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The New Solution: Identity-Based Encryption (IBE)

Secure Netcom's solution uses a patented, award-winning, breakthrough approach in cryptography known as Identity-Based Encryption (IBE). Developed in Palo Alto, California and employed by major healthcare and financial organizations as well as the U.S. Government, IBE uses a simple identity such as an email address as the public key in a public/private key pair. IBE does not require the use of certificates thereby removing the usability and management problems inherent in traditional Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) based communication solutions.  

The Advantages of IBE

The power of IBE is in its simplicity. By using well-known identifiers, such as email addresses, as public keys, IBE enables security policies to be encoded directly into encryption and authentication methods, eliminating the need for cumbersome certificates and Certification Authorities.  All the user must do is click the "send secure" button represented at left.

Identity-Based Encryption takes a completely new approach to the problem of encryption. IBE can use any arbitrary string as a public key, enabling data to be protected without the need for certificates. Protection is provided by a key server that controls the mapping of identities to decryption keys.

Using the Voltage™ platform, Secure Netcom now offers email based on the first secure, practical IBE system, the Boneh-Franklin IBE Algorithm.

Explosive Growth of Email Requires a New Approach to Encryption

The Internet's explosive growth has simply outpaced traditional encryption solutions such as PGP and S/MIME, which are cumbersome and expensive due to the intensive certificate lookup, lifecycle management, administrative demands, Certificate Revocation Lists, and cross-certification issues that are now presented with the vast usage of email.  These older systems were also designed specifically for enterprise use.