Consumer, Corporate and Organizational Data Get New 'Total Wrap' Security Protection With Simplicity of Point and Click

Advanced Encryption Program Is "Ready To Drive" Out Of The Box With No Learning Curve, No New Passwords And Easy To Run

New Laws Sweeping Nation To Protect Consumer Info Set Higher Standards For Data Security Requirements

DETROIT, Nov. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Consumers, businesses, governments and organizations with sensitive information are finally getting a break from the growing epidemic of identity and data theft with a new Michigan-based computer security program just announced that comes "ready to drive" out of the box, requires no learning curve and puts an advanced technology spin on an ancient Leonardo da Vinci concept popularized in the book and movie, "The Da Vinci Code."

Dearborn, Mich.-based Aegis Data Security announced today (Wednesday) its new hardware and software package called Aegis Data Shield System(TM) to drive new global standards in protecting information on computers, networks and over the Internet.

"Aegis Data Shield System(TM) is the only data security product on the market that provides a full, robust and nimble suite of features for the highest and most advanced levels of total security, 'ready to drive' out of the box with user-friendly point and click simplicity, no learning curve and easy to run with all software," Aegis Data Security founder and president Matt Fanto said.

Fanto should know. He has strong roots in modern computer encryption, gaining national attention while still in high school, wrote U.S. Government standards while at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for the basic protocols that ensure Internet user privacy (SSL -- Secure Socket Layer and TLS -- Transport Layer Security), wrote software for the National Security Agency (NSA), and was head cryptographer for Ford Motor Company with global responsibilities; all by the age when most folks are just getting out of college. Fanto just turned 26.

New state-driven privacy laws are making encryption the new norm rather than the exception as states respond to the run-away epidemic of millions of lost or stolen records.

More than a quarter-billion data records [251,033,160] were reported lost or stolen in nearly 1,200 incidents in the last two years. The epidemic has reached a point where the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse began tracking a chronology of all reported data breaches: http://www.privacyrights.org/ar/ChronDataBreaches.htm.

More than 40 states now have legislation to protect consumer records. Nevada's data privacy law, started in October, 2008, prohibits businesses from electronically transferring consumer personal data outside their organizations unless it is encrypted.

Massachusetts passed the toughest law to date, in January, 2009, forcing all companies to encrypt information regardless of how it is stored or used, including laptops, mobile devices, smart phones, USB drives and all electronic transmissions.

"No CEO wants to be the next data loss poster child," Fanto said. "The next, natural step that is clearly coming is Federal legislation, which is already on the Congressional radar screen. Data loss protection is now the cost-effective action for any organization as well as the smart thing to do."

Fanto has a modest and even shy personality but found himself and Dearborn [Mich.] High School (DHS) buddies suddenly thrust onto the international stage, while still a sophomore, when they built the world's second wearable computer in 1999, complete with wireless Webcam. They suddenly were featured on TODAY, in the New York Times, AP and in media outlets around the world. The first was built by MIT's Media Lab.

Fanto and two DHS friends then developed the next year a "smart card" identification card with vital information stored in the card with CD-ROM technology. Fanto headed the encryption work for the card, using complex, custom password access algorithms for complete security. They were awarded the national Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Grand Prize Professional Award; even before graduating high school.

Aegis Data Shield System(TM) is completely unobtrusive with transparent integration into daily work flow. It works seamlessly with all widely used platforms and operating systems.

Users can even determine a point and click "time lock" so that files can only be viewed between certain times on a specific date. This could allow, for example, a patient to carry digital medical files to a specialty doctor who can only read them during the scheduled appointment; or keep documents in a complex deal from being read until a certain time.

Organizations with multiple locations can easily share data without the need to also share passwords or cumbersome steps and procedures. "The originator of the document simply points and clicks on the encryption icons on the screen. It really is that simple," Fanto said.

Aegis Data Shield System(TM) provides an automatic and detailed audit trail of all authorized access as well as any unauthorized access attempts; automatically protects portable and external media and devices, and enables users to manage their encryption from anywhere in the world.

Even the hardware that manages all this is tamper proof, using the "safe box" self destruction Leonardo da Vinci technique popularized in The Da Vinci Code book and movie. The story characters had to find and use an exact code or the vinegar in the "locked box" would spill and dissolve the parchment inside before the box could even be opened.

The Aegis Data Shield System(TM) server hardware uses a coating over its core operating chip that produces a chemical reaction to melt the chip if anyone tampers with it. Just like the original opening of "Mission Impossible," the brain chip self-destructs when tampered.

About Aegis Data Security: Aegis Data Security provides comprehensive data protection with The Aegis Data Shield System(TM) which wraps data with a total security blanket and sets new standards with the highest and most advanced levels of data security using simple, point-and-click encryption ready to use out of the box with no learning curve, no new passwords, total global control and ease of use. More detailed information is available at: http://www.aegisdatasecurity.com/index.html.

SOURCE Aegis Data Security