Deutsche Telekom has joined forces with CipherCloud to help enterprises protect hosted applications using encryption and other technologies such as data loss prevention.

Deutsche Telekoms T-Systems will soon be able to configure and run CipherCloud servers on behalf of corporate customers, on-premises or in a hosted environment. Enterprises that have avoided cloud computing due to concerns about data security can now make the move with less worry, according to the operator. In Europe, cloud security has become a hot topic thanks to the continued disclosures made by U.S. National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden.

CipherClouds encryption process is automatic and takes place in real time, before the data reaches the cloud. Decryption is performed only when an authorized employee retrieves the data from the cloud and the data has been returned, according to Deutsche Telekom. Sensitive information isnt available to cloud providers, even if they dont adhere to stringent German data protection regulations, it said.

The operator will demonstrate how CipherCloud can be used to protect Salesforce.com services during next weeks CeBIT IT conference.

CipherCloud can protect Salesforce.coms Sales, Service and Marketing Cloud offerings. The companys platform can also be used to secure Salesforce.coms enterprise social network Chatter. CipherCloud lets Salesforce.com users improve security with encryption, data loss prevention, malware detection and activity monitoring for any kind of information.

In addition, CipherCloud has customized products for protecting hosted storage service Box, Microsofts Office 365, Googles Gmail and Amazon Web Services. For example, CipherCloud provides AES-256 encryption for email, calendar, contacts and attachments on Gmail and Office 365.

The company also offers generalized versions of its software for other applications and databases.

Deutsche Telekom has also helped finance CipherCloud via its T-Venture fund, it said.

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Deutsche Telekom works with CipherCloud to protect hosted apps

Open WhisperSystems' TextSecure update takes some cues from WhatsApp's functionality, but more importantly it frees messaging from traditional SMS networks while still sending messages between phones.

The new TextSecure seamlessly changes between open and encrypted messages, indicated by the lock icon.

TextSecure is a far cry from driving a multibillion-dollar buyout. But for people who care about having their SMS and instant messages protected from prying eyes, it's an app that just got easier to use and more secure.

The new Android version of TextSecure, announced Monday, still uses the TextSecure v2 protocol that debuted with its CyanogenMod integration last year. Open WhisperSystems' founder, a security researcher and developer who goes by the pseudonym Moxie Marlinspike, said that the partnership has helped his company.

"It's been great," he said. "Their userbase is enormous, and it's a great opportunity to bring totally frictionless end-to-end encryption to millions of people."

The new TextSecure keeps its advanced security technology, including advanced ratchet, enhanced deniability, and asynchronous orientation, but emphasizes that it's significantly easier to use by making encryption the default. Half-open sessions are eliminated, round trip key exchanges aren't required, and Marlinspike described it as "lightning fast."

"Unlike other IM services, there is no distinction between 'private' chats and 'normal' chats. Private is normal," he wrote.

In addition to the new private group chat feature, TextSecure now includes two modes of operation. The app is set by default to send both unsecured and secure messages by default. It will "push" all messages over data, and indicate which ones are encrypted by a lock icon next to the time stamp. Encryption, however, will only work on messages sent between TextSecure users.

TextSecure users can choose to activate an SMS fallback option which will use the standard text messaging network protocol when data is not available, but those messages will not be encrypted even when sent between TextSecure users. Without SMS fallback activated, the app behaves like WhatsApp.

In the coming months, TextSecure will be going fully cross-platform and will release an iOS app and a Web browser add-on. However, Marlinspike said that there are no current plans to incorporate a self-destructing message mechanism.

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New TextSecure delivers smoother encryption