Thales interoperability delivers FIPS-validated key storage

Thales, leader in information systems and communications security, announces that its hardware security modules (HSMs) integrate with the recently announced Oracle® Database 11g Release 2. Oracle customers selecting Thales HSMs from the nCipher product line will benefit from additional security features including centralized encryption key management and FIPS-validated key storage.

“Organizations rely on Oracle Database 11g to safeguard valuable information, help address regulatory requirements and  mitigate risks,” says Vipin Samar, Vice President at Oracle. “Oracle Database 11g Release 2 and Oracle Advanced Security include numerous enhancements that optimize performance and ease deployment with hardware key management systems such as Thales’s nCipher product line.”

“Every Oracle database customer we speak to has security as a top-of-mind issue and increasingly they are adopting encryption as industry best practice for protecting data-at-rest,” says Franck Greverie, Vice President, Managing Director for the information systems security activities of Thales. “Integration with Thales HSMs allows joint customers to benefit from high assurance encryption key management and provides organizations using Oracle Database 11g Release 2 additional security features to help meet ever-evolving data threats and compliance mandates.”

Thales is a recognized industry leader among security-conscious organizations and delivers a layer of security technology that easily integrates with Oracle Advanced Security. Thales-powered Oracle Database 11g solutions are applicable to a number of end user scenarios, including:

•   FIPS-compliant environments. Public entities such as government departments deploy encryption and key management as part of internal security policies, and FIPS compliance is a requirement for these solutions. Thales HSMs are validated to FIPS 140-2 Level 3 and help protect personally identifiable information within public sector organizations. 

•   High-security online environments. To prevent unauthorized access and modifications to sensitive data, financial institutions deploy encryption and key management solutions as part of their online banking infrastructures. Thales HSMs protect encryption keys for data at rest and SSL-based network encryption for data in motion.

•   Compliance mandates. Secure key management and encryption are the most challenging parts of data protection and compliance. The use of an HSM as a trusted platform within which keys can be securely created, used, managed and stored helps comply with these mandates.  Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) also fully supported by Thales HSMs for both column and tablespace encryption. As critical policy enforcement points, HSMs can be used to establish strong authentication rules for administrators and dual control mechanisms for establishing shared responsibilities.

•   Data Center Scalability. Thales provides a seamless solution, with one set of load-balanced HSMs, to manage all the encryption keys.

Today’s announcement is the latest example of Thales’s long-term relationship with Oracle. Thales is a member of the Oracle PartnerNetwork. The two companies are collaborating closely to offer customers the very latest technologies for securing mission-critical information in ways that are seamless with enterprise operations.