Category: News

Latest release of Armour’s WhatsApp replacement product extends user management capabilities for easier enterprise deployments and a raft of features for greater user adoption

London, UK, 25 April 2022 – Armour Comms has announced the latest version of SigNet by Armour®, its enterprise-grade WhatsApp replacement platform. SigNet v3.3 includes enhancements to streamline the administration of enrolling new users, license management and managing groups, saving time for IT and security. The new version also includes many end-user improvements designed to boost user-adoption which in turn increases security around communication of sensitive information. SigNet now supports up to 8 participants on a group secure video call.

David Holman, Director at Armour Comms said; “SigNet by Armour was developed for enterprises looking to increase security around the use of informal messaging and communications apps, and to provide a replacement solution for consumer-grade apps, that staff will be highly motivated to use. The extension of secure video capabilities for up to eight people that can be used from a mobile device or desktop is a significant enhancement that will enable enterprises to mandate the use of SigNet for all business conversations.”

“Every organisation has sensitive commercial information to protect, and this can now be shared securely, and conveniently, with colleagues using SigNet without ever using an email service or consumer app. Users love the ease of use and anonymity of SigNet, where there is no requirement to provide their mobile phone number as their unique identifier.”

Group Management:

Chat groups within SigNet v3.3 have admin account capabilities for configuring and managing the group by adding and removing users, permission control, and appointing new admins.

Licensing

SigNet v3.3 strengthens enterprise licensing, with license expiry messaging and multiple licence support and management. If an employee leaves or is no longer required to use SigNet the license can be redeployed to a new user, similarly if a device is lost or stolen, the license is rescinded and can be re-used. This new feature enables enterprises to more tightly control licenses and the associated costs, particularly for an on-premises implementation.

A new ‘last seen’ facility indicates if a contact is currently online or displays the last time the contact used the application. This is helpful for end-users and enables administrators to identify where licenses are not being used, and therefore not required.

Group Calling

Group audio and video calls are now supported for up to 8 people to be involved in the same call/video at any one time. When first using the feature users are prompted to grant camera and microphone permissions. With three or more participants, users have the option of a grid layout or a view that focuses on the active speaker by simply swiping up or down whilst in a group call.

@Mentions

The @Mentions feature is now supported, simply typing “@” and selecting the name from the picker allows the user to get someone’s attention. People mentioned in this way can quickly jump to the message at the click of a button. Users can set their notifications if they wish to receive an alert when they are mentioned.

Enterprise Benefits of SigNet by Armour

SigNet provides secure comms for voice, text, messaging, video and attachments, with Disappearing Messages (timed deletion of messages sent). All communications including attachments are encrypted using 256-bit AES encryption.

Increasing Security Awareness – Using SigNet encourages a culture of heightened security awareness amongst employees while also protecting user anonymity and privacy.

One-step provisioning – end-users simply download the app, and they can start using it straight away once provisioned by IT using a one-time use QR code.

Strong user adoption rates – the app is so easy and intuitive to use, people like it and are happy to use it.

Anonymity and protection of privacy – users do not need to reveal their mobile number, email address or even full name in order to use the app.

Use across multiple linked devices – the same instance of the app can be installed on desktop, laptop, tablet and mobile, so that information can be shared across devices securely, without the need to use email.

Desktop instance – the app can be used by desk-based employees on PCs and laptops, which is often more convenient than using a mobile device.

Note to Self facility – voice-to-text notes and reminders are held within the app, and can be shared with linked devices.

Ultra secure sharing of information – documents for signature, instructions or commercial details can be shared via SigNet, meaning that the use of email systems or printed sensitive documents can be avoided. Users receive a timestamp when a screenshot is taken of a message they have sent, ensuring they retain full visibility of exactly where information and data has gone.

SigNet by Armour supports IPv6, the latest network communications protocol, enabling calls to seamlessly transition between modern networks.

SigNet is available as a Software as a Service (SaaS) product hosted on Armour’s secure cloud, or as an on-premises installation, and uses a peer-to-peer key management system.

