Voltage Security solution available locally

Local IT company Cornastone Holdings has won the rights to distribute US-based security vendor Voltage Security`s e-mail encryption solution in SA.

Voltage has attracted over 200 customers in America - including the US Department of Defence and large financial institutions, said Cornastone.

Voltage`s solution differs from other e-mail security solutions, which use symmetric and asymmetric key encryption, enterprise security practice advisor at Cornastone, Patrick Devine, told attendees at a media conference on Friday in Bryanston.

Voltage utilises identity-based encryption, which eliminates the complexity of certificates, certificate revocation lists and other costly infrastructure, according to the company`s Web site.

"A company will be able to send electronic documents completely securely, even outside the company and to people who don`t have the software on their computers," he said.

When e-mails are sent from a company using Voltage to an outside party that does not have the software, a window will pop up on the recipient`s machine.

Recipients will have to verify their e-mail addresses, and the Voltage server will send a password (or private key) allowing the mail to be opened by the correct e-mail account holder only.

Larger organisations can integrate the server into their own server environment, in order to have total control, noted Devine. Smaller organisations can deploy the technology by using external Voltage servers.

Microsoft would host the encryption technology on its Exchange server, Reyneke announced.

The technology was developed in 2001 by Dan Boneh, who is from the same Stanford class as Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin.