Sophos SafeGuard® Disk Encryption Now Available for MacBooks and Macs to Protect Private and Confidential Information

August 2, 2010

Tools

New Transparent, Full-Disk Mac Encryption Protects Data and Helps Customers Better Comply with Regulations

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- IT security and data protection firm Sophos today announced a new addition to its Sophos data protection family, Sophos SafeGuard Disk Encryption for Mac, which protects against data breaches of confidential and private information on MacBooks and Macs.

Today, businesses are increasingly adding more Macs to their network. It’s not just small businesses, graphic design agencies, and academic institutions using Mac computers. According to a recent Gartner report*, IT departments at mid-to-large companies are feeling the pressure to accommodate employees and contractors who purchase Mac computers with their personal funds and want to incorporate them into their daily work lives.

Like PC users, Mac users store confidential company data, personally identifiable information (PII) such as social security numbers, credit, and debit card numbers, dates of birth, and financial information. However, the data stored on Macs often does not have the same level of protection that PCs have, which puts the company at risk.

The loss of PII – whether accidental or intentional – can have far-reaching negative effects. If unencrypted data were intercepted or fell into the wrong hands – cybercriminals, disgruntled employees, or competitors – it could be devastating to a business. Customers would lose confidence in the company, which translates to lost business, likely followed by negative press and fines for noncompliance. Many organizations are required to comply with a number of regulations and standards seeking to protect PII, including state data breach notifications, the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). If a breach of any magnitude occurs as a result of not having data encrypted, the company will face industry, state, and federal penalties and fines, lawsuits, and potential criminal charges.

With the addition of Sophos SafeGuard Disk Encryption for Mac to the SafeGuard family – which includes SafeGuard Enterprise and SafeGuard Easy – customers now have the ability to easily protect and enforce data protection on a single MacBook or a mix of tens of thousands of Macs and Windows PCs and laptops – giving them broader security coverage and better compliance with regulations.

NEW Sophos SafeGuard Disk Encryption for Mac – Offering customers state-of-the-art data protection without the complexity and inconvenience

Provides sector-based encryption of disk volumes, including the Mac OS boot volume and data volumes, and strong, standardized AES 256-bit encryption algorithm, and optimized encryption/decryption algorithms for high performance.

Sophos’s power-on user authentication (POA) ensures that only authorized users are allowed access to encrypted data and multi-user POA provides security for shared Macs. Encrypted data cannot be accessed even if hard drives are removed from Macs – only authorized users or security administrators can open and view.

Authorized administrators can quickly view the status via the Mac-friendly graphical interface and authorized access can be automated via a simple scripting command for larger organizations. Sophos provides better visibility for administrators with comprehensive logs detailing encryption status and user interactions during the POA process, including failed logon attempts.

On-the-fly encryption and decryption process is quick and fully transparent to the end user, which allows them to go about their daily activities without interruptions.

Advanced one-time credentials and alternate boot options allow authorized users who have lost or forgotten passwords to securely access the system and renew those passwords. Administrators can also create a recovery POA on a USB or CD to securely boot and access encrypted data on Macs in emergencies.

Sophos SafeGuard Disk Encryption for Mac deploys quickly with a very small client installation file for easier distribution and it’s compatible with any existing Mac system administration tools including Apple Remote Desktop. It also offers simple and flexible administration options for local or remote administration with easy-to-implement scripting commands.

Sophos Endpoint Security and Data Protection customers can add Sophos SafeGuard® Disk Encryption for Mac without additional licensing or cost.

Download a free trial (http://www.sophos.com/products/enterprise/encryption/disk-encryption-for-mac/) of Sophos SafeGuard Disk Encryption for Mac.

More Sophos Security for Macs and Data Protection Resources

Get the latest Anti-Virus for Mac from Sophos.
Download the latest Sophos iPhone application, Sophos Security Threat Monitor – highlighting the latest security news.
Download the Sophos Data Security Toolkit containing free tools to help secure your data, resources to explain data security threats, and security tips to share and help others.
Read the latest Sophos report, “Protecting Personally Identifiable Information”.

*Gartner “Vendor Rating: Apple in the Enterprise” by Charles Smulders and Mike McGuire, April 7, 2009.

About Sophos

More than 100 million users in 150 countries rely on Sophos as the best protection against complex threats and data loss. Sophos is committed to providing security and data protection solutions that are simple to manage, deploy, and use and that deliver the industry’s lowest total cost of ownership. Sophos offers award-winning encryption, endpoint security, web, email, and network access control solutions backed by SophosLabs – a global network of threat intelligence centers. With more than two decades of experience, Sophos is regarded as a leader in security and data protection by top analyst firms and has received many industry awards.

Sophos is headquartered in Boston, US and Oxford, UK. More information is available at www.sophos.com.

All product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.