Charlotte, N.C. — Virtual StrongBox, Inc., said it has received a patent for its secure storage system and file encryption method for safeguarding data at rest — in response to the "growing epidemic" of data breaches.
The technology behind the patent allows encryption of all data at rest in every database that stores personally identifiable information (PII), the company said.
"We felt it was time to take action against the ongoing theft of consumer data," company president and CEO Ron Daly said in a statement. "Our industry is supposed to be the best of the bunch in protecting PII, yet the breaches continue — and not just at credit card companies and retailers."
Daly also said that Virtual StrongBox's "unprecedented" level of security is provided by a proprietary file system using dedicated, redundant storage devices.
"Encryption at rest can make a huge difference in security, and we believe it should be the industry standard," Daly added. "When you think about these cyber-crimes, it adds up to a phenomenal amount money to recover from lost business, reputation damage, regulatory bear down and customer claims — not to mention the toll on victims. With the right security protocol, it very likely could have prevented or mitigated much of the damage at retailers."
Daly further said his company, along with some of its collaboration partners, is starting talks with financial institutions and other companies that handle PII, as well as trade groups and regulators, to urge adoption of encryption-at-rest practices, either independently or through Virtual StrongBox.
