Virtru launches business email encryption service for Google Apps

Email encryption startup Virtru has launched a version of its service for businesses using Google Apps, a market segment that the company thinks is showing increased interest in secure communications.

Google Apps has some 30 million users, which is growing as companies become more comfortable with software-as-a-service, said Virtru co-founder John Ackerly.

Virtru aims to make email encryption easier to set up and use. It uses a browser extension to encrypt content and attachments, which can be sent through mainstream email providers such as Microsoft, Yahoo and Google.

The service also allows for fine control over messages. The encryption key for a message can be revoked, cutting off access. Message forwarding can also be restricted by managing access to its decryption key. Messages can also be tagged with an expiration time.

Virtru encrypts content in the Trusted Data Format (TDF), which Ackerlys brother and Virtru cofounder Will developed while working for the U.S. National Security Agency.

Theopen-source formatis akin to a secret ZIP file and is widely used in the U.S. intelligence community. Unlike other encryption program such as PGP, TDF also allows attachments to be encrypted.

Virtru is also HIPPA compliant, a mandatory standard for U.S. health care providers handling sensitive information.

Virtru for Business will be free to try until later in the year no matter how many users, Ackerly said. After that period ends, Ackerly expects pricing for the baseline product to be around US$2.50 per user per month, with volume discounts.

The company will also offer other paid-for modules, such as data leakage protection and a white-label optionfor additional fees, he said.

The goal herein the classic disruptive senseis to be a lot cheaper and dead simple, Ackerly said.

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Virtru launches business email encryption service for Google Apps