Emma Okonji
Sophos, a global player in network and endpoint security, has announced Sophos SafeGuard Encryption 8, a new synchronised encryption solution that protects data against theft from malware, attackers or accidental leaks.
All organisations can now choose to adopt the best practice of “always-on” file-level encryption to protect data accessed from mobile devices, laptops, desktops, on-prem networks and cloud-based file sharing applications.
Sophos becomes the first vendor to provide persistent, transparent and proactive encryption that protects files across Windows, Mac, iOS or Android platforms by default.
Until now, the management and adoption of encryption has been viewed as too complex and is not uniformly adopted, but according to Sophos survey, only 29 per cent of information technology (IT) managers said they always encrypt smartphones and only 43 per cent of Macs, leaving high levels of exposure across an organisation.
Announcing the new solution, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Enduser Security Group, Sophos, Mr. Dan Schiappa said: “Full disk encryption alone only protects data in the event of the theft or loss of a laptop or mobile device. But data travels everywhere – it’s vulnerable and extremely difficult to protect consistently when shared and opened from multiple devices and cloud-based collaboration applications.”
“We have completely re-imagined SafeGuard Encryption 8 to encrypt each individual file by default and continuously validate users, applications and devices for secure collaboration. We also provide password protected files, allowing users to share encrypted files with external recipients. When data security is simple and transparent, end users are more likely to accept it, making your whole business more secure and more likely to stay compliant,” Schiappa said.
He advised that comprehensive and manageable encryption should be high on the agenda for all Information Technology (IT) leaders as they reassess data protection strategies to meet new legislation requirements.
The European Union’s (EU) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into effect on May 25, 2018, when all companies holding customer or employee data of EU citizens will face severe financial penalties of up to four per cent of annual worldwide revenue if they suffer a data breach. This includes companies that are not necessarily based in the EU, but hold EU citizen data.
“Data privacy legislation is being introduced all over the world, and organisations of every size should review their data protection measures before they face increased consequences. Every company that conducts business in countries that have data privacy laws must comply with those local regulations,” said Schiappa.
“Encryption is widely agreed to be the best security measure available. Having Sophos SafeGuard Encryption can be an easy-to-manage, best practice step for any global business that needs to protect sensitive and proprietary information or maintain compliance with legislation,” he added.
As part of Sophos’ synchronized security strategy, Sophos SafeGuard Encryption can respond automatically to threat incidents from connected endpoint protection. During an active infection, Sophos SafeGuard Encryption can temporarily revoke encryption keys to protect data, and users can automatically get those keys back after the incident is resolved.
