Proofpoint Puts Security In The Cloud, On Mobile Devices

With the adoption of cloud computing and mobility skyrocketing, e-mail security and compliance player Proofpoint on Tuesday put its security into the public cloud and onto mobile devices with the launch of its Security and Compliance Cloud Platform and a trio of new mobile security applications for enterprise users.

The cloud platform is a turnaround on Proofpoint's traditional services model for security and compliance and focuses squarely on security, privacy and litigation. Designed to handle enterprise security and compliance needs, the platform leverages a three-tiered architecture that includes a secure infrastructure, shared cloud services and a series of application suites, said Peter Galvin, chief marketing officer for Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Proofpoint. Full cloud deployments utilize all three layers, while private cloud or on-premise configurations take pieces from specific components, Galvin said.

The infrastructure layer offers compute, network and storage resources for cloud-based security and compliance applications. It will be distributed to data centers worldwide and all network devices will be redundant within each data center. Each customer is deployed into multiple data centers for business continuity and disaster recovery protection.

On top of the infrastructure are Proofpoint's cloud services, the middle layer that features threat detection, classification, encryption, search and analysis and policy enforcement for core security and compliance capabilities, which are shared across the application layer.

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And the applications suite uses the infrastructure and shared cloud services to offer applications that include Proofpoint Enterprise Protection for eDiscovery, regulatory compliance and e-mail storage management; Proofpoint Enterprise Privacy for e-mail and social media compliance with standards including HIPAA, GLBA, and PCI-DSS, data loss prevention and encryption; and Proofpoint Enterprise Archive for creating, maintaining and enforcing a corporate e-mail and social media retention policy.

Galvin said the platform gives VARs, ISVs and integrators the ability to use an API to integrate Proofpoint services and platforms with their existing security and cloud offerings.

"Having this API layer now will allow different organizations to build out different product suites or new product suites around cloud security," he said, adding that solution providers can incorporate Proofpoint cloud-based security services with their own service offerings.

NEXT: New Mobile Security Apps Squash Smartphone Threats

Along with launching the Security and Compliance Cloud Platform, Proofpoint on Tuesday also pulled the curtain off of a trio of new applications that deliver security capabilities to smartphones and mobile devices. Galvin said the new apps look to thwart the recent rash of mobile device security threats that have taken hold as smartphones become more prevalent.

The new Proofpoint Mobile applications put Proofpoint's e-mail security, compliance and archiving offerings onto mobile devices and they run on the Proofpoint Security and Compliance Cloud Platform. Galvin said the apps are delivered through either light-weight, native applications or mobile-optimized Web apps.

The first, Proofpoint Mobile Encryption offers policy-driven encryption and decryption of mobile data to protect against regulatory and corporate policy violations and data loss. The app features Decrypt Assist, which offers one-click decryption for mobile users. Proofpoint Mobile Encryption, part of the Proofpoint Enterprise Privacy Suite, is available for all major smartphone operating systems, including Apple iPhone, BlackBerry, Google Android and Windows Phone 7. Also available is a BlackBerry plug-in feature for message encryption on BlackBerry smartphones.

The second is the Proofpoint Mobile Archive, which Galvin said lets users access all e-mail from a mobile device. Calling it an "infinite inbox," Galvin said the Mobile Archive apps offers on-demand access to several years' worth of e-mail information without the typical storage constraints of smartphones. The Mobile Archive app is available for the iPhone.

And the Proofpoint Mobile Dashboard gives IT staff the ability to manage and monitor Proofpoint Enterprise Protection offerings from smartphones with access to Proofpoint's security and Call Tracking System information. Data available includes spam effectiveness, deployment stats and customer tracking tickets to enable admins to monitor and report on security and compliance status from a mobile device.

"We recognize that security and compliance must be interwoven into any mobile initiative," Galvin said. "Without it, costly data breaches and compliance violations will occur. Our cloud-based mobile applications will allow any enterprise to welcome consumer-based technology into their communications fold."