Sdema's smart documents sound alarm on theft

Sdema Group Photo: Eyal Yizhar
Sdema Group Photo: Eyal Yizhar

The Israeli company's system works like the security pins attached to clothing that beep when removing items from stores.

While major companies around the world are investing capital to protect their internal computer networks against confidential information being stolen by cyber attacks and Trojan horses, sensitive paper documents circulating among offices and work stations are still easy prey for theft by business rivals. Israeli group Sdema claims that it has solved this problem by means of "smart paperwork" that provides either voice or silent warning that it has been stolen by someone.

Sdema Group's smart paperwork works more or less on the same principle as the security pins and stickers attached to clothing or expensive products in stores that beep when someone removes the item from the store without paying for it. The smart paper document, called Tagit, has no pin attached to it, however; it appears and feels exactly like an ordinary sheet of paper found in any office printer.

The technology on which the secured paper is based, developed by Vladimir Manov, includes a thin invisible network that functions as a sensor. It works even when the paper is torn, folded, or crumpled. As soon as the paper is taken out of the area defined as a protected area, the system issues a warning. "Companies and public and governmental organizations all over the world are making huge efforts to safeguard their IT, while sensitive and confidential information worth its weight in gold can be taken out of these entities in very simple ways," says Sdema Group CEO Dror Mor. "Our smart paper document, which looks just like innocent printer paper that you buy in a store, significantly reduces the leaking of sensitive information from organizations. Many cases of information leaks, including those with the potential to cause great damage to an organization, occur as a result of inattention, rather than malicious intent. We are convinced that we have a solution that facilities a simple, transparent, and non-discriminatory check of documents leaving the areas in which an organization wants to protect information."

The Sdema Group says that South Korean conglomerate Samsung has already examined, been impressed by, and put the Tagit smart paperwork into use, and that security agencies in Israel encountering the new technology are expressing great interest. "Our technology is based on minute electromagnetic particles measured in microns, and we have patented it," says Sdema Group partner and information security & cyber defense, intelligence, and recruitment assessment departments manager Dan Vesely. "The paper itself is produced in Europe, and if you compare it to ordinary pages in a stationary store, you won't notice the difference. Obviously, it is more expensive than simple paper, but its use is far more controlled for that reason, and employees are required to print fewer pages, or only what is needed and essential. Security costs money, after all, and this is an excellent answer to the problem of industrial espionage or cases in which officials in sensitive positions 'take their work home' and remove from their organizations information that should be kept in a safe."

Sdema Group has 40 employees in Tel Aviv and Herzliya. Executive VP Shlomo Harnoy and Mor founded the company in 2006. Its activity focuses on homeland security, with holistic guarding solutions for various customers around the globe.

Most of the company's staff consists of former security agencies personnel who have accumulated experience in security, intelligence, and cyberspace. "For us, safe paper constitutes a supplementary product for the package of products we offer for protection of sensitive information. Companies have for years focused their efforts on protecting their IT, without giving proper attention to another problem that is just as threatening," Vesely declares.

Published by Globes [online], Israel Business News - www.globes-online.com - on April 23, 2017

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2017

Sdema Group Photo: Eyal Yizhar
Sdema Group Photo: Eyal Yizhar
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