PGP Launches Multivendor Key Management Platform

If you've ever worked with encryption, then you know that one of the biggest problems is figuring out where to store the keys and who should have access to them. But in a large enterprise, that problem is often multiplied: The IT organization could have to deal with a whole variety of encryption keys from different vendors, all stored in different locations and methods.

This week, encryption specialist PGP is rolling out its first single-platform multivendor key management effort. The PGP Key Management Server will deliver open enterprise key and certificate management to global organizations, the company says.

"A lot of enterprises want to do more with encryption to protect their data, but the whole issue of key management overwhelms them," says Brian Tokuyoshi, product marketing manager at PGP. "What they need is a way to manage all their keys, no matter what they are, from one location."

The problem is getting tougher to solve because hard drives, servers, databases, smartphones, and flash drives now come provisioned with encryption, PGP notes. "Each new encryption product introduces yet another set of key management responsibilities that compound the administrative overhead and cost for IT and security departments," the company states.

Enter PGP Key Management Server, which is designed to manage large-scale deployments of encryption keys and certificates for multiple applications, PGP says. It can manage asymmetric, symmetric, and proprietary keys, and perform automated deployment of certificates, as well as provisioning and life cycle management of keys, including tracking expiration dates and renewals, the company says.

PGP also announced a new version of its Universal Server tool for multivendor environments. Both products will be available next week for the RSA conference in San Francisco.

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