RSA splits data to stop hackers

RSA Security has unveiled a data-splitting technology to stop hackers trying to break into company secrets contained in sensitive files.

The technology, called Nightingale, uses the relatively simple concept of storing two elements of an encrypted file on separate servers.

At the RSA Security Conference in San Francisco, John Worrall, vice president of marketing for RSA, said the product mades the overall storage process a lot stronger.

"Secrets are often used to protect data - that's what a cryptographic key is. The system takes a data file, creates a random 'secret' file and, by combining the original data with the secret, a new file is produced.

"The encrypted file is stored on the data or application server and the secret file is sent to the Nightingale server," he said.

To gain access to the original file, the hacker would have to get both the encrypted file and the secret file. RSA is calling this its secret-splitting technology, and it is set to become part of all future security products from the company.

The file is encrypted using numerous keys held in the secret file. Such a file is almost impossible to crack because the hacker would have to gain access to two secured servers which can be anywhere in the organisation.

As with any encrypted system, the most sensitive point is when the key is applied and the original file is decrypted for use.

Worrell claimed that the data is decrypted at the point of use, usually the user's desktop, and never decrypted on any server.

Nightingale is being released as a developers' kit this quarter, and is expected to feature in every RSA product by the end of next year as upgrades are released.

The company has also heralded its Nexus initiative, which will bring together its security products under a single architecture to make them more manageable and more easily integrated.