Preston Abbey, a US developer of solutions for the secure transmission of confidential and sensitive documents, has introduced the  PA-CFT (Classified File Transfer), enabling government and defence agencies to transfer any classified files, including documents, photos, videos and maps, with the security of Secure Telephone Equipment (STE).

When using Preston Abbey PA-CFT, transmitted files never leave a secure environment, thus providing a paperless solution that allows sensitive files to be sent electronically, dramatically reducing the risk of classified documents being compromised during the manual fax process.

“There is a pressing need for this type of solution due to the increasing number of attacks on Internet-based systems, such as email and databases, which represents a major threat to those in government who need to protect and secure classified information,” said David Shaw, President and co-founder of Preston Abbey.

Preston Abbey solutions accomplish the secure transmission of classified documents without the use of email, the Internet or any mechanism susceptible to eavesdropping or other interference by unauthorised parties, including foreign governments, terrorist groups, hackers and anyone who would leak sensitive material on public web sites.

Preston Abbey offers an effective migration path from obsolete or outdated secure fax equipment to a completely paperless operation, with little or no impact on the day-to-day operations of a government agency or its communications network. Preston Abbey solutions support the reliable connection of modern printer/scanner devices to replace legacy equipment and secure mission critical document exchange over existing communications channels, retaining the full advantages of STEs for confidentiality.

The full Preston Abbey product range meets the needs of civilian government and military agencies that rely on STEs and Secure Communications Interoperability Protocol (SCIP) to send and receive classified files and includes:

• PA-CFT (Classified File Transfer) The paperless solution
• PA-LFR (Legacy Fax Replacement) A cost-effective alternative to aging and often failing fax machines
• PA-SAA (Stand Alone Application) A software solution allowing connection of a STE to Windows or Mac

The Preston Abbey solutions allow the standard RS232 interface for STEs to seamlessly access the full features of the advanced software.

“It is abundantly clear that the emerging requirement for sensitive file transmission is to retain the faxing mechanism’s extraordinary security of a point-to-point, direct communication path, while avoiding the tedious need to handle physical documents,” said James Abbey, CEO and co-founder of Preston Abbey.

“With PA-CFT, government users will become more efficient by being able to transfer documents to or from their computer directly without having to go through the time and trouble of manually operating a fax machine.”

The Preston Abbey PA-CFT will automatically determine the nature of the recipient device and make the appropriate technical arrangements. Designed with reliability in mind, the proprietary firmware is hardened against transmission errors or other communications problems and will optionally retry data that fails internal integrity checking. Preston Abbey solutions provide long-term dependability for secure document handling requirements, as well as an upgrade path for new features.

Preston Abbey solutions require minimum engineering changes or network alterations. They enable users of legacy equipment to migrate easily and effectively to modern, inexpensive paperless solutions. Speed is mandatory and is provided by mature platforms that Preston Abbey leverages to provide robust solutions for critical document handling. The Preston Abbey solutions are fully automated and feature a simple web interface, ensuring quick and easy configuration and set-up. Once installed, they will operate continuously without user intervention.

www.prestonabbey.com