Secure data exchange specialist Egress Software Technologies has patented a new way of ensuring shared information is viewed only by intended recipients.
The UK patented technology is being commercialized in a service known as Switch. This allows information to be packaged using strong AES 256-bit encryption and sent to a recipient in a variety of ways such as attached to an email, burned on a CD/DVD, copied to a USB stick or transferred through the web or FTP.
The content owner can then set or change security policies independent of the package through a service in the cloud. Delivered as a software service, Switch was introduced in March and is developing a base of users.
The system effectively assigns an identity to each package and applies real-time controls on what a recipient can do with a file that is shared with them.
Egress Switch also offers a complete view of when the information recipient has opened or used the shared information, as well as unauthorised access attempts.
In doing so the system brings an audit trail to all file sharing activity, before and after transmission. It also allows a user to “pull information back” if it needs to be recalled. The data owner can revoke access and permissions after a file has been sent.
