Swedbank New York has purchased a new facsimile machine that provides security for confidential documents and saves money now spent on courier services.
The machine, developed by Seal System, Greenwich, Conn., can encrypt fax signals and provide special handling of fax printouts. It collects all the pages of a fax transmission and seals them securely in a plastic envelope. The envelope then can be delivered to the intended person without the risk of unauthorized acess to its contents.
The envelope is deposited in a strong-box below the machine that can be opened only by authorized personnel.
"We use the machine to receive and send sensitive documents between our offices in Europe and in New York," said Kaj Norberg, general manager of Swedbank's New York operation.
The system, called SealFax, allows Mr. Norberg to transmit messages between the bank's offices in Stockholm, London, Brussels and Luxembourg, as well as to important clients.
Risk of Tampering
Traditional fax transmission, he noted, runs the risk of being tampered with. For this reason, the use of registered letters or courier mail has become a norm atthe bank. However, this mode of delivery proved to be time-consuming and very costly.
"The growing expense and reliance on courier services at our bank was a reson to find another way to move important papers," Mr. Norberg said.
"Before, you could fax something but you could never know for sure who had seen it. With this new machine, I feel more comfortable about security."
Seal sytem's encryption feature ensures that transmission are not intercepted.
At the receiving end,the message is automatically decrypted. Users are assigned a smart card and a PIN-number.
Swedbank has begun using the fax system in such areas as funds transfer, contracts and agreements, credit reports, and other confidential documents.
The brain of the machine is a sophisticated microprocessor. SealFax can also be interfaced with a personal computer and printer.
