Overview of CTE-U

CTE-U is a file-system level transparent encryption solution that leverages the cryptographic and key management features of the CipherTrust Manager platform to protect unstructured data. CTE UserSpace performs transparent encryption: authorized users and processes continue to have read and write access to the encrypted data; unauthorized users and processes cannot access the encrypted data.

CTE UserSpace provides data security with fully automated encryption of unstructured data contained on file servers and network shares. Working together with a CipherTrust Manager appliance, CTE UserSpace uses policies to protect the folders and files residing on servers and network shares.

CTE UserSpace now also offers block level encryption.

While handling a file, CTE-U does not encrypt, modify, or update most file metadata, such as file name, creation time, type, size, ownership, or attributes. Exceptions are:

• Time stamp: When CTE-U transforms a folder, each file’s time stamp is updated when the transformation is complete.

• File size as seen by Backup users: Backup users see the actual size of the encrypted file. Other users see the pre-encryption size of the file.

The Security Officer administers the policies and keys on the CipherTrust Manager Console. The administrator deploys CTE UserSpace on servers and network shares. CTE UserSpace protects the specified local paths and mapped network shares. The server sends the logs and notifications to CipherTrust Manager. Users accesses the files from the server as per the applied access policies.