Revenues up 25% year on year as both government and enterprise organisations look to secure mobile comms  

London, UK, 11 February 2022 – Armour Comms saw strong growth during 2021 with revenues up 25% year on year. Increased sales have been made up of additional orders from existing customers as well as a significant number of new named customers. Channel business has also increased strongly with several new resellers signed during 2021, and relationships strengthened with existing partners such as Samsung, Bittium, Qinetiq, and AmioSec. During the year Armour® achieved ISO27001 certification and a Queens Award for Enterprise: International Trade 2021. At DSEI in September Armour received much interest in the technical preview for its latest innovation, Unity for Armour, a conferencing solution that has many more security features than free-to-use consumer products such as Zoom and Teams, and is easier to use.

David Holman, Director at Armour Comms said; “In 2021 we’ve seen the maturing of the work-from-anywhere (WFX), hybrid working economy. Organisations know that they have cobbled together consumer-grade technology and processes to enable people to work somewhat securely from home.  We are now seeing a groundswell of demand for more permanent, truly secure communications apps that enable people to collaborate securely from any location, including via unknown and untrusted networks.”

In 2021, the company continued to develop its flagship product line Armour Mobile with several new innovations including Unity by Armour, which works in conjunction with Armour Mobile extending its capabilities with secure video conferencing calls. Unity introduces new security features to combat the issues of ‘zoom-bombing’ and ghost (ie. uninvited) callers that may eavesdrop on sensitive conversations. For example, it highlights to all users whether a participant has joined the call via an app, or via a browser – the browser option being far easier to hack/spoof and therefore considerably less secure.

2021 also saw a significant upgrade to Armour Core which now includes support for IPv6, enabling calls to seamlessly transition between modern networks. Many of the enhancements have been incorporated as a result of customer feedback, to make the app easier for users including; migrating to a new device, searching for contacts across all communities within the app, identifying whether the call is video or audio (enhancing security) and the option to mute chat pings when on a call or conference. Armour Core v4 also provides simplified access to call logs for auditors.

Most recently Armour has launched Recall by Armour, which provides an archive and audit function for enterprises in regulated industries such as financial services, legal and healthcare.

SigNet by Armour®, the company’s WhatsApp replacement solution has seen enthusiastic adoption, and has been upgraded to include new features designed specifically for enterprises such as support for QR codes and deep links for one-click provisioning, streamlining the on-boarding of new users, saving time and resource for IT departments.   Based on the well-respected Signal app, SigNet by Armour provides additional security features such as an on-premises option for total privacy and no auditability (as well as the choice of cloud installation), secure groups and allow listing features, and a much improved, highly intuitive user interface.

David Holman concluded; “Despite concerns about the impact of the global pandemic, 2021 has been another strong year for Armour Comms and we expect implementations to ramp up again in 2022 as we fulfil some large government orders. Our channel operations are also going from strength to strength with several partners that operate in specific industry sectors bringing Armour into some interesting and lucrative sectors such as shipping and Ultra High Net Worth (UHNW) families.”

‘Private Cloud’ audit and archive solution provides regulatory compliance for secure calls while preserving confidentiality and privacy of sensitive information  

 

London, UK, 18 January 2022 – Armour Comms has announced the availability of Recall By Armour, an archiving and auditing solution for its secure communications products.  Delivered as a secure service hosted on a private cloud, Recall by Armour solves the compliance conundrum of keeping sensitive calls secure, and still making the content available for audit purposes should the need arise. Communications that take place via Armour Mobile including messages, attachments and audio, are captured in their entirety within a centralised audit log, which can then be reviewed by authenticated auditors subject to strict security parameters. Recall, a proven service already used by several government departments, is designed specifically for organisations and enterprises in regulated industries such as financial services, legal and healthcare.

