New solution protects corporate information
Laptop Battery By Mike Klein • 03/17/04 Have you ever received e-mail with attachments containing sensitive corporate information not intended for you? Whether these documents were sent in error, stored on a stolen notebook computer or sent by a disgruntled employee, the consequences can be embarrassing and costly. Serious legal ramifications and breaches of national security may result from access to this type of information. At the recent DEMO 2004 conference, Adobe Systems recently introduced a new solution to protect the distribution, privacy and access of electronic documents.
The security, privacy and integrity of corporate, personal and healthcare information are of increasing concern to corporate and technology executives. Not only can a breach in corporate security send sensitive documents around the Internet in only a matter of minutes; its also a financial risk. A report issued by the FBI and CSI reported losses from information theft exceeded $70 million in 2003, with the average loss estimated at $2.7 million.
Adobe Systems Policy Server is a new enterprise document control program that enables users and IT administrators to control who can view PDF documents as well as who can modify, print, copy, shred and forward a document. The program also allows for these permissions to be changed, revoked or set to expire at a specific date after a document has been distributed.
For example, a manufacturer sends a product plan to one of its authorized partners for review. If the partner forwards the plan to an unauthorized recipient, that person will not be able to open the document. Similarly, a bank can send statements as protected PDF e-mail attachments to its customers, regardless of the customers e-mail client or platform. When the customer opens the statement, it looks identical to its paper counterpart and it can be saved for viewing offline.
Threats to intellectual property and proprietary information have organizations struggling to safeguard their business critical data from intentional theft and unintentional misuses, said Paul Proctor, vice president of security and risk strategies at the META Group. Additionally, new regulations such as HIPPA requiring the privacy and confidentiality of corporate and customer information, place increased demands on organizations to protect and control this data in the enterprise.
This new document service technology adds to Adobes Intelligent Document Platform for generating, collaborating, processing and securing intelligent documents in enterprise. According to the company, the software offers a more secure, easy-to-use solution that integrates with existing IT investments in document and user management, helping to lower total cost of ownership.
"Building on the inherent document security capabilities in PDF, the Adobe Policy Server delivers ground-breaking advancements in corporate confidentiality and consumer privacy for our customers," said Ivan Koon, senior vice president, Intelligent Documents Business Unit at Adobe. "From intellectual property to personal identity to national security, this new software allows organizations to extend their investments in Acrobat and PDF technologies to protect sensitive information in any form.
According to Adobe, the Policy Server product is scheduled for pilot release in summer of 2004 and is expected to be available by the end of the year.
"Computer industry analysts estimate that some 60 percent of all corporate data exists only on desktop and laptop computers, " said Walter Scott, CEO of Acronis. "Incorporating Acronis True Image with New Mexico Software backup server is the ideal solution to capture that corporate data and ensure that it is not lost. While traditional server backups are effective for protecting server data, every company should have a combination of server and workstation backup plans."
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