IronPort Systems® Inc., the leading Internet gateway security provider, today announced that it will acquire, in an all stock transaction, PostX Corporation, the leading provider of email encryption technology for enterprises. IronPort Systems also announced the introduction of major enhancements to its content scanning capability that, when combined with PostX technology, results in the world's most robust and scalable solution to provide secure, encrypted email.
"IronPort's success is driven by the fact that we listen to our customers," said Scott Weiss, CEO and cofounder of IronPort Systems. "Our customers evaluated the email encryption systems on the market and, time and again, they chose PostX. They frequently asked us to more deeply embed PostX technology into our IronPort appliances. This acquisition will allow us to reliably deliver what customers want."
Both Companies-Best-of-Breed
IronPort Systems protects more than 350 million users worldwide, more than any other gateway security appliance vendor. IronPort solutions have been chosen by 42 percent of the world's 100 largest corporations, as well as eight of the ten largest ISPs in the world. PostX email encryption technology has been deployed at Global 2000 companies, including the world's largest banks, credit card companies and Fortune 500 insurance companies.
Together, IronPort Systems and PostX will make this proven email encryption technology available to IronPort customers worldwide. IronPort will continue to sell the technology as 'PostX Secure Envelope'. In addition, IronPort will continue to support and grow the PostX OEM business.
"The email security space is clearly entering a consolidation phase," said Peter Christy, co-founder and analyst at NetsEdge Research. "IronPort is one of only a few vendors with the momentum to be a consolidator. This move gives them control of the leading email encryption technology. I suspect we will see more of this type activity in the near future."
Success in Simplicity
One reason that PostX email encryption technology has become so widely adopted is the simplicity of the solution. PostX has developed a unique client-less technology that delivers secure, reliable email content protection to every mailbox on the Internet, regardless of what software is being used to access email. Several email encryption methods have been in existence for more than a decade, but have not achieved the success of PostX because they require additional software at both the sender and receiver of email.
IronPort Systems integrates the PostX technology seamlessly into the sender's infrastructure, without requiring end-user involvement. Using IronPort's advanced compliance suite and Web-based Email Security Manager™, an IT team can reliably identify sensitive email-borne information and then automatically apply the PostX encryption system. The recipient receives an email (secured with the PostX Envelope) that, when opened, reveals a familiar interface to authenticate the reader and allow the email to be viewed.
"We have been working with IronPort Systems to meet the security needs of the largest corporations in the world," said Cayce UIlman, CEO of PostX. "From our vantage point, this is an unbeatable combination. We feel right at home as part of the IronPort family."
Managing Complex Corporate Email Policies
IronPort Systems today also announced a series of enhancements to its content scanning suite. IronPort Systems' new content rendering engine is now able to open and extract text and meta data from nearly 400 different attachment types, including popular formats such as PDF files and all Microsoft Office documents. This document-rendering engine is managed by IronPort Email Security Manager, a powerful Web-based console that allows corporate IT teams to easily manage complex, corporate email policies and adhere to regulations such as Sarbanes Oxley (SOX) and HIPAA.
IronPort Email Security Manager contains pre-built lexicons of sensitive keywords. IronPort and PostX have already integrated PostX's compliance lexicons into the IronPort appliance - these are the only lexicons that have received an endorsement from the American Hospital Association (AHA). Messages that match rules created on the IronPort appliance are then routed through the PostX engine for encryption. Finally, in support of this robust filtering capability, IronPort Systems has developed specialized reports. These reports allow compliance officers and administrators to identify compliance actions on a per-individual and per-policy basis.
Fixing Business Class Email
Looking beyond regulatory compliance, the IronPort Systems and PostX combination has the potential to fundamentally change the way business email works. The PostX Envelope gives senders a level of accountability and control that has never existed in email. The PostX solution allows the sender to determine who has access and at what level for each email.
"Often times email is a convenient way for sensitive or private information to propagate into the wrong hands. The PostX technology allows a sender to truly recall a message, meaning that the recipient cannot open it once it has been recalled", said Ullman. "For those email users that have accidentally hit 'reply all' when they meant to hit 'reply', the value of this feature is self-evident."
The PostX Envelope brings this technology to all email clients - webmail, Microsoft Outlook, Lotus Notes, literally any email viewing solution. Together, IronPort Systems and PostX are bringing a different class of email - business class email - to the enterprise. This email is safe, secure, authenticated, free of spam and viruses, and has the accountability and tracking found in traditional delivery systems (such as FedEx).
Available Now
IronPort Systems email security appliances with PostX lexicons are available now. The enhanced compliance suite is included in IronPort AsyncOS™ 5.0, available in late November. The PostX encryption engine will be integrated into IronPort appliances in early 2007. All PostX products continue to be available. Visit www.ironport.com or www.postx.com for more details.
About IronPort Systems
IronPort Systems is the leading Internet gateway security provider for organizations ranging from small businesses to the Global 2000. The company has developed a family of security gateway appliances, including the IronPort C-Series™ email security appliances, and the IronPort S-Series™ Web security appliances. All IronPort application-specific appliances offer breakthrough performance, and utilize SenderBase®, the world's largest email and Web threat detection network and database. IronPort Systems provides high-performance, easy-to-use and technically innovative products for those faced with the monumental task of managing and protecting their mission-critical networks from Internet threats. To learn more about IronPort Systems products and services, please visit: http://www.ironport.com.
About PostX Corporation
PostX ensures secure encrypted delivery of information vital to business and customer relationships. The company's proprietary technology provides easy-to-use, enterprise-class encrypted communication for regulatory compliance and cost reduction initiatives. Organizations immediately benefit from an increase in effective communications with their employees, partners and customers.
The company is the exclusive secure email provider endorsed by the American Hospital Association (AHA), to provide a standardized secure messaging solution to comply with stringent HIPAA regulations, recommended to the entire AHA network of 37,000 individual health care providers and more than 5,000 hospitals. Additionally, PostX is a founding member and represented on the Board of Governance of the Trusted Electronic Communications Forum (TECF; www.tecf.org), a cross-industry association founded to eradicate spoofing and phishing.
The company is headquartered in the U.S. in Cupertino, CA. PostX partners and customers include ABN AMRO, Aetna, BorderWare, Charles Schwab, Children's Hospital, Citi, DirectTV Enterprises, HSBC, IBM, IronPort, Marsh Inc., Mayo Clinic, McAfee, Mercy Health Partners, MessageLabs, Microsoft, RSA Security, Sendmail, Sophos and the United States Postal Service (USPS). For more information visit www.postx.com.
For Media Contact:
Fusion PR for PostX Corporation
Michelle Van Jura | 310.481.1431, Ext. 15 | [email protected]
PostX is a registered trademark and the PostX logo and PostX Platform are trademarks of PostX Corporation. All other trademarks herein are the property of their respective owners. Copyright 2002 - 2006 PostX Corporation. All rights reserved.