 

Recall by Armour directly addresses the issues of unofficial channels (such as consumer-grade apps like WhatsApp) being used for business or ministerial communications by providing an equally usable app, that has enterprise features such as:

• Centralised audit log
• All transmitted media (text, attachments and audio) are archived
• Tightly managed authorisation for audit access
• Individual encryption key for each user (limits auditor access according to investigative need)
• All access to audit files is itself audited

 

David Holman, Director at Armour Comms said; “One of the key reasons that many organisations use Armour Mobile is to maintain complete privacy and security of communications. However, in regulated industries, audit and archive capabilities are required to preserve evidence, and in the case of government, to respond to Freedom of Information requests. Providing the option for an auditor to access sensitive calls is in itself a security management conundrum for competitors, but is directly addressed with Recall by Armour.”

 

This latest development from Armour Comms comes hot on the heels of the technology preview of Unity by Armour, which was showcased at DSEI 2021.  Unity works in conjunction with Armour Mobile extending its capabilities with secure video conferencing calls including new security features to combat the issues of ‘zoom-bombing’ and ghost (i.e. uninvited) callers who may eavesdrop on sensitive conversations.

Armour’s secure mobile communications solution now available as part of GEM-TELCO’s flagship International Traffic Audit Platform (IAP)

London, UK, 7 October 2021: Armour Comms, the leading provider of secure communications solutions, has announced a new partnership with GEM-TELCO, specialists in telecommunications projects globally. GEM-TELCO is using Armour Mobile within the organisation to secure its internal communications and sensitive business information on projects with its executive management team and its global agents. Having used Armour Mobile successfully within the business, GEM-TELCO has now incorporated the solution within its flagship service International Traffic Audit Platform (IAP), which offers a telecom data and voice traffic monitoring system for governments and regulators.

GEM-TELCO selected Armour Mobile for its true end-to-end encryption capability, certified by NATO and for its ability to be installed on a user’s existing phone, removing the need for a special encrypted device. Armour Mobile’s user interface is easy to use for texts, voice, video and conference calls, encouraging user adoption. The solution can be hosted on local premises, providing a closed community that offers complete control of all activity, data and calls.

João Inácio, Chief Technical Officer at GEM-TELCO commented; “Armour Mobile provides us with an excellent secure communications solution that is device agnostic, easy to use and to manage. We work with many government clients offering our secure communications monitoring service and datacentres, all within one managed platform. Armour Mobile provides an extra layer of confidence in both our own internal operations and our service offerings to ensure that sensitive information exchanges have additional security to protect against external threats.”

GEM-TELCO’s IAP is a telecommunication transit platform, a single point of audit, that collects all international voice, data and signalling traffic combined and is equipped with a switching, billing, auditing and controlling platform. It covers all international telecom services via satellite, cable and/or optic fibre.

The IAP platform detects and provides statistics for both TDM and/or digital telecommunication services as well as international electronic exchange traffic. The platform also has the ability to provide all the necessary information regarding the country’s intelligence services for cyber security.

Dave Holman, Director at Armour Comms said; “This new partnership with GEM-TELCO aligns our complementary secure communications solutions for customers whose sensitive information needs to be protected. Armour Mobile provides transparent communication within a secure, private environment, while GEM-TELCO’s platform monitors and manages sensitive traffic and audit information for governments and telecommunications regulators at the highest levels. By offering Armour Mobile as part of its technology platform, and using it themselves for internal communications, GEM-TELCO ensures that it offers a secure and robust framework for all customer communications.”

For more information on Armour Mobile, please visit: www.armourcomms.com

New collaboration brings secure communications to enterprises to seamlessly support remote working with enhanced user experience

 

London, 30 September 2021: Armour Comms, the leading provider of specialist, secure communications solutions, has announced a partnership with Samsung Electronics and Targus to enable enterprises to harness the power of smartphones for extended business use. The combined offering will provide enterprises with a solution to support secure home working, on enterprise-level Samsung Galaxy Android smartphones, utilising the power of Armour Mobile and a Targus DeX USB-C phone dock – as an alternative to laptops. Designed with the end-user in mind employees will be able work remotely with a desktop feel, with Armour Mobile providing fully integrated secure communications for voice, video, messaging, conferencing and associated data files.

