Features - Storage Innovations:

KASTEN CHASE RELEASES ASSURENCY CIPHERSHARET 3.0

Kasten Chase, a provider of enterprise-class, data storage security solutions for secure information management, announced the release of Assurency CipherShareT 3.0, a secure collaboration and file-sharing solution that now offers enhanced cryptography and new management features.

"Assurency CipherShare 3.0 helps organizations eliminate the business risk associated with sharing valuable or sensitive information in collaborative working relationships," said Michael Milligan, chief executive officer of Kasten Chase. "The solution further reinforces our message to corporate executives that -- as the perimeter of your enterprise continues to shift -- you must protect the data first."

Assurency CipherShare 3.0 combines "anytime, anywhere" information access, document management features, optimized file sharing, real-time communication and robust data security. It allows organizations to establish secure, virtual workspaces across network and organizational boundaries to enhance workgroup productivity. Employing strong authentication, granular access control and transparent data encryption, CipherShare 3.0 protects collaborative information on servers, on desktops, on mobile computing platforms, and at all points in between.

Assurency CipherShare 3.0 introduces three major enhancements:

• Kasten Chase Cryptographic Engine (KCCE). Assurency CipherShare Version 3.0 incorporates Kasten Chase's advanced cryptographic engine. KCCE, a candidate for FIPS 140-2 Level 1 certification, utilizes Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) for all public/private key operations.

While cryptographic strength is a configurable option within CipherShare, Version 3.0 ensures that all significant cryptographic parameters -- symmetric key length, asymmetric key length, digital signature algorithms -- are of equivalent strength, as recommended in NIST guidelines. A highly-efficient algorithm, ECC maintains overall system performance when long symmetric keys are protected with asymmetric keys of equivalent cryptographic strength.

• Policy Manager. CipherShare 3.0's Policy Manager provides Security Officers with a configuration utility to set key security parameters for an entire workgroup. Parameters such as cryptographic strength (e.g. symmetric and asymmetric key length), passphrase characteristics (e.g. length, composition, expiry and reuse policies), document export features, file recovery mechanisms, and system alerts can be configured through a single, simple management interface. The Policy Manager allows CipherShare to be tailored to specific needs quickly and efficiently.
• User Passphrase and Account Reset. User Passphrase and Account Reset are new tools to recover secure information in the event a user forgets their passphrase, or leaves a working group. Both recovery tools include robust safeguards to prevent rogue administrators or employees from gaining unauthorized access to valuable or sensitive information. CipherShare 3.0 protects the collaborative environment by ensuring that no single individual has sufficient privileges to compromise any user's account or data.

"People working in trusted relationships, including engineering, health care, human resources and legal professionals, benefit immediately from CipherShare's secure collaboration features," said Steve Ducat, senior vice president of business development. "It provides secure information access and sophisticated document management for workgroups sharing sensitive information -- CAD/CAM files, medical records, personal information, legal documents -- around the office or around the world."