Do you need PRISM Prevention?

It could be argued, of course, that this took longer to appear than might have been expected, but it is inevitable that some company in the data security business would bite the bullet and reference the still newsworthy US National Security Agency PRISM program in a new product name.

So here is Egnyte, which has just announced its PRISM Prevention Program.

This is, in essence, a `DropBox sniffer’, aimed at companies worried about security and privacy risks associated using such cloud-only file-sharing solutions within their businesses. The new program will enable companies to detect the internal use of unapproved and insecure cloud-only file sharing solutions, and enable them to move those files to a secure platform that can protect their files from risks, such as exposure to potential government monitoring.

And the risks of exposing data to the prying eyes of state officials is not inconsequential. During the last six months of 2012, Facebook said it had received as many as 10,000 requests from local, state and federal agencies, which impacted as many as 19,000 of its 1.1 billion accounts worldwide.

Over the same period, Microsoft received between 6,000 and 7,000 criminal and security warrants, subpoenas and orders affecting as many as 32,000 customer accounts. And during Box’s recent user conference, the company’s CEO Aaron Levie admitted that the company generally plans to comply with government requests for data.

In addition to these privacy concerns, a recent study by research company, IDG, reported that 60 percent of companies believe that cloud file sharing has compromised their data security. Respondents also reported that 61 percent of all files would always need to be stored locally since IT has low confidence in the security of cloud-only storage methods.

The PRISM Prevention Program is for companies with files too secure or private to be shared via cloud-only file sharing solutions. It includes a risk assessment process that can detect any of the more than 20 cloud-only file-sharing services found in most businesses today, plus five Egnyte Storage Connect licenses to enable file access and sharing directly from any on-premise storage device, precluding any exposure associated with cloud-only file sharing.

Storage Connect has also been enhanced, to create what the company claims is the only file sync and sharing platform to address the full range of enterprise file sharing needs. Egnyte customers can access ALL of the files they need to run their business, no matter where they’re stored - on-premise or cloud storage – from any device. The new functionality enables businesses to easily access even their most sensitive files, while still meeting their industry’s regulatory requirements.

“Due to concerns about privacy, security, intellectual property or mergers and acquisitions, businesses want to combine the simplicity and ease-of-use associated with cloud-file sharing with the security and privacy of their own infrastructure,” said Egnyte CEO Vineet Jain. “Our PRISM Prevention Program provides a business with everything it needs to detect cloud-only file sharing services that may introduce risk. It also offers a simple yet secure way for companies to securely access and share files too sensitive to be shared through the cloud.”