Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is Zafesoft?
Zafesoft is a next generation paradigm for content security. Zafesoft protects critical content through transparent, character-based encryption. Original content and derivatives are secured.
2. Why Zafesoft?
Zafesoft was founded to solve the security problems that derivative content creates. Zafesoft delivers a significantly more granular and dynamic level of security, implementing a powerful new security paradigm designed especially for our collaborative world.
Zafesoft security protects original content at the character level through a patent-pending encryption method. Once content is Zafed it is always protected, no matter how it is altered or shared, wherever it travels – within or outside of your corporate firewalls.
3. How is Zafe Different?
Today’s security paradigm operates on the fundamental premise of protecting access to the container of a file or server. Once access is granted, an authorized user can use a variety of methods to share content. Technologies such as DLP, as well as DRM, were created in an attempt to protect derivative content from leaving the corporation. Unfortunately, these technologies have failed to protect critical information.
Zafesoft shifts the security paradigm to focus on the content itself- not just the container. By protecting the characters of content with Always On Encryption Zafe prevents any unauthorized users from viewing any portion of the Zafed content.
Zafe is the only solution available today that protects derivative content for its entire life – no matter where it travels, regardless of where it is shared or stored.
4. What is Zafed content?
Zafed content is both encrypted and put under Zafe tracking for auditing and recall purposes. No changes are made to the content itself and all Zafe security capabilities are transparent to authorized users.
5. What hardware and software do I need?
Zafesoft is deployed as a cloud-based application. You don’t need to add of change any hardware.
The Z Central Server acts as the controller for the Zafe infrastructure. It manages User Authentication, creates Audit Trail Reporting and implements Security Profiles and Policies. The Z Central Server sits in a secure cloud environment and can be extended with a Z-Hub for protection within and outside of corporate firewalls.
The Z-Opener is a transparent client-side read (think Adobe Reader) that provides the Local Intelligence to Enforce and synchronize policy (with the Z Central Server), block activities/actions, decode Content for viewing and implement user-driven Zafed content.
6. How do I deploy Zafesoft?
Zafe is simple to deploy – as part of a normal business process. First, Zafesoft imports your LDAP or other policies and profiles. Then, sensitive content is moved into a Zafe folder and immediately Zafed. That’s it – your content is secured!
When authorized users click to open their first Zafed content – they are prompted to click to install the Z Opener. The Opener transparently downloads and installs and your user is now Zafed as well. After the Z Opener installs one time it manages security for that device and user going forward – transparently and simply.
Individual users can easily Zafe their own content through a folder or icon click on their desktop.
7. Does my content go to the Zafesoft Central Server? What about cloud security?
Your content is never uploaded to the Z Central Server. The content only goes where the users of the content send it. This is a great benefit to organizations that work with sensitive information, since there is no such thing as a secure cloud (the cloud is only as secure as the people running it, some of who have to have full access).
Once you Zafe your secure information, you can save it on anyone’s cloud because the content is secure. The administrators can manage the information, its backup, recovery, storage, co-lo etc. Your content remains secure with Zafe.
9. What about disconnected users?
Zafesoft supports disconnected users in a variety of manners.
10. What about screen capture?
Zafesoft suppresses screen capture of Zafed content.
11. What about printing?
If a user can print the document, then they can scan and use OCR (optical character recognition) to convert it to digital text again. That could be a security leak.
Zafesoft makes “Printing” a policy choice. It can be disabled, and users will not be able to print Zafed content, although they can continue to edit, save, email etc. this same content – if allowed. Non-Zafed files will continue to print.
12. How is Access Control different from Information Security?
Access control is what IRM and DRM (information rights management, digital rights management) technologies provide (say RM for short).
Access control – allows the owner of the file to decide who (authorized user) can open that file. What they do with that information after that is beyond the control of the owner (from a security point of view). So an authorized user can make a copy of the information, and potentially send, email, ftp, USB etc. to a million people anytime they want. Since the information goes out as free and clear (without traceability), it is difficult to discover who caused the leak.
However RM technologies, which are Windows centric, can limit the users rights on the document. So an RM policy could be created that prevents all the other users (not the owner) from edit, copy, paste, and save. Now this document is fairly secure, since the authorized user cannot easily take this information and send it to a million people. This is how RM can appear like information security.
Information Security is about securing the information, in the environment where it is created, used, modified, and ultimately sunset. It must provide multi-operating system access across multiple applications, and users and applications (authorized or not) must not be able to leak the information as information. This includes security from unauthorized print, any screen capture, unauthorized access, a copy paste to Notepad etc..
