Bob Egner, the firm's president, told Infosecurity that the service - known as Secure Data Exchange - allows users to send and receive data secured with 256-bit AES encryption.

Senders, he says, use an installable client to send the data via the company's servers, whilst recipients use a lightweight applet that is downloaded on-the-fly when the user starts accessing the secure data.

Egress is offering its new service on a monthly (£6.49) or annual subscription (£23.00) basis, as well as on an ad-hoc pay-as-you-go
basis.

"We've been testing the service with a beta test community for several months and the response has been very positive," he says, adding that the service is unique in the marketplace.

Interestingly, although the secure data exchange service is designed mainly for online use, with email advisories, the service can also be used via CD-ROMs and DVD data disks, using the online interface as a security mechanism.

Controls on data extend to the creation of a `time window' during which the recipient of the data can access the data. If the user attempts access outside of his/her window, data access is barred.

According to Egner, unlike some competing services, the new facility uses in-band authentication and, as such, offers a near-instant response.

That near-instant response, he says, also applies to online revocation of access, allowing senders to bar access to data whenever they wish.