Virtual StrongBox Assigned Patent

Virtual StrongBox, Inc. is shaking up traditional financial institution security protocols with its announcement that it received U.S. Patent No. 9,003,183 for its secure storage system and file encryption method for safeguarding data at rest.

That’s news, given the growing epidemic of data breaches. With glaring headlines everyday about cyber criminals stealing millions of victims’ personally identifiable information (PII), Ron Daly, company president/CEO, says he was tired of hearing about one compromised system after another.

The technology behind company’s patent allows encryption of all data at rest in every database that stores PII. But Daly says the bigger story is what the patent represents: a new day in document security.

“At Virtual StrongBox, we felt it was time to take action against the ongoing theft of consumer data,” Daly said. “I mean, our industry is supposed to be the best of the bunch in protecting PII, yet the breaches continue – and not just at credit card companies and retailers. So, we took our combined 175 years of financial institution experience and knowledge of the regulations and financial institution security needs and designed a better system.“

Daly says the result is Virtual StrongBox’s unprecedented level of security through a proprietary file system using dedicated, redundant storage devices.

Virtual StrongBox is becoming known for protecting consumers’ sensitive information the ‘financial institution’ way. Its product, My Virtual StrongBox, already safeguards the personal documents of more than 3.5 million people. Through customers’ relationships with nearly 260 financial institutions, wealth-management firms and insurance companies, My Virtual StrongBox protects their deeds, wills, trusts, tax files, insurance policies and other important papers.

“Encryption at rest can make a huge difference in security, and we believe it should be the industry standard,” he said. “When you think about these cyber crimes, it adds up to a phenomenal amount money to recover from lost business, reputation damage, regulatory bear down and customer claims – not to mention the toll on victims. With the right security protocol, it very likely could have prevented or mitigated much of the damage at retailers.“

Daly says the firm, along with some of its collaboration partners, is starting discussions with financial institutions and other companies that handle PII, as well as trade groups and regulators to urge adoption of encryption-at-rest practices, either independently or through Virtual StrongBox.

“The reality is that the old way of storing data, especially PII, is simply unacceptable,” Daly said. “As an industry, we have to make changes. Financial institutions that sit back are going to lose because their customers will learn about competitors that offer this higher level of security and they’ll demand it. They may want an assurance similar to the ‘Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval’.“