Last week we announced upcoming improvements to SecureDoc that we plan to deliver in the April timeframe. These enhancements include support for BitLocker and TCG Enterprise drives and we’re really excited about the value these new solutions will ultimately deliver to customers.

Support for BitLocker addresses the only gap SecureDoc had in its management capabilities but we’re not simply managing BitLocker, we’re adding additional value to how our customers can use it.

When using BitLocker alone, users and administrators are able to take advantage of strong native encryption, but authentication is device-based, not user-based, as today’s businesses require. Solutions like SecureDoc BitLocker management help fill a key gap in this native encryption offering. With SecureDoc management for BitLocker administrators will gain:

• Better control and security for BitLocker through the enablement of strong user authentication and multi-factor authentication. Administrators can leverage existing network log-in credentials (instead of only a PIN) in addition to multi-factor authentication with smart cards or other tokens to lock down system access and guarantee high-level security of devices. This multi-factor authentication approach is critical for many government institutions and organizations with high security requirements.
• PBConnex support. SecureDoc allows for pre-boot network authentication – authenticating the users via the local network. This also enables IT managers to reset users’ passwords and make Active Directory role assignments without needing to visit each machine, and without users completing complicated password-challenge-response queries. This saves a dramatic amount of IT time without sacrificing the security of the machines.

WinMagic firmly believes that while OS-based encryption is good enough, there’s a definitive need to add more value beyond that with the management functionality which is what we’ll deliver in April.

In addition to this, we also announced the forthcoming SecureDoc OSA for Servers which is an evolution of our SecureDoc OSA solution. With this new solution we will be supporting TCG Enterprise drives. For more on these types of drives, see Garry McCracken’s post from a couple of weeks ago.

Enterprise drives offer the best, most secure and efficient way to encrypt data on a disk. With OSA for Servers, WinMagic has removed a key pain point for IT administrators and enabled remote unattended booting/re-booting of departmental servers via pre-boot network authentication – something traditionally impossible for encrypted servers and something only WinMagic offers.

All in all, it’s exciting to talk about what we’ll be releasing the coming weeks and as we go to the RSA 2014 conference next week.