The Targus DeX USB-C phone dock allows users to power their phone and connect to an external HDMI display, peripherals such as mice and keyboards, an ethernet cable and an SD card, and work on their Galaxy smartphone as though on a laptop. Armour Mobile provides secure handling of mobile communications ensuring that business information within the app is kept securely, and data privacy regulations such as GDPR are maintained.

David Holman, Director, Armour said, “The last year has seen a seismic shift in how and where employees work. As organisations plan what the working environment of the future will look like, Armour is committed to working with our partners such as Samsung and Targus to provide a flexible answer to enable employees and teams to collaborate securely, how and where they want.”

Armour Mobile has been optimised to provide a seamless desktop-like user experience on Samsung DeX devices with the Targus USB-C phone dock. Armour Mobile delivers:

• secure communications with a ‘desktop’ feel via the Samsung smartphone removing the need for every employee to be issued with a corporate laptop
• sensitive business information held is protected wherever an employee needs to work
• data is controlled and protected ensuring GDPR compliance

 

A spokesperson from Samsung Electronics, said “The Samsung DeX platform enables people to use their smartphone as a computer, something which has become increasingly important during COVID-driven lockdowns. Our innovations are empowering people to work safely and have enabled organisations to keep vital business operations going wherever their employees have been working. Our collaboration with Armour and Targus brings another innovation to the market ensuring communications are secure and that solutions can be implemented quickly and simply.”

David Brown, Marketing Director, Targus, said, “Targus is global partner of the Samsung Mobile Accessory Partnership Programme and has recently been appointed to support the Samsung Mobile ecosystem of devices as a Global Tier 1 Partner and DeX Accessory Partner. This new partnership with Armour Mobile and Samsung is the next step on this exciting journey as we continue to develop thoughtful products that enable people to work productively from any location.”

Latest upgrades improve reliability, security and usability, responding to requests from users of Armour Mobile

London, UK, 24 August 2021 – Armour Comms has announced that the latest version of its Armour® Core server-side software includes new features that enhance the usability of its mobile app, Armour Mobile. Armour Core v4 supports IPv6, the latest network communications protocol, enabling calls to seamlessly transition between modern networks, and is an enabler for future planned features. Many of the enhancements have been incorporated as a result of customer feedback, to make the app easier for users including; migrating to a new device, searching for contacts across all communities within the app, identifying whether the call is video or audio (enhancing security) and the option to mute chat pings when on a call or conference. The upgrade also provides simplified access to call logs for auditors.

David Holman, Director at Armour Comms said; “At Armour Comms we have always focused on delivering robustly secure, enterprise strength mobile communications, designed with the user in mind. These latest enhancements to Armour Core represent a huge leap forward in our development programme improving usability in many ways, both to encourage individual end user adoption and secure the organisation’s communications.

“Many of these features have been requested by our users and are simply not available in consumer grade apps. They pave the way for future ease of use, scaling and deployment that will benefit our existing customers and new ones looking to manage their mobile conversations securely by replacing consumer grade apps.”

 

Details of the new features in Armour Core v4 include:

• Support for IPv6 – improving reliability for calls passing between modern networks including 5G, without noticeable disruption to the call
• User device migration – users can securely migrate to a new device (by scanning a QR code) taking their contacts and chats with them without requiring support from IT or the helpdesk and ensuring the old device is automatically decommissioned
• User auto discovery – users can search names across all their communities, making it much easier and faster to locate contacts. There is now no need to search security ‘communities’ individually for contacts
• Enhanced audit capability – provides streamlined and simplified access for auditors to audit logs
• Mute chat notifications – allows a user to prioritise which secure conversations should be silenced when the user is in meetings or on conference calls to minimise unnecessary distractions
• Enhanced air gap support – a security feature that separates the encryption key generation from key usage. Limiting the connection to short time bursts increases the security of the system and is an enterprise-grade feature not provided by consumer grade apps
• Call type identification – users can identify whether incoming calls are video or audio, for extra security and situational awareness

 

More information about Armour Communications solutions can be found at www.armourcomms.com

Greek-based security solutions provider selects new secure comms tool to ensure total privacy for shipping and enterprise clients

London, 5 August 2021: Armour Comms, the leading provider of specialist, secure communications solutions, has deepened its partnership with SNSfortech, an Athens-based cyber-security and data protection solutions provider. SNSfortech has introduced SigNet by Armour® to its range of secure communications tools for its security-conscious clients in the global shipping and enterprise markets.

