from a native password change on a variety of existing systems, including Active Directory, Windows servers, OID, Linux and Unix (various), iSeries and z/OS (optional component).

  • Password Manager can invite users to enroll and notify users of events relating to their profiles, by sending e-mails, by opening a web browser from a network login script or by sending Windows popup messages to users who have signed into a domain.

  • Users can manage their passwords and authentication profiles using any web browser (desktop, smart phone, tablet, etc.). The web UI is compatible with reverse web proxies and can be load balanced across multiple, replicated Password Manager servers.

  • Users who experience a login problem can dial an interactive voice response (IVR) system with any telephone and reset a forgotten or locked password or PIN, clear an intruder lockout or resolve a problem pre-boot or with a hardware token. There are several options for identifying callers, including touch-tone input of login IDs or speech-to text. Similarly, there are several options for authenticating callers, including touch-tone or text-to-speech input of answers to security questions, voice biometrics and input of a PIN sent via SMS to a user's mobile phone.

    The call flow in an existing IVR system can be extended to handle this type of self-service, integrating with Password Manager via its API to access user profiles and initiate self-service operations. Alternately, relevant calls can be rerouted to Hitachi ID Telephone Password Manager, which can handle the entire call flow itself. Telephone Password Manager is an included, self-contained IVR system designed for use with Password Manager.

    Note that there are some types of problems that cannot (physically) be resolved via a phone call. In particular, an IVR system cannot update any locally cached passwords on the user's device. For users who forgot their locally cached OS login password and are off-site, a self-service mechanism launched from the OS login screen is required.

  • Users who forget their PC login password can launch a kiosk-mode web browser from their PC login screen. This can be done using multiple methods:
    • The Hitachi ID Login Assistant Credential Provider (CP) : this is a client installed on Windows PCs, which adds elements to the login screen. This allows users who forgot their password or triggered an intruder lockout to access self-service password reset.

      A temporary VPN option is available to assist off-site users.

    • A domain secure kiosk account (SKA): is an Active Directory user, normally called "help", with an easy-to-remember or blank password. A security policy (GPO) is applied to this user, to launch a locked down full-screen web browser instead of the usual Windows desktop. This option enables access to password reset from Windows PC login screens without deploying any client software at all.

  • The Hitachi ID Mobile Access app for Android or iOS enables users to access self-service using their smart phone, even if Password Manager is not configured with a public URL. Note that this cannot address issues related to credentials cached on user PCs.