EMC CEO Joe Tucci, flanked by RSA division president Art Coviello at a press conference yesterday, outlined a strategy to broaden security options for EMC’s data-storage products.

While offering no specific timeframe, Tucci said EMC’s goal is to be able to encrypt storage array data “on the fly” and without slowing down the input or adding cost. To assist with this design goal, EMC is organizing its RSA division, with expertise in encryption key management, to work with partners that include CipherOptics, which specializes in highly flexible VPN encryption gear.

“Today you will slow down the I/O and have to put specialized hardware in front,” Tucci said, speaking about the current process entailed in encrypting on the fly with EMC’s storage arrays.

EMC’s strategy to gain improvements in this area entails partnering with CipherOptics to blend RSA’s Key Manager software with the CipherOptics CipherEngine technology for setting up quick set up and tear down of encryption links, a technology AT&T is now embracing for flexible VPN services for its customers.

Jim Doherty, chief marketing officer at CipherOptics, said the security firm has been an EMC partner prior to RSA being acquired by EMC. The new partnership commitment entails working with RSA to integrate CipherOptics encryption technology with RSA’s Key Manager software by establishing security APIs that will allow CipherOptic encryption-key processes to be maintained in an audit and archiving trail in Key Manager. The two firms have no announced timeframe for completing this integration effort.

“This is basically not about the ability to encrypt but the ability to protect the keys,” said RSA president Coviello during the press conference. In addition to CipherOptics, vendors NeoScale Systems and Decru also said they would support RSA’s open key-management functions in the future.

In other announcements made at RSA, EMC’s RSA division announced that Wachovia has deployed the RSA Adaptive Authentication product and joined the RSA eFraudNetwork, a service in which customer agree to share online fraud information gained through RSA’s risk-management scanning techniques in order to improve overall analysis.

In other partnership news, RSA said it has entered into agreements with biometrics technology vendors MXI Security, Privaris and UPEK to integrate RSA SecurID dynamic-password technology into the three vendor's biometrics authentication gear. No timeframe for product releases related to this integration effort were announced.