IBM promises enhanced security with new software

Armonk: IBM has introduced a new software that is expected to allow organizations to anonymously share and compare information without revealing private or sensitive personal details, introducing a new era of open, collaborative data sharing in financial services, healthcare, retail and other industries.

The new IBM technology, DB2 Anonymous Resolution, helps customers to rapidly and more securely share information with other organizations, while protecting - or "anonymizing" - the identity of individuals within their respective data repositories, an IBM release said.

DB2 Anonymous Resolution expands IBM's analytics capabilities through the use of irreversible "digital signatures" and advanced techniques for correlating this data while remaining in the "anonymized" form. This enhances privacy as it prevents data from being observed in its original form, thereby helping reduce the risk of misuse or accidental exposure.

It also helps to facilitate more secure information sharing between organizations and supports key strategic and regulatory initiatives, such as privacy compliance, information sharing in support of homeland security, regulatory compliance, due diligence in mergers and acquisitions, and clinical research, the release said.

"With the recent rise in identity theft and unintentional information disclosure, customers across all industries are telling us that the ability to safely and securely share data is a top priority for their businesses," said John Slitz, VP IBM Entity Analytics. "DB2 Anonymous Resolution will help companies to openly share their personally identifiable information in a manner that is more secure than transferring clear text or even encrypted data."

IBM's new Anonymous Resolution software will help customers meet the security and privacy demands associated with opening up their information repositories to take advantage of new and emerging business opportunities. Enabling customers to reach new levels of innovation by sharing and analyzing information based on the widest variety of sources is a key element of IBM's information on demand strategy.

DB2 Anonymous Resolution is the newest product from IBM's Entity Analytic Solutions (EAS) business, formerly known as SRD, which IBM acquired in January 2005. IBM Entity Analytics specializes in providing middleware products that enable organizations to increase business insight by delivering an accurate view into individuals (DB2 Identity Resolution) and relationships (DB2 Relationship Resolution) in real-time.