Antonios Mytilinis, Director at SNSfortech commented, “Having worked with Armour for five years, the latest product SigNet, has been an instant hit with our clients in the maritime sector. Clients have reported to us high rates of user adoption because SigNet is so easy to use, while supporting heightened security procedures when dealing with sensitive and private information.”

SigNet is based on the well-respected Signal app, and provides secure comms for voice, text, messaging, video and attachments.  In addition, it provides enhanced security features which include;

• One-step provisioning for end users – download the app, and they can start using it straight away
• Anonymity and protection of privacy – users do not need to reveal their mobile number, email address or even full name in order to use the app
• Use across multiple linked devices – the same instance of the app can be installed on desktop, laptop, tablet and mobile, so that information can be shared across devices securely, without ever using email
• Note to Self facility – voice to text notes and reminders that are held within the app, and can be shared with linked devices
• Can be installed on-premise for absolute privacy and protection of meta-data, or hosted on Armour’s secure cloud.
• A much improved interface provides a great user experience

 

SigNet by Armour, is available for iOS and Android devices, and for use with Windows 10, macOS and Linux.

David Holman, Director, Armour Comms said, “Customers of SNSfortech, such as those in the maritime industry, have very stringent security requirements, not least because vessels are often required to sail through unfriendly waters. Owners are keen to protect their anonymity while still needing to convey instructions to their management teams, without fear of interception. At Armour we are committed to providing products that protect privacy, strengthen security and that people are happy to use, so that there is never a need to use a less secure alternative.”

End to end security services business 360 Maritime Alliance to provide secure mobile comms solution for Super Yacht and Ultra High Net Worth sector  

London, 15 July 2021: Armour Comms, the leading provider of specialist, secure communications solutions, has announced a partnership with Priavo Security and the 360 Maritime Alliance. Priavo Security has added Armour’s secure mobile comms technology to the range of services it provides to clients in the Super Yacht and Ultra High Net Worth (UHNW) sector. The Priavo Security/360 Maritime Alliance provides a range of security services covering Physical, Electronic and Cyber Security. Both Armour Mobile and SigNet by Armour will be available to clients through the partnership.

Pete Murphy, CEO of Priavo Security, and a founding member of the 360 Maritime Alliance stated; “Having researched the market, we found Armour’s technology to be the most widely approved and recommended. With its two product streams, Armour Mobile and SigNet by Armour, it is able to cover most of the use cases we encounter when providing bespoke security services to clients in the Super Yacht and Ultra High Net Worth sectors.”

The award-winning Armour Mobile secure comms app provides fully integrated secure communications for voice, video, messaging, conferencing, files attachments and MessageBurn (messages timed to automatically delete). An enterprise-ready solution, Armour Mobile is scalable for fast, remote deployment and can be provided with optional Audit features. Armour Mobile is approved for handling data up to UK Government OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE and NATO Restricted.

SigNet by Armour, which is based on the well-respected Signal app, provides similar features to Armour Mobile, with AES-256 bit encryption for iOS and Android devices, and for use with Windows 10, macOS and Linux.

Both Armour product lines have additional security features such as an on-premises option for total privacy as well as the choice of cloud installation on Armour’s secure cloud, secure groups and allow listing features, and a much improved, highly intuitive user interface.

David Holman, Director, Armour Comms said, “The Super Yacht and Ultra High Net Worth markets have their own unique security requirements, where unlike in a corporate setting, a security breach could well be a matter of life and death. At Armour we are committed to providing products that protect privacy, strengthen security and that are designed to be a delight to use, so that people will not be tempted into using considerably less secure consumer-grade apps.”