Summary
Akoura’s proprietary information security
technology protects merger and acquisition
data, term sheets, critical financial and
trade information and confidential internal
electronic mail. Akoura products can ensure
highly protected communication and collaboration
between participants in a strategic transaction
(e.g. two publicly traded companies), employees,
M&A teams, traders, and trusted colleagues
outside the enterprise. The financial services
sector is an information driven marketplace.
Ensuring only authorized access to critical
financial services transactions, information,
and communication is the mission of Akoura.
Akoura’s superior information protection
technology is built with the highly demanding
ease of use requirements of the largest
financial services providers.
Market Overview
In dollar terms, the financial markets sector
is the industry with the largest potential
risk associated with loss and theft of sensitive
information.
Stolen account numbers can lead to fraudulent
transactions, as can unauthorized access
to transaction systems and mission critical
business
systems
such as electronic mail. Many financial transactions
such as mortgages and insurance policies
require the exchange of confidential information.
In
the investment banking arena, entire deals
can be imperiled by the unauthorized release
of confidential
information. Akoura’s products protect
that information as it is stored, and while it
is in transit. Thus, enterprise users have total
control over when it is viewed, and by whom.
Business Drivers
Fraud Prevention – Protecting passwords,
account numbers, and related information is the
most basic security responsibility for any financial
institution. In a world of pervasive electronic
access and on-line transaction processing, theft
of passwords and account numbers quickly leads
to fraudulent transactions and higher institutional
liability.
Deal Protection – The process for consummating
a merger, acquisition or other similar transaction
involves sharing mountains of highly sensitive
information including terms of the transaction,
financial records, human resource data, and other
confidential data. In the event of unauthorized
disclosure of deal plans, terms, or confidential
due diligence materials, the consequences for
the investment bank and the parties to the transaction
include compromised negotiating positions, securities
law liabilities, damaged reputations, and potentially
the collapse of the entire deal and loss of associated
fees.
Non-Repudiation – Signatures and stamps
on transaction paperwork are things of the past.
However, the vulnerability of passwords makes
them poor proof that an individual has accessed
a transaction system. At the same time, as the
printing of documents and emails becomes rarer,
it is easier to retroactively change them.
Regulatory Issues
A complex network of laws obligates financial
institutions to protect their customers’ information.
These laws include the Fair Credit Reporting
Act, the Right to Financial Privacy Act and the
Electronic Funds Transfer Act. For institutions
which suffer a security breach, legal penalties
can compound the financial losses and damaged
reputation.
Securities laws intended to fight insider
trading and similar abuses create indirect
security
obligations. For example, Regulation
FD (“Fair Disclosure”)
requires that information which could affect
a company’s stock price be released to
the public in a uniform fashion. If some of that
information leaks out to a small audience, you
may be required to release it publicly. This
creates added pressure to make sure that financial
results, product plans, deal terms, etc., are
kept highly confidential and protected until
you are ready to release them.
Benefits of Akoura’s Technology
Akoura’s suite of security products gives
enterprises the confidence that sensitive or
confidential financial information is protected,
whether it is stored on laptops, networks, PDA’s,
flash drives, or other storage devices. With
our proprietary information protection, deal
terms and due diligence material is hidden from
prying eyes within and outside of the organization.
Biometric authentication means that a sender
of confidential information can be certain that
only authorized users, who can biometrically
authenticate themselves can access sensitive
information and transaction systems.
By providing that same level of protection
to electronic mail, Akoura’s MailSecure enables
enterprise users, work groups, merger and acquisition
teams to communicate safely in a complex deal
environment. Now you can share information with
your clients, advisors, partners, and counter-parties,
knowing that it is completely safe as it travels
from your inbox to theirs, and that a due diligence
disclosure will not inadvertently become a public
disclosure.
In addition to protecting information
from unauthorized access, Akoura’s technology provides powerful
non-repudiation capability in the following ways:
-
Since
biometric authentication is required to access
or initiate sensitive information or transactions,
the individual cannot deny responsibility
-
Information
protected by Akoura technology cannot be modified
without the appropriate
authority.
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