Keeping workplace information safe.
As companies from banks to butchers’ shops become dependent on their computer databases-and increasingly vulnerable to hackers and overly curious employees-the ability to control the flow of information in company networks is at a premium. Today’s network software can do part of the job, password-protecting specific files, for example, or blocking outsiders’ access to the corporate network, but it’s usually an all-or-nothing proposition. What if, for ex-ample, a bank teller needs access to a customer’s old address, but that information is restricted because it’s in a document that also contains confidential credit information? Columbia, MD’s Sphere Software is using technology licensed from Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Laboratory to build software that will not only keep data secure but will also make sure everybody in the company can get the information they need.