Voltage Aims for Easier Encryption

Encryption has been around for many years, and the need for it is becoming clearer all the time. Yet it still isn't widely used. Could encryption's problem be that it's too difficult for users to use and IT administrators to manage?

Voltage Security is trying to change that. The company is seeing increased need for encryption given new regulations for securing information. In addition, more companies want to share more information safely with people outside the company and even outside the country (such as offshore business partners).

Voltage Vice President of Marketing Wasim Ahmad told us that in talking with Voltage customers, the company came to a few conclusions about encryption solutions: 1. They have to be easy to use for everyone (users and administrators). 2. They have to scale, and they can't get more expensive as you add people. 3. They can't require business partners to have a special infrastructure.

In February, the company announced some products with those principles in mind. The Voltage SecureMail 3.0 encrypted email solution gained an antiphishing capability and new ease-of-use features for users and administrators. Voltage cofounder Matt Pauker explained that SecureMail antiphishing uses an image to identify the sender to the recipient. Recipients don't need special software to open email messages; when they get a message in their inbox, they follow a few steps to open it in their Web browser.

The new Voltage Security Network is a managed service for secure email.

The new Voltage Data Protection solution encrypts data flowing through applications and databases. According to Pauker, Data Protection's "format-preserving encryption" can encrypt existing information such as credit card numbers without changing its format, so the data will still fit in existing databases and applications.

For more information, go to the Voltage Web site.