McAfee, Adobe to Integrate Data Loss Prevention and DRM for Enterprise Security

UPDATE: McAfee and Adobe Systems are teaming up to bring integrated data loss prevention and digital rights management solutions to market.

Details on the new product were scarce, and officials at McAfee said they plan to release more information at Focus 09, its upcoming customer and partner conference in Las Vegas. The idea behind the product is to combine McAfee’s policy-based data classification technology with Adobe’s policy-based document protection to help organizations better secure intellectual property and other data. The tool is expected to be ready by early 2010.

“We are excited about the potential that this partnership can bring to our joint customers and partners,” said Dave Scholtz, senior vice president of worldwide strategic alliance at McAfee, in a statement. “Both McAfee and Adobe serve millions of consumers and the world’s largest enterprises. By combining our efforts in the way information is handled and secured, our customers’ data will be better protected.”

McAfee announced a similar partnership last year with enterprise rights management vendor Liquid Machines. Other companies, such as Microsoft and RSA, have made alliances along similar lines as well.  

As part of the partnership with Adobe, McAfee has agreed to offer a free diagnostic tool called McAfee Security Scan as an optional download to customers installing Adobe Reader and Adobe Flash Player software from Adobe.com. The McAfee tool checks for anti-virus software and firewall protection on users’ computers. When the scan is complete, it presents a report detailing the status of their security protections, as well as special offers for McAfee security software.

”At Adobe, our goal is to provide our customers with the most effective and reliable means to securely collaborate and exchange information,” said Rob Tarkoff, senior vice president of the Business Productivity Business Unit at Adobe, in a statement. “We are pleased to work with McAfee to jointly deliver the latest, proven solutions that help protect consumers and enterprises from security threats.” 

UPDATE: This story was updated to note that the tool combining the companies' DRM and DLP capabilities is scheduled to come in 2010.