Vancouver-based tech company launches solution to e-mail theft
On Line Support, a Vancouver-based technology company, has been selected to launch and distribute e-mail encryption products and services in the Western United States.
The software, developed by Zix Corporation of Dallas, is designed to provide protection for businesses against electronic information theft – a growing area of concern for companies that deal with sensitive information.
John Sauer, sales manager for On Line Support, said businesses that regularly use e-mail to send confidential information must not only be mindful of message content, but also of the route a message takes. He said it's not uncommon for an e-mail to travel through 10 servers that crisscross the globe before reaching its destination's in-box, which may be just across town.
"If your data crosses a compromised server, it can be picked up," Sauer said.
Geoff Bibby, vice president of corporate marketing at Zix, noted that information theft often comes in non-traditional forms these days. One example, he said, is in the medical field where criminals are using identity theft to gain healthcare services.
"While nearly everyone understands the importance of protecting against spam and viruses, few people realize that sending any kind of personal information via e-mail greatly increases the potential for that information to be stolen and misused," said Eric Olmsted, president of On Line Support.
Olmsted and Sauer expect medical and financial organizations to be among the area's first to use the encryption software, as they work to balance federal regulations designed to insure the safety of confidential information, with customer expectations.
"Any business or government entity that deals with confidential personal information either is or will be regulated into e-mail encryption," said Olmsted.
