Protegrity Sues Ingrian Networks, Safenet, nuBridges and Voltage Security for Infringement of Data Encryption Patents


STAMFORD, CT--(Marketwire - September 15, 2010) -  Protegrity Corporation announced today that it filed suit against Ingrian Networks in April 2008, and against nuBridges, Inc. and Voltage Security, Inc. in May 2010. These suits, which seek to protect Protegrity's intellectual property, were all filed in the Federal Court in Hartford, Conn. As Safenet, Inc. acquired Ingrian, and because the company is now selling what used to be Ingrian's products, Safenet has been added as a co-defendant to the Ingrian litigation. 

"We have invested heavily in research, innovation and product development of our patented technology, and we are determined to protect these investments," said Iain Kerr, president and CEO of Protegrity USA, Inc. "We have taken actions to enforce our patents and to prevent the sale of infringing products." 

All three of these lawsuits concern Protegrity's data encryption patent portfolio. Protegrity has asserted U.S. Patent Nos. 6,321,201; 6,963,980; and 7,325,129 against Ingrian, SafeNet, and Voltage. Protegrity has asserted U.S. Patent Nos. 6,321,201; 7,490,248; and 7,325,129 against nuBridges. 

  • U.S. Patent 6,321,201 describes a data security system for a database having multiple encryption levels applicable on a data element value level. This enables applying data sensitivity driven encryption levels for specific categories of data in a database based on data element types (commonly arranged in columns).
  • U.S. Patent 6,963,980 describes a combined system of hardware and software implemented encryption for encryption of data of different security levels, whereby tamper-proof hardware implemented encryption is used for the data of higher security level and software implemented encryption is used for data of lower security level.
  • U.S. Patent 7,325,129 describes a method for altering encryption status in a database in a continuous process. The process permits altering the encryption status in a database without need to take the database off-line. Thus, the database can remain online while various encryption operations, such as changing encryption keys, adding or removing encryption requirements, or re-encrypting data, are performed.
  • U.S. Patent 7,490,248 describes an automatic method for re-encryption of a database.

The company's pioneering innovation and development work dates back to the mid 1990s, when granular database encryption was deemed to be infeasible. Protegrity challenged the common understanding at the time that access control alone would be sufficient to protect critical data. 

Protegrity's patent portfolio, including the patents currently being litigated, covers important methods for companies needing to comply with the data protection requirements of the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), Health Insurance Portability Accountability Act (HIPAA), Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH Act) and others. These methods and innovations are incorporated into Protegrity's data protection software solutions, currently being used successfully by a growing number of leading companies in retail, travel, transportation, insurance and financial services.

About Protegrity
Headquartered in Stamford, Conn., Protegrity provides high performance, infinitely scalable, end-to-end data security solutions that protect sensitive information across the enterprise from the point of acquisition to deletion. The company's award winning software products span a variety of data protection methods, including end-to-end encryption, tokenization, masking and monitoring and are backed by several important data protection technology patents. Currently, more than 200 enterprise customers worldwide rely on Protegrity's comprehensive data security solutions to enable compliance for PCI-DSS, HIPAA and other data security requirements while protecting their sensitive data, brand, and business reputation. For more information, please log on to http://www.protegrity.com.

Contact Information:

Media Contact:
Shannon Walsh
Bateman Group for Protegrity
(415) 503-1818
protegrity@bateman-group.com