Crypto Tool from Linoma to be Offered by Bsafe

July 15, 2008 Alex Woodie

i OS security software developer Bsafe Information Systems will sell Linoma Software‘s field-level encryption software for i OS, called Crypto Complete, as a component of its own Enterprise Security suite, the companies announced recently.

Linoma launched Crypto Complete nearly a year ago to address the growing demand for database encryption software on IBM i5/OS (now referred to simply as i). Much of this demand has been driven by the PCI Data Security Standard, and the need to protect names, credit card numbers, and other sensitive data that is sent across the network during payment transactions and often stored on servers.

What sets Crypto Complete apart from other encryption tools is the level of automation that Linoma built into the product. While Crypto Complete uses the IBM encryption APIs (for AES256, AES192, AES128, and Triple-DES) that are available to any i OS programmer, the level of technical skill required to implement these APIs in many circumstances was too high for many customers. Crypto Complete enables customers to automate the use of these encryption APIs, and to do so without modifying source code.

Crypto Complete also implements a native i OS key management system, and includes an integrated auditing function that logs all activity. In addition to encrypting files in DB2/400, it can be used to encrypt backups.

Avi Cramer, who was recently hired as CEO of the Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey-based Bsafe, says he was impressed with Linoma’s Crypto Complete, adding that it will make a good fit with Bsafe’s comprehensive security management software for i OS.

“In our evaluation of software-based encryption product suppliers, we found Linoma Software to have the best mix with regard to product and service offering,” Cramer says in a prepared statement. “Combining the Crypto Complete product’s encryption capabilities with Bsafe’s template-based compliance management functionality will give our customers a deeper level of security that will enable them to minimize the risk of fines and other penalties related to PCI or other compliance mandates.”

Bob Luebbe, president and chief architect of Linoma, which is based in Ashland, Nebraska, applauded the synergies generated by the partnership. “Combining Bsafe Enterprise Security’s state of the art security technology with Crypto Complete will allow our customers to have a single solution to meet their security requirements on the IBM i server platform, giving them the ability to put strict controls on data, facilitating their regulatory compliance, while allowing them time to concentrate on other mission-critical initiatives,” he says in a prepared statement.