PGP Ships New Encryption Tools

Enterprise data security firm PGP on Wednesday began shipping its new NetShare product, as well as major upgrades to its encryption and e-mail security line of policy enforcement and key data management software.

PGP NetShare manages and shares encrypted network-based files. It allows enterprises to protect intellectual property in files commonly shared across multiple project teams. It also addresses security concerns for documents used by employees, outside contractors and partners.

PGP has released new versions of PGP Whole Disk Encryption, PGP Universal Server, PGP Universal Gateway (NYSE: GTW) Email and PGP Desktop.

Integration Key

Built on the PGP Encryption Platform, PGP NetShare automatically encrypts files saved to shared network folders, ensuring that only authorized users can read or modify the content.

The application works transparently to deliver automatic data protection on the network server, over the network and on the desktop, the company said. It handles all common digital formats, documents, spreadsheets, presentations, Web, video and audio files without modifying any content.

Increasing demands from regulatory agencies are forcing more companies to look for compliance solutions. PGP sees its NetShare product as an ideal way for enterprises to meet that need.

"We are now seeing regulatory pressure globally, and this will get worse," John Dasher, director of product management for PGP, told TechNewsWorld. All types of businesses now have to comply with industry-specific regulations to prevent data and identity theft.

The U.S. has Sarbanes-Oxley regulations and breach notification laws in 27 states. The European Union has strict privacy laws. Japan has a Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) in place now, with even stricter regulations known as "J-Sox" taking effect in 2008, Dasher said.

PGP's products are designed to help companies meet these domestic and foreign data security demands.

The numerous applications available to manage corporate data and the resulting content storage silos they produce create costly, unnecessary burdens on IT teams, maintained PGP.

"Point products address a single threat, while cobbled-together product suites lack integration," said Dasher. "Instead, the PGP Encryption Platform delivers a single leveraged infrastructure that reduces IT operational costs and eliminates the duplicative tasks, systems, training and support issues that plague other approaches."

The PGP Encryption Platform is deployed with the first PGP application installed, giving organizations access to encryption functionality in phases or as business requirements emerge and evolve.

Features and Functionality

PGP's Whole Disk Encryption upgrade provides a single sign-on for all users. It provides partition support for multiple operating systems and now recognizes removable drives such as flash disks and USB drives. It also provides OS X support.

PGP Universal Server provides unified Web-based administration for the PGP Encryption Platform through a single management console. The platform includes enabled applications, users, policies, provisioning, logging and reporting. This latest version expands policy administration and management for organizations to define encryption behavior concerning how data is secured.

PGP Universal Gateway Email delivers multiple standards-based options for securing e-mail. New features include expanded mail policy granularity and encrypted messages that match administrator specifications for both inbound and outbound messages.

The application also includes enhancements to the PGP Universal Web Messenger, which enables secure communication with third-party partners or suppliers who may not have an encryption solution. This latest version is also enhanced to support large message delivery -- up to 50MB -- and reduce storage requirements by removing messages according to a message-aging policy.

The PGP Encryption Platform lowers operational costs and accelerates application deployment through a single management console for centralized policy and configuration, the company said. The platform provides multiple levels of encryption across a global enterprise with comprehensive policy enforcement, key management, recovery and reporting services.

It also provides standards-based interfaces for third-party developers, such as Research In Motion (Nasdaq: RIMM), to leverage services.

PGP product packages are available for stand-alone use starting at US$199. NetShare is available for individual purchase for $149.

Licenses are based on the encryption applications selected and the management tools used. Customer options range from a single seat of a single encryption application, to multiple seats of a single application with management server, to a mix-and-match combination of encryption applications all managed by the same server.