Security software provider PGP Corp. has unveiled new security products with an extensive layer of encryption covering the whole enterprise, built to keep up with growing demands for regulatory compliance and information privacy.
The Palo Alto, Calif.-based encryption pioneer called the release of its PGP Universal 2.0 software for its desktop and gateway products its most significant upgrade.
The suite offers automated key management and recovery infrastructure that covers laptop protrection, gateway e-mail security, end-to-end e-mail privacy, removable media security, IM encryption, FTP/batch transfer protection, and digital signatures.
The Universal 2.0 software also supports all major certificate and
message formats, including X.509
Conversely, the PGP Desktop software is made up of six different
products: PGP Whole Disk encryption (laptops, desktops, removable
media), PGP Virtual Disk encryption (files, folders), PGP Mail
(automatic and transparent using PGP Universal technology), PGP Instant Messenger (for securing AOL Instant Messenger traffic), PGP Zip (file compression), and PGP Shred (permanent file deletion). PGP said its Desktop 9.0 software is available now in English, with German and Japanese versions coming soon.
The company is also offering its PGP Desktop Home 9.0. The new
version is designed for home users and home businesses that use an ISP for e-mail. The package combines the same features as PGP Desktop 9.0, without PGP Whole Disk encryption.
In addition to its major upgrades, PGP took the wraps off its new PGP Command Line platform for server-to-server, batch file transfer, and FTP and a PGP Global Directory service for sharing and retrieving public keys.
The company is also bundling several of its products together for
companies that want more than one aspect of PGP software.
PGP said its Universal Series 100 bundle includes protection for
e-mail that IT security managers need to be in regulatory compliance of e-mail leaving the company. The company’s Universal Series 200 adds in support for managing user desktops. The PGP Universal Series 500 is a mix-and-match of protection for gateway e-mail security, laptop protection, internal e-mail privacy, removable media, and AIM security using a single key-management and recovery infrastructure.
“We spoke to hundreds of major customers to understand their complex corporate, regulatory, and partner mandates for information security,” PGP president and CEO Phillip Dunkelberger told internetnews.com. Policy management, especially management of keys, is a critical issue right now, he added. “This is a step in the right direction,” he said of the policy-based enforcement features in the new suite.
The automated system in PGP Universal lets administrators set policy that is based on users once. It then automatically encrypts and eecrypts without requiring any user action.
In addition to its own Web site, PGP said its products will be sold through its network of 150 reseller partners in 37 countries. The software products compete with similar offerings from Microsoft and RSA Security
.
“People who used to assume their privacy was protected aren’t assuming it anymore,” Dunkelberger said, referring to the recent rash of data breaches in the news. With legislation now making its way through state legislatures and Congress that would mandate data security protocols, companies such as PGP are moving to stay ahead of the legislation with products that actually puts the power of encryption to use across the enterprise.