Confidentiality with Confidence
This is a simple concept. So why is Terisa the only company addressing the problem of confidentiality in this way?Well, follow the money. Most encryption applications apply to eMail. Which makes sense, given that most data travels in this medium.
Terisa, however, is taking a broader and longer view. With the further development of "push" technology, whereby data is downloaded to your desktop from a variety of sources, the ability to make documents confidential in a dynamic environment is a big step forward.
The implications, of course, go beyond this. Until private and secure communication becomes realizable at the desktop level, the Web's potential is seriously circumscribed.
We all, in our lifetimes, are involved in the performance of confidential transactions. These can range from the transmission of medical records, to buying stock, to bidding on a contract. You can doubtless think of many more examples from your own life.
It's fair to say that the most immediate application of Secure Web Documents® is within corporate Intranets. It allows, for example, the transmission of secure data across a network, with digital ID's ensuring that the information is only available to those entitled to view it.
In time, as we come to realize the full implications of the Information Age, the need for a simple, portable application to guarantee the confidentiality of private documents will become more and more apparent.
The conceptual basis of Secure Web Documents® is addressing that need today. It's one of the components of the latest Netscape Enterprise server software, as well as Navigator.
There's an explanation, a demo and a dowloadable plug-in (available for Windows NT and '95) of the product at the Terisa website, although, as a technophobe, I found the explanation of the product quite difficult to understand (and the plug-in and demo unusable on my Mac...).
As a Webmaster or Systems Administrator, I would strongly recommend investigating this means of ensuring confidentiality for your clients. - John Blower
May, 1997