Seclore secures sensitive intellectual property and data in CAD files

Seclore announced the extension of its Seclore Enterprise Digital Rights Management (EDRM) capabilities to support neutral or interoperable computer-aided design (CAD) files for industries that create, manage, and share intellectual property (IP). The support for neutral CAD files creates better visibility for manufacturers with compliance reporting and auditing needs.

The Seclore Data-Centric Security Platform brings granular security and control to industries like automotive, healthcare, aerospace, energy, pharmaceutical, and others, which have historically lacked adequate data protections for CAD files. These new capabilities deploy easily with no need for professional services and help organizations increase visibility, mitigate risk, maximize revenue, and promote secure collaboration with third and fourth parties no matter where they are located.

In competitive manufacturing industries, sharing digital assets, trade secrets and product designs is a reality of doing business, however, securing these files is a challenge. According to IBM’s Cost of a Data Breach Report 2024, 43% of all breaches involve the loss of intellectual property, and Verizon’s 2024 Data Breach Investigations Report, 15% of those breaches originate in supply chains or third-party environments — and the problem has been increasing year-over-year. Seclore EDRM for neutral CAD files allows users to track who, what, when, and where protected files are accessed along with complete activity history via the Risk Insights dashboard.

With no dependencies on other products like competitors often require, Seclore users can easily apply dynamic watermarks to neutral CAD files to discourage leaks and support investigations. Seclore can also track activities (like printing or copying files) for protected files, and limit access based on user attributes (like location, or email address). Access to protected CAD files can be instantly revoked when access is no longer needed, or if it is necessary, because a file ended up in the wrong hands.

Balancing user-driven and automated protections

Seclore enables productivity and security to co-exist with a streamlined experience that makes it easy for owners of CAD files to apply persistent encryption and visibility to the neutral CAD files they need to share. Protected files can be accessed with most popular CAD applications.

User-driven protections include:

• One-click protection allows for manual and customized protection of CAD files before they are shared, with just a click of the mouse.
• Hot folders apply the same level of protection to supported files in a designated folder to quickly and consistently enhance security.
• Outbound email protection allows users to protect emails and attachments before they are sent.

Automated protections include:

• PLM integrations enable protection on actions like checkout or download.
• DLP-driven protections apply protection based on discovery rules and file classifications.
• ERP system integrations come into play once assets are extracted.
• File-server integrations deliver protections when files are uploaded to a fileserver.
• Collaboration platform integrations automaticallyextend protections to SharePoint, Box, email, cloud, on-prem and more.

“In our dispersed supply chain, protecting proprietary designs while sharing them with trusted partners worldwide is critical for our success,” noted Lucky Effendi, Head of Cybersecurity at Eugenus. “A solution like Seclore’s CAD file protection, which provides visibility, control, and the ability to mitigate risks through data-centric security measures, addresses a core need for our industry.”

“Seclore for CAD files is the result of a close collaboration with our manufacturing customers who were painfully aware of the security and regulatory challenges of sending unsecured IP to a globally dispersed supply chain,” said Vishal Gupta, CEO at Seclore. “Today, we’re excited to be able to offer Seclore’s data-centric security protection and control for industries that rely on CAD files, enabling security at the file level, without sacrificing productivity.”

Manufacturers operate in a high-stakes environment, with more threats coming from sophisticated and well-funded attackers, and leaks that are all too common because of so many parties involved in the process. Penalties for global regulations have reinforced security as a top priority for organizations operating across borders today. Seclore’s EDRM for neutral CAD files offers an unprecedented level of protection and visibility, which means users know exactly where files travel, and that they are secure no matter where they go.