One of the main reasons people encrypt correspondence is to guarantee some form of privacy over the Internet. To illustrate the point, Biodata IT directors Christian Runte and Ingrid Reimsch"ussel, say that non-encrypted e-mails are like postcards - they can be intercepted and accessed by anyone at anytime.
It is here where Biodata IT introduces its PKI or Public Key Infrastructure solution. A public key and private key, generated by the PKI Server, are used in conjunction with each other to digitally encrypt e-mail thereby rendering it accessible only to the correct recipient.
Biodata IT, together with its reseller Exponant, recently went live with Africa`s first ever freely available keyserver platform for e-mail encryption; www.keyserver.co.za is the Web-based platform that allows people to download and retrieve public keys.
Home users will be able to download Biodata`s CryptoEX Outlook software off www.keyserver.co.za as a plug-in to Microsoft Outlook (not Express) and Lotus Notes. The online facility will also feature white papers with instructions on how to generate the necessary pair of keys.
Runte says: "This is a freely available facility and the first of its kind in Africa. We see this as not only an investment into our industry, but also a value-added service to the community. We would like as many people to become involved and help develop the platform in order to establish a strong, secure and private means of electronic communication. Biodata is keen to gain the buy-in of local ISPs and we are confident that people will soon understand the benefit of acquiring and using the platform."
Privacy and the right to free speech over the Internet are issues that continue to prevail - especially within the corporate world. Data protection, hacking, cracking and theft of intellectual capital are issues that IT managers grapple with on a continuous basis. The threats are real, says Runte, and can be external or internal or both.
Encryption technology is not as daunting as some may think. There are a number of options as far as encryption hardware is concerned. Biodata`s product portfolio includes Babylon - a range of high-security devices for the encryption of communication lines.
Says Reimsch"ussel: "Biodata Babylon is the only encryption platform with interchangeable interfaces - making the system compatible with all environments, such as ISDN, diginet lines, Frame Relay and X.25. In the context of multinational business processes, confidential information is being sent across open networks such as phone lines, unsafe data lines and the Internet."
Runte adds: "To decipher encrypted information you need to have access to a secret key. Biodata Babylon uses hardware supported symmetric encryption algorithms for encrypting the data stream."
Share
Biodata Information Technology provides network, PC and communication security products. The company`s portfolio incorporates Internet servers that each include a firewall, router, web e-mail and file server as well as high-speed data and e-mail encryption products for IP-based systems and network services. In the IT security market, Biodata positions itself as a One-Stop Shop Supplier of Communication and Network Security. Encryption secures the transmission of data packets via public telecommunication networks. Firewalls protect computer networks from unauthorised access (hacking) and data theft via the Internet. E-mail encryption and PKI solutions cover the security of communication.
Biodata`s activities stretch to each of these growing markets including ISDN. The company distributes a router, developed by Bintec Communications, designed to provide quick and reliable Internet connection via ISDN line. The company intends to achieve a total competitive advantage in all market segments by strong global expansion.
Biodata`s concept and market approach is to develop proprietary products for the individual areas of IT security including routers and content security.
Editorial contacts