Voltage Security Technology Overview – Identity-Based Encryption

Information Encryption for Email, Files, Documents and Databases

Breakthrough Technology for a Changing World
In 1984, Adi Shamir, one of the inventors of the well-known RSA public key system, proposed that using identity directly as a public key, rather than relying on certificates, might be the best approach for simplifying public key cryptography. For the next two decades, numerous attempts were made to provide an Identity-Based Encryption algorithm, but no practical solution was found.

Your Identity Is the Key
In 2000, Dr. Dan Boneh and Dr. Matt Franklin achieved a mathematical breakthrough and invented the first practical Identity-Based Encryption (IBE) system. Their scheme uses bilinear mappings, known as Weil and Tate pairings, on elliptic curves to obtain an algorithm that can be used to turn a simple, well-recognized identity into a public/private key pair. From these powerful mathematics, comes an elegant mechanism to secure email, files, documents and databases – online and offline, without the need to pre-register recipients.

Learn more about Identity-Based Encryption.

Leveraging Identity-Based Encryption to Secure Email, Files, Documents and Databases
By using well-known identities as public keys, Identity-Based Encryption (IBE) eliminates the complexity of certificates, Certificate Revocation Lists (CRL) and other costly infrastructure. The practical application of IBE results in a solution that is easy to implement and easy to manage, without the overhead and cost inherent in traditional security solutions. The scalability of the IBE approach means that, for the first time, companies can protect sensitive information persistently and based on policy – no matter where it goes. The ability to securely share information opens up new business opportunities, better customer service and, most importantly, differentiated competitive advantage.

Learn about solving the challenges of information encryption for email, files, documents and databases.

Voltage Security Patents
Voltage Security continues to innovate and patents relating to IBE and other Voltage innovations have now been issued. We are working closely with standards bodies such as the IETF and IEEE to explore making these technologies available to a broad range of ISV's through reasonable and non-discriminatory licensing.

Learn about Voltage Security patents that have issued.