BRUSSELS, Nov. 19, 2014
/PRNewswire/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced it has
patented the design for a data privacy engine that can more
efficiently and affordably help businesses protect personal data as
it is transferred between countries, including across private
clouds.
Global businesses are increasingly moving personal information
such as employee and customer details across borders and around the
world. As this continues, the ability to manage data flows between
cloud data centers while remaining in accordance with
organizational policies and local laws becomes even more
imperative. Increasingly, governments are establishing rules that
regulate how data may be transmitted from one country to
another.
IBM's new patented Data Privacy Engine invention – U.S. Patent
#8,695,101 – lets businesses aggregate international and
organizational requirements for data transfers and apply them to
individual projects. As a result, organizations can quickly see
what restrictions have been put in place for different types of
protected information when transferring it between two countries,
including data stored in a private cloud. The engine also flags
cross-border privacy issues and provides recommendations on how to
resolve each based on the information the business has input into
the engine. In the event underlying privacy requirements change,
the engine can be updated to reflect these rules. Users can then
notify teams that previously approved transfers may need to be
revisited in order to prevent potential violations.
This new privacy engine improves upon manual privacy techniques,
which are often executed on an ad hoc basis, requiring additional
dedicated support. This model is not only expensive and time
consuming, but it is also burdensome as businesses struggle to stay
current with the growing number of regulations that may vary from
country to country.
"Global businesses today face significant challenges in
protecting personal data and keeping up with regulations in an
environment where cross-border flows of information are more
important than ever," said Christina
Peters, chief privacy officer, IBM. "Our new invention
provides a privacy technique that could help businesses navigate an
increasingly complex landscape and help companies proactively
manage risk."
For example, a company working on a project that requires
transferring employee data via the cloud from a branch in one
country to an office in another could use IBM's patented data
privacy engine to identify potential violations. The company's
compliance team could then be provided with all relevant details so
that it can help the business make sure it is taking appropriate
action.
This patent furthers IBM's commitment to helping businesses
ensure that their most vital data and assets remain secure. Just
last month, IBM announced the industry's first intelligent security
portfolio for protecting people, data and applications in the
cloud. In addition, earlier this year, the company introduced the
IBM Threat Protection System and Critical Data Protection Program
to help organizations protect their critical data in an environment
where advanced persistent threats, zero day attacks, breaches and
the accompanying financial impact on an organization continue to
rise.
IBM invests around $6 billion
annually in R&D and consistently explores new approaches to
security and analytics that will deliver a competitive advantage to
the company and its clients. For 21 consecutive years, IBM has
topped the list of U.S. patent recipients.
For more information about IBM Security, please visit
www.ibm.com/security, follow @IBMSecurity on Twitter or visit the
IBM Security Intelligence.
Contact:
Doug Fraim
IBM External Relations
617-510-6376
dfraim@us.ibm.com
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SOURCE IBM