Encryption

Content Encryption is a premium PBworks security feature included in PBworks Legal Edition.

What content is encrypted?

The body of every page revision, every file revision, and every comment added to your workspace is encrypted before it is saved to a physical drive, once this feature is enabled. With PBworks Legal Edition, this feature is enabled from the moment the workspace is created. 

Note that information about your pages and files, such as their names, when new revisions were created and by whom is not encrypted. 

How is workspace content encrypted?

All content is encrypted using the symmetric encryption algorithm (AES/Rijndael) defined by the National Institute of Standards and Technology in 'Federal Information Processing Standard 197' before it is saved to PBworks servers. The 256-bit key is always stored on separate servers from your content. 

AES/Rijndael-256 is approved for use by the NSA for top secret information by the Committee on National Security Systems 'Policy No. 15' (June 2003). 

What additional security does this provide?

Your content is never written to a hard disk without encryption. While PBworks' servers operate in a SAS 70 Type II Audit-certified datacenter with 24/7 monitoring and all workspace content is protected by PBworks' world-class security standards, Content Encryption ensures that even the physical theft of a hard drive will not result in unauthorized access to your workspace content. 

Does this require me to install any additional software?

No additional hardware or software is required: Content Encryption works with the web browser you already have.  It works transparently for all users on your workspace, and works in both intranet- and extranet-type enviorments.

Will this slow down the performance of my workspace?

No, enabling Content Encryption on a workspace does not noticeably impact application responsiveness.

What other security features does PBworks provide?

See our Security Statement for full details.