PGP Encryption Platform

Overview

Increased data accountability and increasing IT complexity require a new approach to securing data. Customers, business partners, and regulatory bodies are requesting higher levels of security for sensitive information.

The PGP® Encryption Platform reduces the complexities of protecting business data by enabling organizations to deploy and manage multiple encryption applications cost effectively from a single management console. When the organization needs additional encryption applications, the PGP Encryption Platform makes installing another, separate infrastructure unnecessary because the infrastructure was deployed with the first PGP® encryption application.

The PGP Encryption Platform provides a strategic enterprise encryption framework for shared user and key management, policy, and provisioning that is automated across multiple, integrated encryption applications. Integrated PGP Corporation and third-party encryption applications enable organizations to deploy automated encryption as needed, with the data security functions required to solve the business requirement. This data-centric approach protects data in motion and in transit anywhere, anytime.

Enabling Proactive Encryption Strategies

Businesses worldwide are increasingly dependent on IT to accelerate growth and profitability. At the same time, enterprises must address evolving compliance requirements, secure intellectual property globally, and protect brand equity in an era of costly, embarrassing data security breaches. The PGP Encryption Platform enables organizations to address immediate needs and continue to proactively deploy encryption applications without burdening administrators with multiple interfaces or distracting end users with new training requirements. This approach enables IT to develop a proactive encryption strategy to mitigate risks before they affect operations or threaten the corporate brand and reputation.

First Application Delivers the Platform

The PGP Encryption Platform provides automated encryption services to a growing set of integrated applications. Deploying one enterprise encryption application delivers the PGP Encryption Platform, allowing organizations to quickly deploy new applications as needed. For example, an organization could first deploy email encryption with PGP Universal™ Gateway Email. Then it might deploy PGP® Whole Disk Encryption clients to all laptop users, and subsequently add PGP® NetShare end-to-end storage encryption for the engineering, HR, and sales teams. The entire deployment is managed from a single administrative console using centralized policy and configuration.

Accelerating Deployment, Reducing Operational Costs

As organizations continue to deploy encryption applications, the PGP Encryption Platform removes the need for additional administration, deployment, policy, and provisioning systems. Instead of configuring and maintaining different systems, administrators can now focus on addressing important business needs. Unified user management and policy enforced consistently across applications allows organizations to address initial and subsequent threats, while reducing operational costs by removing the need for redundant resources.

More than a Suite

The PGP Encryption Platform and integrated applications differ from other encryption approaches, including suites or sets of applications. Unlike the PGP Encryption Platform, application suites lack integrated user management, policy, and other services. Suites require administrators to learn and manage multiple, different administrative consoles, leading to concerns about compliance achievement and risk mitigation. Application suites also increase acquisition costs by requiring the licensing of multiple add-ons and management applications to achieve functionality similar to that of an integrated platform.

Technical Specifications

Standards-Based Interfaces

• HTTPS
• LDAPS
• Secure SOAPS

Directory Integration

• Microsoft Active Directory
• Lotus Notes/Domino Directory
• PGP® Global Directory

Key and Certificate Management

• OpenPGP
• X.509 v3

Automated Functions

• User management
• Key management
• Provisioning
• Policy management
• Logging
• Monitoring
• Reporting

Managed Encryption Applications

• PGP Universal™ Gateway Email
• PGP® Desktop Email
• PGP® Desktop Professional
• PGP® Desktop Storage
• PGP® Desktop Corporate
• PGP® NetShare
• PGP® Whole Disk Encryption
• PGP® Support Package for BlackBerry®

FAQ

What is the PGP Encryption Platform and why is it important?

The PGP Encryption Platform is the architecture for deploying and managing enterprise encryption applications. The PGP Encryption Platform includes applications from PGP Corporation and third-party vendors and provides automated user, key, and policy management services as well as integration with existing infrastructure such as directory services.

As a single framework for deploying and centrally managing multiple encryption applications, the PGP Encryption Platform allows organizations to proactively plan an enterprise encryption strategy. This approach eliminates the potential need for multiple management systems and unintegrated encryption applications that waste administrators' time learning, deploying, managing, and supporting multiple encryption applications.

What business problem does the PGP Encryption Platform solve?

The PGP Encryption Platform addresses the business need to secure data across the enterprise while controlling costs, reducing administrative burden, and making encryption transparent to end users.

What are the key benefits of the PGP Encryption Platform?

By providing a framework for automated user and key management, provisioning, and policy enforcement, the PGP Encryption Platform helps to:

• Reduce operational costs–The PGP Encryption Platform architecture removes the need for learning, deploying, managing, and supporting different management systems for each encryption application deployed.
• Accelerate time to deploy encryption applications–Deployed with the first PGP encryption application installed, the PGP Encryption Platform architecture enables businesses to quickly deploy additional encryption applications. All PGP Encryption Platform–enabled applications can leverage existing user and key management, policies, and configurations to quickly begin meeting an organization's information security policy requirements.

What is new in the PGP Encryption Platform?

The most recent update to the PGP Encryption Platform architecture includes:

• Support for whole disk encryption with pre-boot authentication on Mac OS X
• Broader support for international keyboard configurations
• Per-application encryption policies in file sharing environments
• Extensive policy-based controls for encrypting removable storage devices, such as USB hard drives and flash drives