Data is the backbone of any organization, an invaluable source of vital information that drives crucial business decisions and goals. Even though data is the lifeblood of an enterprise, numerous companies claim that discovering where their sensitive files reside is one of the most difficult challenges. It is no surprise then that data is often the target of cybercriminals.

Data theft exposes highly sensitive and confidential information of a firm to unauthorized persons. The assumption that an external hacker always causes this is not true. Security infringements also happen by a malicious insider, when devices get lost or stolen, or in some cases, by an employee who would have caused an accidental data breach. Protecting sensitive company files from theft is essential to prevent downtime, safeguard reputation, and retain customers’ trust.     

While security breaches are nothing new, today, data theft at many organizations seem to be incessantly in the news. Though the size and scope of the hacks may differ, it is no secret that firms hit suffer severe consequences. Driven by the extent of this security-invasion problem, Greg Morell, Dan Gleason, Joseph Loveless, and Doug Simmons came together to build an encryption technology that is unlike any other. Active Cypher, their brainchild, is a swift, real-time encryption solution that requires no keys, certificates, or passwords all while providing enterprises with a powerful, worry-free security experience. “Active Cypher easily integrates with a firm’s Microsoft Enterprise for complete protection and prevention of becoming tomorrow’s data-breach news headline,” states Gleason. 

Understanding the Importance of Securing what Matters the Most

In today’s globally connected environment, security is becoming exceedingly vital. In many instances, the emphasis on early detection and perimeter defenses isn’t achieving the goal of data protection. “The explosion of the cloud, a growing Bring Your Own Devices (BYOD) work culture, and with mobile connection growing exponentially, it is becoming apparent that data, at its source, is how it is best protected,” elucidates Loveless.

Protecting files in porous enterprise networks is crucial because far too often detection of data theft happens too late, and the damage dealt is extensive. Furthermore, current protections at the file level are dependent on multifaceted third-party solutions or direct user involvement, which makes the data more susceptible to a security breach. To add to the problem, security platforms can further enlarge the attack surface and multiply these vulnerabilities.

Protecting Millions of Files with One Product and A Single Simple Step

Given that it takes a considerable amount of time and effort to discover that file loss and theft has happened, it is vital for organizations to protect files at the source. Even today, many enterprises continue to rely on obsolete and inefficient methodologies used in the past. Though the average market age for existing file protection technologies is more than 15 years, data theft continues to impact firms.

Determined to help companies accomplish end-to-end security right from the outset, Active Cypher acts as a solution that is deeply integrated into the Microsoft Stack and the Azure Cloud with no additional user or third-party involvement. “Active Cypher intensely studied the problems that plagued the file-encryption technology market, determined what was required, and imagined what was possible. Active Cypher was then developed to deliver effective security to protect files and data regardless of its state, location, or proximity to users. This is what we address,” affirms Morrell.

As an encryption technology, Active Cypher protects enterprises against inevitable data loss that confronts organizations today. Though security measures such as anti-phishing filters, firewalls, and detection mechanisms help prevent malicious activities, they do not eliminate the threat of data breach and other compromising incidents. Hackers continue to display determination, patience, and creativity to breach all possible defensive measures. Active Cypher has been designed to protect files when hackers get through.

“Using patented, innovative technologies that leverage new approaches, AES-256 encryption standards, and unique performance accelerants, Active Cypher will serve as a firm’s continuous safeguard. Even better, Active Cypher offers protection without creating an additional burden on the company’s workforce or IT staff,” discloses Simmons. “Whether employees are actively working on files or the files are at rest on the server, Active Cypher requires no passwords and no speed penalties, but only assures pure, seamless encryption that a business deserves 24/7,” adds Gleason.

For organizations in the pharmaceutical, healthcare, financial services, legal, and manufacturing industry, files, and data are valuable state secrets and intellectual property. Active Cypher offers these industries scalable, supreme file protection, that allows them to make the most of their IT security budget. 

Improving an Organization’s Odds of Securing the Uncontrollable

“Active Cypher was built for the worst-case scenario that has become the everyday scenario,” reveals Gleason. Keeping this reality in mind, the team designed a unique, game-changing solution to provide maximum value and protection to enterprises. Some of Active Cypher’s key benefits are listed below:

• Ensures files are always encrypted and can be viewed or edited only by authorized users
• Operates faster and efficiently at the file level due to low latency and minimal CPU impact
• Provides greater security by enhancing AES 256 while employing a proprietary security algorithm utilizing a one-time virtual pad
• Integrates with Windows security groups and synchronizes with Azure Active Directory cloud services and Office 365
• Requires no additional hardware, console, resources, control panels, complex configuration, learning curves, and user training
• Installs and deploys effortlessly with users who are unaffected by the encryption process taking place  

