Trend Micro Launches LeakProof 5.0

PC protection software specialist Trend Micro has announced the latest version of the company’s data loss prevention software, Leak Proof. Version 5.0 comes as part of a data protection pack, which bundles together Trend Micro’s LeakProof Standard, Email Encryption Gateway and Message Archiver solutions.

The software’s new Active Update service helps businesses keep up-to-date on compliance templates, validators and applications such as instant messaging and Webmail formats. Trend Micro is also offering LeakProof Server as an appliance or as a software virtual appliance that can be deployed onto bare-metal or within a virtualized environment.

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"Today's economic turmoil has sensitized businesses and governments to the need to protect privacy and intellectual property," said Punit Minocha, Trend Micro’s general manager of data protection. "Given that a big chunk of data breaches come from the inside, our customers are asking for a solution to stop accidental and malicious data leaks, but have hesitated due to complexity. LeakProof 5.0 breaks down complexity barriers that previously inhibited DLP adoption."

Available in two versions, LeakProof Standard helps businesses comply with regulatory mandates by securing employee and customer data, while LeakProof Advanced offers the same protection plus DataDNA fingerprinting to secure intellectual property, according to the company. The software is expected to be available in later this month. LeakProof 5.0 Standard one-year licenses for the 251-500 seat count start at $47.82 per user, while LeakProof 5.0 Advanced one-year licenses for the same count start at $68.32 per user.

Trend Micro said its DataDNA technology provides optimal accuracy and performance for detecting sensitive data. The technology involves algorithms that extract data’s "DNA" embedded in files, records, e-mails and other content and stores them as signatures. The company compares the process to taking fingerprints: LeakProof provides a unique DNA sequence for the information in the document. Additionally, the character-based technology extracts fingerprints from any language.

LeakProof 5.0 also features remote fingerprint extraction for file systems and SharePoint, filters for control over potential loss vectors, and "out of the box" compliance templates to ensure compliance with regulations. Both versions of LeakProof include a client and a management server, and the software client supports Windows 2008, 2003, Vista and XP.

Thomas Gonzalez, technology manager of the Girl Scouts Southwest Texas, said he enjoys the simplicity of the solution and the ease of use. "I took advantage of the HIPAA and PCI compliance templates and only had to modify a few fields to meet the requirements for our environment,” he said. “It protects the reputation of our organization and helps us avoid the embarrassment and legal liability of a data leak—I just specify the endpoints and the hardware devices, and lockdown is done."

According to a 2008 report by the Identity Theft Resource Center, more than 35 million data records were reportedly breached in 2008, more than double from the year before. A similar study by the Ponemon Institute found that 80 percent of internal breaches come from authorized insiders.