U.S. Army to secure mobile medical information with endpoint security solution from Pointsec

Mokena 29 March 2005Pointsec, a global expert and provider of the de facto standard for enterprise security software for laptop and desktop PCs, PDAs and smartphones, will provide endpoint security technology for the U.S. Army's Medical Communications for Combat Casualty Care (MC4). MC4 will work with Insight Public Sector, a provider of IT products and services for federal governmental divisions and agencies, including the United States Army, to deploy over 11.000 Windows Mobile-based HP Pocket PC handheld devices with Pointsec for Pocket PC encryption technology to its highly-trained medical staff. These devices will be used by Army medical professionals all over the world, especially in the combat situations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

With mobile medical teams treating soldiers in hostile environments, patient information must be readily available, easily transferable to treatment centres and absolutely secure. After fierce competition and successful field trials, the Army is now deploying Pointsec for Pocket PC across the board, driven in part by Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) requirements. With this order of $565.000, Pointsec will recognize $479.000 in their first quarter.

MC4's mission is to eliminate unreliable paper-based systems and replace them with an automated medical digitization system for soldier care. MC4 is taking the technology of telemedicine and other existing automation systems in medical and support facilities and integrating for combat support. MC4 links health care providers, medical diagnostic systems, information command and control, and medical command and control systems at all echelons.

"Pointsec is proud to be selected by the U.S. Army to bring enhanced security to the military and its mobile battlefield", stated Peter Larsson, CEO, Pointsec Mobile Technologies. "Pointsec solutions provide the military with the confidence that only authorized personnel are accessing sensitive medical data so that patients can receive the best possible care."

Pointsec's FIPS-certified encryption software ensures all or selected parts of a mobile device's data can be encrypted in real time and can only be accessed by authenticated users. Pointsec's software ensures encryption is performed according to an organisation's security policies without requiring action on the part of end users, and its exclusive "on-the-fly" encryption method results in virtually no performance difference for the device.

"The U.S. Army's MC4 deployment is a great example of how software industry partners can develop on and enhance applications when using the familiar Windows Mobile software", stated Julie Wymatelek, manager of the Mobility Partner Advisory Council at Microsoft Corporation. "We are pleased Pointsec software, along with the Windows Mobile-based Pocket PC, meets the rigorous security requirements of the DoD to deliver a powerful and flexible mobile solution."

Pointsec for Pocket PC is the premier security product for Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) powered by the Microsoft Windows Mobile operating system. Pointsec for Pocket PC offers automatic, real-time encryption of all data on a user's PDA, including data created using Microsoft Outlook e-mail, Notes, Pocket Word and more. Pointsec for Pocket PC also automatically secures data stored on removable media such as MicroDrives, MultiMedia Cards (MMC), Secure Digital (SD) cards and Compact Flash (CF) cards, thus ensuring that all forms of personal and enterprise data will be protected.

Pointsec is the worldwide de facto standard for mobile device security with the most customers deployed, highest level of certification, and more complete device coverage than any other company. Pointsec delivers a trusted solution for automatic data encryption that guarantees proven protection at the most vulnerable point where sensitive enterprise data is stored: on mobile devices.

By securing sensitive information stored on laptops, PDAs, smartphones, and removable media, enterprises and government organisations can protect and enhance their image, minimize risk, shield confidential data, guard information assets, and strengthen public and shareholder confidence. Pointsec's customers include blue chip companies and government organisations around the world. Founded in 1988, Pointsec AB is a wholly owned subsidiary of Protect Data AB. The company has four United States offices and 11 EMEA offices.

Leslie Versweyveld

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