Yes, that's right! There are three newly added features, which are, (1) No-PPAP support, (2) measures against targeted attacks, and (3) enhanced security for remote working.

The biggest trigger was that we wanted to support the emerging needs due to the Covid-19 pandemic. As the Covid-19 spread, many companies made their employees work remotely and started to utilize the SaaS. In the meantime, such companies have been struggling with the challenges unique to the cloud environment and HENNGE wanted to resolve such challenges.

First, I will explain what the issues are with the PPAP. PPAP is the security method which is to send an email with ZIP files locked with passwords and to send the password by a separate email.

It is not effective from the security point of view. The attachments and passwords are sent by the same communication route (emails), which means that hackers can easily access both of them. Also, zipped files cannot be scanned for virus infections and therefore they may carry malware.

Yes, that is problematic as well. In November 2020, Minister for Digital Transformation at the time, Mr. Takuya Hirai, mentioned that Japanese ministries and agencies would stop utilizing the PPAP, and since then, there is a trend of abandoning the PPAP in both private and public sectors.

To put it simply, we have developed a system which allows only those who are designated as the destinations of the emails to download the files. It also enables us to utilize different transmission paths for files and passwords and virus scan for files.

When files are attached to an email and the email is sent, the attached files are temporarily stored in the cloud storage automatically and users at the destination receive a text message and the link to download the files. And when the users at the destination clicks on the link, an authentication page will show up. The users will confirm their own email addresses and click the OK button. Then an authentication code will be sent to the users and the users will be able to download the files.

The authentication codes arrive only to the email addresses which are designated as the destination in the email, so even if any third party gains access to the email and clicks on the link, the code will never arrive to such a third party. And the users must go through the authentication process for the first time but it will not be necessary from the second time. Thus, it is not cumbersome to use.

Yes, there are. However, if we utilize an external storage, senders must click on the link every time in order to look for the files which were sent in the past. Also, when there is an audit, an auditor may click on the link included in a particular email which was chosen but the link may be already expired and the information may not be available to the auditor.
By utilizing the "HENNGE Secure Download", attachments remain in the "sent" box of the email system and in the mail data which is archived; thus, files can be searched and accessed easily.

Targeted attacks mean sending emails which contain malware to specific companies and organizations with a purpose of stealing their confidential information.

According to the research conducted by TOKYO SHOKO RESEARCH, LTD., among 103 cases of information leakage and losses which took place at publicly listed companies in Japan in 2020, about a half of them were due to virus infections and unauthorized accesses.

Most targeted attacks utilize emails, so by linking with the Microsoft 365 Outlook, we make sure that there are no suspicious files or links included in the emails.

Prior to receiving emails, it can be checked whether there is any suspicious behavior which may be triggered by clicking the attachments by sandboxing. The sender's history can be also checked to see if such sender has any history of sending malware in the past, and only emails which are confirmed to be safe will be received. As the solution is configured in such a manner that it works with the Microsoft 365 API, it can also check if there is any suspicious link in the calendar or in the tasks, or if the transfer setting of Outlook is altered.
Further, the solution is also capable of ensuring if the Microsoft 365 IDs and passwords are leaked to outside or not.

Yes, they are. But sandboxing and behavior check will require additional subscription with Microsoft and it will be a large amount of investment for companies. "HENNGE Cloud Protection" provides only necessary features with low cost.

Yes. As remote working becomes common, many companies have started to introduce access control measures, such as to issue digital certificates to laptops and smartphones and only such terminals with the certificates can access the companies' cloud service.

Yes, exactly. That is why the "HENNGE Lock Plus" is useful since it enables the multi-factor authentication (MFA) for applications which do not support the mechanism.
If all the authentications of various applications are centralized by the "HENNGE Lock Plus", there will be no need for passwords which are generally required by the MFA and device certificates.

Honestly, I don't know since the "HENNGE One" keeps evolving.
The workstyle and needs of enterprises will keep changing. We will make sure that the "HENNGE One" will keep up with such change and remain as a useful service to our enterprise customers, leveraging our technology.