PGP Corp., a global provider of enterprise data protection, announced Monday the latest release of the PGP Encryption Platform along with general availability of PGP NetShare 9.9, PGP Universal Server 2.9 and PGP Whole Disk Encryption 9.9, including PGP Whole Disk Encryption for Mac OS X. Upgrades to the PGP Encryption Platform and PGP applications offer companies and government organizations more policy control, more operating system support and more protection for data as it is created, edited and shared.
As global enterprises and governments worldwide look to better mitigate their risk in the face of ever-changing compliance regulations and costly data breaches, PGP Corporation is extending enterprise data protection with the ability to centrally manage and automate data security policies by application, as well as location - no matter where the data resides.
With this new release, the PGP Encryption Platform provides customers in file sharing environments utilizing PGP NetShare 9.9 with the ability to enforce policy-based encryption by application (Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, Adobe Acrobat or custom in-house applications), regardless of whether the files are written locally, to a flash drive, or on file servers. It also offers enhancements to PGP Universal Server 2.9 that allows offline policies to be implemented that protect data while users are not online. It also offers increased support for multiple operating systems and standards, including Windows and Mac OS X, and keyboard support for over 35 languages, and provides users with the only full disk encryption solution that combines policy control for data protection by applications and location thereby protecting data throughout its life.
These new enhancements to the PGP Encryption Platform deliver new levels of enterprise data protection for defending data across an organization.
PGP of Menlo Park, California offers email and data encryption software for enterprise data protection. Based on a unified key management and policy infrastructure, the PGP Encryption Platform offers a set of integrated applications for enterprise data security. PGP platform-enabled applications allow organizations to meet current needs and expand as security requirements evolve for email, laptops, desktops, instant messaging, smartphones, network storage, file transfers, automated processes, and back.
The PGP Encryption Platform provides an enterprise encryption framework for centralized key management, user management, policy management, and automated provisioning across multiple, integrated encryption applications. All PGP Encryption Platform-enabled applications, from PGP NetShare, to PGP Whole Disk Encryption, to PGP Desktop Email, leverage users, keys, and configurations to expedite deployment and policy enforcement and can be combined to provide multiple layers of security. The PGP Encryption Platform is deployed with the first PGP application installed, enabling organizations to reap encryption in phases or as business requirements emerge and evolve.
"The need for encryption and stronger security measures is growing as the number of security incidents and breaches performed by well organized, global cyber crime organizations continue to grab the headlines," said Phillip Dunkelberger, president and CEO of PGP Corporation. "This is a huge problem -- on many levels. Fortune 1000 companies, government organizations and other institutions can no longer approach their protection "one device" at a time -- instead they need to address the data strategically, with centralized enterprise data protection that encrypts data across all devices, endpoints, and networks. The latest innovations to the PGP Encryption Platform provide for increased policy control across multiple applications as data is created, copied, shared and stored."
File servers have emerged as an industry-standard tool for enabling users and project teams to collaborate and share information. PGP NetShare 9.9 solves a critical need for file sharing organizations, by allowing administrators to easily set policy-based encryption by application -- wherever data may reside.
With PGP NetShare, enterprises can utilize centralized policy to automatically enforce data protection for any application, such as Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Adobe Acrobat, no matter where the application or file is located. For example, every Word document can be encrypted as soon as it is created, updated or saved to a local file, temp file, flash drive or file server. PGP NetShare's ability to set policies by application also extends to custom in-house corporate applications, without having to edit code.
PGP Universal Server 2.9 has added capabilities that enable organizations to enforce or defer email encryption policy when users are offline. Administrators can now enforce policy for offline users by controlling what happens to email when the PGP Universal Server cannot be accessed by PGP Desktop Email. Options include blocking outbound messages, sending outbound messages unencrypted or allowing users to follow locally defined policy. A PGP pop-up notification window can optionally be enabled, informing the user that policy could not be executed, and asking if the user would like to send the message unsecured. Any use of this client offline bypass feature is logged to PGP Universal Server.
The PGP Whole Disk Encryption update extends keyboard support from 5 to 38 keyboard locales and includes the anticipated general availability of PGP Whole Disk Encryption 9.9 for the Mac OS X, with pre-boot authentication. Mac usage in the enterprise is growing beyond corporate marketing groups to mission-critical areas of the enterprise.
Now with PGP Whole Disk Encryption 9.9, enterprises can cost effectively safeguard data and set centrally-defined security policies from a single management console for both Mac and Windows clients, automatically protecting data across platforms whether at rest or in motion.
The shift from point solution encryption applications to enterprise wide encryption platforms is acknowledged by security analysts and researchers. "Users are in a quandary. Due to the recognition that data has considerable value and compliance with government regulations and industry standards, more and more encryption is required. However by extending encryption to disks, emails, or files, the solutions can be cumbersome and complex, especially when handling key management," said Charles Kolodgy, research director for IDC's Security Products research. "Global organizations understand they need to take a more holistic view of enterprise data protection. By using a solutions approach, PGP Corporation is reducing the complexity associated with individual encryption products."
PGP Whole Disk Encryption 9.9, PGP Whole Disk Encryption 9.9 for the Mac OS X, PGP Desktop Email 9.9 and PGP NetShare 9.9 are all generally available and can be purchased through the PGP global network of resellers. The pricing for PGP Whole Disk Encryption starts at US$ 119 per seat for Windows or Mac, PGP Universal Server 2.9 starts at US$ 169 per seat; and PGP NetShare 9.9 starts at US$ 149 per seat.
