May 14, 2007

AirZip today announced its most powerful version of FileSECURE ever, and without doubt the most powerful and continually enhanced enterprise rights management and document security platform in the marketplace. 

Previously, FileSECURE was focused on the secure distribution of content.  Under this model, the content owners developed and modified content in the normal manner. It was only at the point that the content owner wished to distribute the content to third parties that the file was secured using the FileSECURE Author and rights and policies applied. It was up to the content owner to specifically request deletion or shredding of the original unsecured file as part of the securing process if the owner did not wish to leave an unsecured copy on their system.  If the owner did not choose to do this, then both a secured and unsecured version would be left on the system. Another side effect of this model was that during the creation and editing process, the original content was not secure.

In reality, much confidential content is created on notebook computers by people who are constantly mobile.  It is clearly advisable to minimize the amount of unsecured content on these laptops in case of loss or theft.  For this reason, it is highly desirable that sensitive information be secured throughout the creation and editing phases in addition to when it is  distributed.

The major new feature in FileSECURE 4.3 is the introduction of the Editor client.  The initial release of FileSECURE Editor is integrated into Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint (versions 2003, XP and 2007), the most widely used office applications.  Editors are in the middle of the Author/Reader hierarchy. A variety of policies can control Editor operations, and Editors can be assigned to Authors who, in a supervisory position, retain control of policies that can be assigned to files and documents.

Another unique feature being introduced into FileSECURE 4.3 is AirZip’s patent pending dynamic watermarking to better secure on-screen and printed output.  Traditional watermarks serve to identify the content owner.  AirZip’s watermarking is primarily used to identify the person accessing the content by adding several configurable data items to each page, such as the user’s IP and mac addresses, Windows hostname, Windows and/or FileSECURE ID’s, date, time, etc.  While it is not possible to prevent someone from taking digital photographs of on-screen content, or making photocopies of printed output, the watermarks serve to identify who was responsible for permitting such leaks to take place thereby acting as a deterrence.

Highlights of FileSECURE 4.3 are:

• Editor client integrated with Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint versions 2003, XP and 2007;

• Patent-pending dynamic on-screen and print watermarking;

• Secured Microsoft Office documents are now viewed in their native applications preserving fidelity, layout and security;

• Introduction of FileSECURE Publisher, a powerful XML driven application suitable for bulk securing of files, or being driven by external applications;

• Author and Reader enhancements permitting them to be easily integrated with third party applications;

• Server side reporting. Previously, all FileSECURE reporting was event based.  Server side reporting allows users to obtain reports on Organization, User, Group, Policy, etc. relationships;

• Permit more than one machine ID per user account.  Previously, FileSECURE could restrict a user from accessing secured content from more than one computer without administrative intervention. This has been increased to permit users to access their secured content from up to eight (8) approved computers – the exact number being set by policy. With the policy set to 2, for example, a user can now access secured content from both their pre-approved desktop at work plus a notebook while traveling.

• Support for the Data Execution Prevention (DEP) feature built into Windows XP Service Pack 2 and later operating systems to exploit the No Execute page protection and Execute Disable bit security features built into recent Intel and AMD processors;

• Added IBM DB2 to the list of supported FileSECURE databases;

• Support for Windows Vista for both FileSECURE Server and Clients. Windows 98, ME and NT are no longer supported;

• Client installers have been significantly reduced in size;

• AZF creation (incorporating Adobe PDF technology) performance has been significantly improved;

• [Japan only] Enhancements to Ridoc document management system integration to permit securing of entire directories;

• [Japan only] Ridoc event auditing has been enhanced.

• [Post General Availability feature] Support for simultaneous LDAP-integrated and non-integrated users.

• [Post General Availability feature] Configurable whitelisting of screen capture, remote access and virtual machine applications and environments.

• [Post General Availability feature] SSL now supported for email connections.

• [Post General Availability feature] Integration with Actify SpinFire Professional.