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Pointsec offers a host of security solutions targeted largely at BPOs, BFSI and mobile segments. It believes that most Indian groups are doing business abroad and their customers data have to be secured and protected to insure confidentiality and privacy of business critical data. CIOL met up with Sascha Beyer, managing director, Pointsec Mobile Technologies AB, to find out more about its solutions and how it estimates the Indian market. Excerpts from an interview:

CIOL: How do you estimate the Indian market for security solutions?

SB: The Indian IT security market is no different than any other territories. Government organizations, financial institutions and banks, and large business groups all are typical customers for us globally as well as in India.

All major vendors of IT security products have presence or representations in this huge market just as Pointsec has, and we see the Indian market for our security products gaining pace dramatically in two to three years.
 
CIOL: What are your strategies for this market? Who all are you targeting?

SB: With respect to our channel partner strategy, Pointsec has appointed Trident Infotech Services as its distribution and service support partner in India. Pointsec plans to set up its India office in Mumbai by September 2005 to be even closer to its customers and partners.

As far as who are our target customers, any large organization who understands that it is too risky to go about doing business without a firewall, and intrusion detection systems, and anti-spam, these kinds of organizations are our target audience. Our message is very clear and concise: device protection through full hard disk encryption is a crucial missing piece of todays suite of security solutions in place. We offer proven, certified, and affordable solutions that protect computing devices the the of data on these devices without affecting the functionality and performance of these devices.

CIOL: How does Pointsec's file and media encryption solution protect user data?

Sascha Beyer: Pointsec's Media Encryption supports encryption -- automatically and in real-time -- of removable media and removable hard disks, manual file encryption, local folder and/or hard disk encryption, secure deletion of files, creation of encrypted CDs/DVDs.
 
Using transparent, strong and FIPS-certified encryption, Pointsec Media Encryption ensures that information is only accessible to those who should have access to it. Information is still protected when it leaves your organization. Recipients of protected information do not need Pointsec Media Encryption installed; with self-extracting files and stand-alone access all that is needed is the correct password; the software is included.
 
CIOL: How does the Pointsec for Symbian safeguard confidential information?

SB: Pointsec for Symbian OS extends automatic, real-time encryption of important information to phones and PDAs running Symbian OS.

Pointsec for Symbian OS protects and encrypts your information, for example e-mail, SMS messages and images. For the mobile enterprise, Pointsec for Symbian OS ensures that security policies are easy to distribute and enforce across your organization.
 
With Pointsec for Symbian OS, PDA users enjoy convenient, real-time encryption of sensitive information on both their PDAs and memory cards. The information stored is automatically encrypted, without user intervention.
 
It also supports central administration -- create, deploy and enforce settings according to the organization's security policy from one central location.
 
CIOL: How is your solution useful for smartphones?

SB: Pointsec for Smartphone provides automatic, real-time encryption of information stored on Windows mobile-based smartphones.
 
Pointsec for Smartphone protects information, including e-mail, text messages and images, stored on Windows® Mobile-based smartphones. For enterprises on the move, Pointsec for Smartphone ensures that smartphones can be easily incorporated and managed by a central security policy guaranteeing that the sensitive information they carry is secure.
 
With Pointsec for Smartphone, you enjoy convenient, real-time encryption of sensitive information stored on smartphones. Information is automatically and transparently encrypted, using 128-bit AES data encryption, without user intervention.
 
It also supports central administration - create, deploy and enforce settings according to the organization's security policy from one central location.
 
CIOL: What is unique about the PicturePIN user authentication? Who are using it among the handset vendors?

SB: With Pointsec's patent-pending PicturePIN, a user simply creates a story using the pictures, and then enters the story to unlock the device and access the information. This makes the password easy to remember and at the same time difficult to guess. The symbols change position each time, so there is no need to worry about shoulder surfers or that scratches on the screen could reveal the PIN.
 
PicturePIN is a component of Pointsec's solutions for Pocket PC, Symbian OS, Palm OS and Microsoft Windows-based smartphones. This means for instance handsets from HP iPAQ, Toshiba, Dell Axim, QTek, Samsung, Pocket LOOX, Palm Treo, Nokia and Sony Ericsson.
 
CIOL: How are Pointsec's solutions useful for laptops? What are the USPs?

SB: Theft of proprietary information is by far the most costly type of security incident for large organizations, according to the annual Computer Security Institute and FBI Computer Crime & Security Survey.

A laptop can easily contain an organization's all vital information, and since a mobile computer is created to be easy to carry around it is also easy to lose. If a computer contains personal information, it is in many parts of the world a criminal act not to protect it from the risk of ending up in the wrong hands.

The UK government has called identity theft the fastest growing type of crime, and the demands on those who handle personally identifiable information will increase.
 
With Pointsec's solutions, information stored on laptop and desktop PCs whether they are running Microsoft or Linux OS; on PDAs and smartphones running Palm, Symbian or Windows Mobile; and on removable storage media, such as USB memory sticks, floppy disks, CDs, DVDs, as well as protecting selected files in transit for example via email.
 
When using Pointsec to protect information on your laptop, all data is automatically encrypted without user intervention and with no noticeable performance loss.
  
CIOL: How can Indian enterprises benefit from your solutions?

SB: Indian banking and business process outsourcing (BPO) organizations benefit when deploying Pointsec security solutions by becoming compliant to internationally enforceable IT security acts such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), the Gramm-Leach-Bliley act, and the India Information Technology Act.

A growing number of Indian companies are listed on NASDAQ and NYSE stock markets and this means that US laws are applicable on them even if they operate from India. Furthermore, most Indian groups are doing business abroad and their customers data have to be secured and protected to insure confidentiality and privacy of business critical data.

Furthermore, mobility and the use of mobile devices is exploding globally and in India as well. Computers and storage devices are growing feet and can easily leave company premises without being noticed. With out proper measures to secure these machines, the image and the bottom lines of companies will be at great risk.