Secuware Security Framework 4.0 is a directory service integrated product that contains a server and client software app used to manage whole disk or file/folder encryption policies. The server component installs using many common LDAP-integrated directory services. Clients are managed from either a standalone local policy or domain policy that is pushed down from the central directory service.
Installation of the product was fairly straightforward. We tested the server software within our Windows 2003 Active Directory environment, and installed the client component, Crypt2000, on our test Windows XP SP2 machines.
From a technical perspective, Secuware does a great job of explaining the granular technical details of its features, including pre-boot authentication, multifactor support, and its overall approach and methodology to cryptography. This includes locking down peripheral devices, as well as the entire hard disk, using Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) 256-bit encryption. This is definitely a strong point.
During our testing, we noticed that we were not able to remove or uninstall the client software from our endpoints. Even from a centralized server perspective, the ability to remove client components was notably absent. Secuware informed us that this is only provided to the client if they require it. We were sent a diff erent client component that contained a method for removal once we requested it. Also, we did not see any monitoring features that allowed us to actually verify if a policy or configuration was pushed down to an object. Therefore, we were not able to see the progress associated with encrypting a drive, or how long it took.
Although documentation was provided and was helpful in a general sense, we found a few translation issues in converting the documentation and the software into English.
From a support perspective, we were unsure what was included. However, Secuware does off er 24/7 support as an option.
Pricing is $144 per seat for up to 100 seats, and volume pricing for 501-1,000 seats is $84 per seat. The administration console is available at an additional charge of $5,000. We found this to be high given the unpolished nature of the product.
Installation of the product was fairly straightforward. We tested the server software within our Windows 2003 Active Directory environment, and installed the client component, Crypt2000, on our test Windows XP SP2 machines.
From a technical perspective, Secuware does a great job of explaining the granular technical details of its features, including pre-boot authentication, multifactor support, and its overall approach and methodology to cryptography. This includes locking down peripheral devices, as well as the entire hard disk, using Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) 256-bit encryption. This is definitely a strong point.
During our testing, we noticed that we were not able to remove or uninstall the client software from our endpoints. Even from a centralized server perspective, the ability to remove client components was notably absent. Secuware informed us that this is only provided to the client if they require it. We were sent a diff erent client component that contained a method for removal once we requested it. Also, we did not see any monitoring features that allowed us to actually verify if a policy or configuration was pushed down to an object. Therefore, we were not able to see the progress associated with encrypting a drive, or how long it took.
Although documentation was provided and was helpful in a general sense, we found a few translation issues in converting the documentation and the software into English.
From a support perspective, we were unsure what was included. However, Secuware does off er 24/7 support as an option.
Pricing is $144 per seat for up to 100 seats, and volume pricing for 501-1,000 seats is $84 per seat. The administration console is available at an additional charge of $5,000. We found this to be high given the unpolished nature of the product.
