Probox file-sharing tool to rival Dropbox launches by Proact

Storage integrator Proact has launched a new online file storage service, Probox, to compete in the fast growing cloud storage market against the likes of DropBox, SkyDrive, iCloud and Google Drive.

Probox will allow employees to share and sync all their work files with their colleagues, and to their mobile devices automatically.

Proact commercial director Mark Butcher told V3 that unlike other file-sharing services in the market, Probox had been designed with business users in mind.

Butcher said Proact aims to give Probox users the flexibility they want, while ensuring enterprise-grade security. "Many of our customers deny how many of their staff use Dropbox-type services. Staff use the services to store company critical information, but this leaves the IT department with no guarantee of security, knowledge of data location or control," he said. "All users want is simplicity, but with the storage services on offer at the moment, many IT departments can't give them this. Current enterprise storage services are clunky and need a secure VPN service, hence why Dropbox has been so successful in businesses. "The new cloud service provides each employee with 20GB of personal storage space, and can sync data across a range of platforms including Mac, PC, iOS and Android. When a user accesses Probox, all the data they transmit will be encrypted, said Butcher.

"All enterprises in the UK market will also be given the guarantee that all data will be stored in a tier three UK datacentre," added Butcher.

"There are storage enterprise cloud services out there but the security isn't up to scratch."

The release of Probox follows a series of hacking attacks on consumer storage provider Dropbox. Following the attacks, security engineers and analysts have warned UK businesses need to stop trusting free consumer services with their data.

Probox is priced at £6 per user, per month, for the 20GB of storage. Although Proact has just released the new service today in the UK and Europe, Probox has undergone beta testing for a number of months by

Proact partner, NetApp.
Probox will face competition from a number of cloud storage firms that are specifically targeted at the
enterprise and meet requirements when it comes to security, such as Ignite and Intronis and US firm Box.

Certes Networks bids to plug industrial controller holes with CEP5

Network encryption firm Certes is to extend its security platform with devices designed for branch offices and remote locations.

The company said that its CEP5 appliances would allow firms to extend the Certes Enforcement Point (CEP) platform to branch offices by adding a small, inexpensive appliance to perform encryption operations and apply security policies.

In addition to small branch offices with very few users, the 5Mbit/s appliances are aimed at remote facilities such as ATMs and kiosks. The device has been packaged in a weather-proof casing for outdoor use.
Where the company sees the CEP5 making the biggest impact, however, is with network connected appliances and embedded systems.

Chief marketing officer Jim Doherty told V3 that in utility firms represented a significant portion of the market for the new appliance.

"The smart grid is not just an energy distribution system, it is going to be an enormous communications system that is going to rival the internet when it is fully rolled out," Doherty said.

"There is going to be a lot of communication going on and that is going to need to be secured."
Security for utilities has become a hot topic in recent years. As utility firms and local governments add network connectivity to their systems, appliances such as SCADA controllers have become popular targets for attackers.

Certes believes that the CEP5 can provide a solution to the security hole by not only securing communications between industrial controllers and administrators, but also preventing outside attackers from interacting with machines by requiring the use of encrypted commands.

"In the utilities industry they are much more concerned about the authenticity of the data," Doherty explained.

"They are not as concerned about people stealing the data as they are worried about people getting on the network and injecting those bogus commands."