P2P Security Takes Quantum Leap With Release Of Magi Enterprise v2.0 Software
World’s First Security Authentication and Encryption Tools in Endeavors Technology’s Magi Enterprise Software Gives Peer-to-Peer Solutions the Capability to be as Secure as Software Used Across Banks and Other Financial Institutions; First Industry-Wide Showing in Booth
No. 1015 at the JavaOne Conference
IRVINE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–June 4, 2001–Peer-to-peer software leader Endeavors Technology Inc. of Irvine again demonstrated its technological edge today with the beta release of Magi Enterprise v2.0, the most secure cross-platform, cross-device P2P collaboration product available to companies, VARs, OEMs and integrators.
The release of Magi Enterprise marks a quantum leap in P2P software. It sweeps away security concerns over the enterprise-wide adoption of this all-embracing technology that turns networked or Internet-enabled devices into personal Web servers, allowing each and all to interact and share corporate knowledge.
Magi Enterprise v2.0 is rich in features such as file sharing, community index and search, chat and instant messaging. It also includes a software developers kit so that companies can easily create a P2P collaborative network and integrate applications that increase knowledge management, productivity, revenue growth and profitability.
What gives Magi Enterprise the competitive edge and makes it the leading P2P software offering is its financial institution-strength security tools.
Endeavors Technology becomes the only peer-to-peer company to have implemented a full-featured X.509 Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) over a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) network backbone; the combination of X.509 PKI authentication and SSL transport encryption is the established cryptographic standard for Internet e-commerce.
Use of X.509 PKI authentication allows security certificates from Endeavors, or from any other recognized X.509 certificate authority, to be used to establish the true identity of any Magi-enabled peer device when it comes on-line. Use of SSL point-to-point security encryption enables each pair of peers that communicate with each other to have a unique key for that pairing. The advantage of SSL encryption is that when a peer goes off-line from a community, all its unique pairing keys become invalid, but no pairing keys between other members of the community are affected.
The use of SSL in Magi Enterprise has a major advantage over other P2P company products that utilize Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) encryption. Other P2P offerings to date that are PGP-based typically require all members of the community to share one same key. Shared keys in a P2P system create a security loophole as when one member is removed from the community, all peers and all the content they share must be re-encrypted. Magi Enterprise, instead, treats all peers as unique entities at all times.
Magi Enterprise turns P2P into a truly productive and interactive business environment. It was created to ensure that the cost of a P2P infrastructure deployment is radically reduced, the management of services, devices, access permissions and information can be completely customized to the specifics of the enterprise environment, and that solutions can be quickly adapted to account for emerging technologies.
Magi Enterprise is the only P2P software on today’s market that allows users to work with common tools, such as Microsoft(R) Office applications and Adobe products, directly in a P2P session. Its standards-based architecture also allows integrators, VARs, OEMs and ISVs to create value-add applications that enhance their own offerings and improve B2B and B2C support.
The first industry-wide showing of Magi Enterprise takes place at Endeavors Technology’s booth No. 1015 at the upcoming JavaOne conference in San Francisco on June 4-8.
Analysts & Executive Comments
Walid Mougayar, P2P analyst and founder of PeerIntelligence.com, comments: “If security was the last objection for peer-to-peer’s acceptance into the enterprise, Endeavors has it nailed. Their approach incorporates state-of-the art security and authentication mechanisms for users and organizations. This will open the way for a multitude of enterprise-ready applications.”
Cheryl C. Currid, president of Currid & Company, a consulting, firm on networking and emerging technologies, comments: “For enterprise clients, an emerging technology won’t make it to a pilot without adequate security. Magi’s approach, using SSL and certificate authority, puts to rest any concern about sharing sensitive company information.”
Anne Zieger, principal analyst with enterprise P2P research firm PeerToPeerCentral.com, comments: “Without strong security protections in place, corporate managers are unlikely to take P2P seriously. But once secure platforms become available, P2P has a bright future in the enterprise. Solutions like Magi Enterprise — designed to offer highly secure file sharing and communication options — should be among the first to be adopted by IT departments.”
Jim Lowrey, security architect for Endeavors Technology, adds: “P2P computing faces a mix of security issues not faced by traditional secure-computing paradigms. Magi Enterprise addresses these issues and now provides the vital infrastructure required by IT managers to construct secure information processing systems without exposing an organization’s systems and data to theft, attack, or compromise.”
More On Magi
Magi peer-to-peer technology enables organizations, groups and individuals to find, share and act upon information anywhere, at any time, by making the power of a Web server available on any networked or Internet-enabled device. Its open, standards-based application platform incorporates automated e-process agents that enable event-driven, multi-way communications between servers, PCs, PDAs, Internet-ready phones and embedded chips. The Magi suite of tools grew from research carried out at the University of California Irvine, partly funded by the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA), and integrates Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV) technology. A P2P architecture white paper, an industry P2P security paper entitled “Security Nightmare or Secure Opportunity,” and the P2P Business Summary can be accessed at http://www.endeavors.com.
About Endeavors Technology
Endeavors Technology is a wholly owned subsidiary of mobile computing and network infrastructure vendor Tadpole Technology plc (www.tadpole.com), which has plants and offices in Irvine and Carlsbad (California), and Cambridge, Edinburgh, and Bristol (UK). For further information on Endeavors’ P2P solutions, call 949/833-2800, email to p2p@endeavors.com, or visit the company’s Web site.