Staying Ahead of the Curve with Cutting-Edge Strategies

Since Active Cypher is developed inside the Microsoft technical stack, it provides inherent benefits as well as superior file protection across the enterprise without any of the performance problems that are present in other existing technologies. Active Cypher is well integrated with Microsoft Active Directory Services and Azure Active Directory for Identity Access Management (IAM) of user operations. This means that there is no necessity to synchronize or duplicate user profiles and rely on third-party platforms, which often creates security vulnerabilities, dysfunction risks, and performance latencies. Some of the important strategies that differentiate Active Cypher from its competitors include the following:

System Authority – Active Cypher’s deep incorporation with Microsoft Active Directory Services and Microsoft Azure ensures real-time file protection and authentication without interrupting user interaction and causing an additional administrative burden.

Key Management – “Active Cypher is a non-standard implementation of AES-256 that uses a combination of binary object storage and user validation challenges in a state-of-the-art secrets information exchange process. This ensures keys cannot be stolen or compromised to access data by any unauthorized persons or systems,” describes Simmons.

File Integrity and Recovery – Active Cypher not only secures access and storage of files by authorized users, but it also ensures that a firm/customer can always recover lost or stolen encrypted files if they perform standard backup practices.

Windows Virtual Desktop – Active Cypher is working closely with Microsoft to provide file protection and sharing capabilities within the Windows Virtual Desktop (WVD) platform. Additionally, Active Cypher will also offer advanced mobile device management capabilities to organizations using WVD to help significantly reduce risk exposure.

Unveiling the Team that Helped Brightened the Bleak Picture 

Greg Morrell - Founder and President

As the President of Active Cypher’s founding executive team, Greg Morrell oversees the execution of various milestones related to sales, marketing, product development, and team formation. He also administers all the financial aspects of the company. By leveraging on his expertise from his successful career stints in diverse industries, Greg positively and competently solidifies Active Cypher’s success trajectory right from the product planning stage to customer experience.  

Dan Gleason – Product Development

With in-depth knowledge of all things Microsoft, including process improvement, data design, and analysis, Dan’s specialized expertise lies in bringing robust solutions to complex problems. Having worked with numerous companies for development and consultation, Dan acts as the chief product developer and architect of Active Cypher’s file-level security solution. His focus is on creating scalable business automation offerings that merge business goals with technology to provide maximum efficiency, optimum workflow, exceptional product quality, and enhanced risk control and security.  

Joseph Loveless – Market Development

Joseph Loveless possesses incredible leadership skills in the creation and execution of effective business development strategies that effortlessly achieve target objectives. He is a well-recognized industry leader with a proven record for data-driven market development and management. As a veteran providing consultative skills to multiple organizations, he has successfully implemented marketing and sales activities and acts as an industry spokesperson on enterprise security-related matters.

Doug Simmons – Product Support and Market Research

Doug has more than 35 years of experience in Identity Access Management and IT security. He is a frequent public speaker on these topics, sharing his knowledge of research findings, lessons, and industry best practices. Doug carries out extensive research on emerging IT security trends, data privacy, authentication approaches, and other relevant topics. He uses this vast information to develop technical strategies, business cases, and migration plans to incorporate such initiatives. For the past several years, Doug has played the role of subject matter expert and consulted with organizations globally to strategize, assess, and design IT security policies, infrastructure, and processes.

Meeting Aggressive Business Goals with the Future of File Encryption

The design and integration of Active Cypher with Microsoft Azure enables the team to develop aggressive roadmap timelines. The technology not only leverages the Microsoft Azure cloud platform and strategy but is currently delivering a file protection solution that works perfectly in the Windows Virtual Desktop environment, even before the official launch of the WVD.

The WVD launch will happen in the summer of 2019, and it is expected to be one of the most exciting releases in the market. This launch is Microsoft’s pivotal strategy to virtualize Windows desktops and applications while achieving the objectives of scale, efficiency, and profitability. Active Cypher is collaborating with Microsoft and is already entirely functional in the Windows Virtual Desktop platform.

Companies that use WVD will be able to optimize their business applications, evolve and meet business goals, impeccably deploy processes into the cloud, as well as expedite the distribution of files. While actively sharing data brings a high risk of theft and loss, Active Cypher quickly and completely provides protection. Therefore, organizations that utilize WVD will also employ Active Cypher to ensure files, especially those containing intellectual property assets, are secured from the start.  

“This achievement expands our capabilities to all remote devices and other important areas, including security blockchain, using Microsoft’s virtual desktop – and all before the official launch of the platform itself. Moves like this are rather easily accomplished because of the inherent existing competencies and architecture of our patented file protection technology,” concludes Morrell.