
PRESS RELEASE
: February 16, 2004
Voltage Security™ Announces
First
End-to-End Security Solution for
Corporate Instant Messaging
Beyond the Firewall
Voltage SecureIM
for Microsoft Office Live Communications Server 2003 Secures
Sensitive Messages Flowing To and From the Enterprise
Palo Alto, CA--February 16,
2004-- Voltage
Security, Inc.,
provider of secure multi-channel business communication solutions,
today announced Voltage SecureIM(TM), the first-ever information
security solution that delivers powerful usability combined
with end-to-end content security for instant messaging inside
and outside the enterprise firewall. Also announced was endorsement
by Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT)
of Voltage SecureIM support for Microsoft Office Live Communications
Server 2003 enterprise instant messaging (IM) and presence
capabilities.
Up until today, secure instant messaging has been limited
to session security only which doesn't address customer requirements
such as strong authentication to identify users, encrypted
archival of content, and true end-to-end security. Voltage
SecureIM goes beyond securing the instant messaging session
to digitally signing and encrypting all content being exchanged.
This means that customers can be confident that they are
meeting stringent compliance requirements while still having
the flexibility of real-time presence built into key business
applications.
"Enterprise customers, particularly in real-time industries
such as financial services and healthcare, need urgency,
convenience and security in their communication," said Sathvik
Krishnamurthy, president and CEO of Voltage Security, Inc. "Now
all end-to-end security for email, IM and files can be managed
under a single policy framework. Our goal is to bring content
security to all the leading instant messaging systems, and
to all the channels of communication within the enterprise."
"High levels of security are essential for instant
messaging within the enterprise," said Gurdeep Singh Pall,
general manager, Real Time Collaboration, Microsoft Corporation. "Low
cost-of-ownership, ease-of-deployment and end-user transparency
are values offered by Voltage SecureIM that we feel will
appeal to our Microsoft Office Live Communications Server
customers, especially in the financial services and government
arenas."
"Bringing the powerful combination of ease-of-use and
security provided by IBE to instant messaging is a breakthrough," said
Chris Shipley, executive producer of DEMO 2004. "It
has been impossible to reach customers and partners
over instant messaging with full end-to-end content level
security. Now, with Voltage SecureIM, which is designed to
integrate into leading enterprise instant messaging solutions, we
can expect an even faster adoption rate for instant messaging
in the enterprise and even the most sensitive information
can be sent quickly and securely to customers and others."
Voltage SecureIM is the first solution
to provide this level of end-to-end security combined with
new levels of usability,
making it possible for corporations to exchange sensitive
data with customers and partners via instant messaging.
Voltage SecureIM contains the following features:
- Support for Microsoft
Office Live Communications Server 2003 enabling corporations
to use instant messaging to communicate quickly and
securely, with both internal users and external users such
as customers, vendors and business partners.
- Digital signatures to provide an authenticated
audit trail so that the user is assured of both data and
sender integrity. This is particularly important for the
exchange of "high-value", time-sensitive information such
as banking, financial and mortgage information, insurance
and medical data, and classified government information.
- Security at the content level so that all communication
is encrypted in audit logs and archives.
- Built on a single integrated
platform for secure multi-channel business communication,
enabling easy yet secure exchange of private information
across email, files and instant messaging.
Voltage
SecureIM is based on Identity-Based Encryption (IBE), a fundamental
breakthrough in usability and security, which enables enterprise
users, for the first time, to engage in secure anytime, anywhere
business communication. IBE uses simple identities, such
as an email, phone number or IP address, to secure all kinds
of business communication. IBE alleviates the need for cumbersome
pre-enrollment procedures and certificate management typically
required by traditional public key systems.
Voltage SecureIM Applications
Instant messaging in the enterprise
is commonly used for real-time, urgent communication where
email is perceived to be to slow or not immediately accessed
by the recipient. For instance, a director of finance at
a large corporation may want to know the end-of-day balance
of the corporate cash account. The fastest way to attain
this figure is to send an instant message to the bank director
of treasury who handles the cash account. But, because
of federal security regulations, such as the Gramm-Leach-Bliley
Act (GLBA), the responding data can only be sent via a
secure channel. Now, with Voltage SecureIM, this "high-value" communication
exchange can be completed quickly, easily and securely.
The sending and receiving of patient medical, insurance
and billing information within the healthcare industry are
additional applications requiring, due to the Health Insurance
Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and federal privacy
regulations, information security. For instance, a physician's
office may need an insurance authorization prior to beginning
an emergency procedure. Now, the office staff can easily
send a Voltage SecureIM to the insurance desk requesting
and receiving authorization, securely, within a matter of
seconds.
Voltage SecureIM and Voltage SecurePolicy Suite
Voltage SecureIM works with the administration
features provided through the Voltage SecurePolicy Suite(TM) and complements
Voltage SecureMail(TM) and Voltage SecureFile(TM). Today,
Voltage SecureIM supports Microsoft Office Live Communications
Server 2003 and features a downloadable agent that sits on
top of Windows Messenger 5.0.2. In the future, additional
enterprise IM servers will be supported.
About Demo 2004
The
annual DEMO and DEMOmobile conferences focus on emerging technologies
and new products, which are hand-selected by executive producer
Chris Shipley from across the spectrum of the personal technology
marketplace. Top executives from the leading hardware and software
technology companies, venture capitalists, journalists from
key industry publications and industry analysts attend the
DEMO and DEMOmobile conferences to preview the most promising
products and technologies for the coming year. DEMO is held
in February each year and features approximately 60 new companies,
products and technologies. DEMOmobile is held each fall and
features approximately 35 new mobile technologies. For more
information, visit http://www.demo.com/.
About Voltage Security
Voltage Security, Inc. provides the market leading
Voltage Enterprise Privacy Management Platform™, a
breakthrough foundation for securing all forms of digital
business communication flowing into and outside an organization.
Based on a revolutionary breakthrough called IBE, or Identity-Based
Encryption, the Voltage Enterprise Privacy Management Platform
greatly simplifies the use and administration of traditional
security systems. Voltage Security markets its own enterprise
solutions including the Voltage SecureMail Gateway™,
Voltage SecureMail™ and secure mobile messaging solutions
for RIMs BlackBerry® and Microsoft Windows Mobile-based
Pocket PCs and Smartphones, and partners with other leading
companies such as CipherTrust, FrontBridge Technologies (a
Microsoft company) and Proofpoint to serve the expanded security
needs of the enterprise. Third-party and corporate developers
can secure customer applications with the Voltage IBE Toolkit™.
Voltage Security customers include leading corporations and
governmental agencies from around the globe including XL
Global Services, Waterfield Mortgage, QVC Japan and Hitachi.
###
Voltage SecurePolicy Suite, Voltage SecurePolicy Service,
Voltage SecureMail, Voltage SecureFile, and Voltage IBE
Developer Toolkit are
either trademarks or registered trademarks of Voltage
Security, Inc. All other product names and trademarks
are the property of their owner.
Brightmail® is a U.S. registered trademark. Brightmail Anti-Spam, Probe Network and the BLOC are trademarks of Brightmail Incorporated. All other names and brands are the property of their respective holders.
