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OpenTDF vs Virtru Data Security Platform

Comparing the open-source foundation with the mission-ready platform

OpenTDF is an open-source project that includes the Trusted Data Format (TDF) specification and foundational software services for data-centric security solutions. It provides a starting point for developers building custom applications, including basic key management, access control, and data encryption. 

The Virtru Data Security Platform builds on this  foundation  and offers additional proprietary capabilities required to deliver a mission-ready platform, including:

 

  • Standards support for IC-TDF, ACP-240 Zero Trust Data Format (ZTDF), Intelligence Community metadata (IC-EDH, ISM, IC-ID), and NATO STANAG 5636, including classification markings, releasability controls, and dissemination restrictions that travel with protected data
  • Ready-to-deploy policy enforcement across collaboration applications, data analytics pipelines, and agentic AI workflows
  • Automated tagging with native support for reading and writing STANAG and Intelligence Community handling metadata, along with support for metadata generated by third-party tagging systems like Fortra and JanusNet
  • Universal identity integration with any OIDC/OAuth2 provider 
  • Enterprise key management with native HSM support ensuring full key sovereignty within FIPS 140-2/3 validated hardware
  • Advanced cryptography with FIPS-validated options and support for FIPS-203/204 Post-Quantum Cryptography

Feature Comparison for OpenTDF and Virtru Solutions

The chart below compares OpenTDF and the Virtru Data Security Platform, highlighting key differences in scope, capabilities, and use cases.

Feature Category OpenTDF Virtru
Administration & Management
System ConfigurationHeadless / Config-as-Code
Configuration requires editing YAML/JSON files, Helm charts, or making direct API calls. No visual interface.
Unified Web Console
Comprehensive graphical interface for managing system settings, platform configurations, and service integrations.
Policy ManagementCLI / API onlyVisual Policy Builder
No-code, drag-and-drop web UI for defining attributes, creating rules, and managing access logic.

Import / Export Policy
Support for import and export of atomic policy bundles with the ability to run the platform backed by a read-only policy backbone.
Standards & Interoperability
TDF Formats SupportedBase TDF Only
Reference implementation of the standard JSON-based Trusted Data Format.
Multi-Format Support
Support for Base TDF, IC-TDF (US Intelligence Community), ACP 240 ZTDF, and proprietary Binary TDF for high-volume data streaming and IoT applications.
Data Tag Extraction and Processing None
No native tagging service; developers must build their own solution to extract attributes from raw data and normalize across multiple data tagging regimes.
Extensible Tagging Service
Fully supported Tagging Service with out-of-the-box support for CCEB STANAGs, US Intelligence Community Handling Metadata , and Fortra tags. Extensible via API.
Data IntegrityHooks Only
API stubs for assertions, but no direct support for Organizational PKI. Default implementation requires data entitlement to verify metadata signatures.
Signed Assertions
Native integration with Organizational PKI to cryptographically sign metadata for non-repudiation and provenance.
Integrations & Ecosystem
Policy Enforcement Points (PEPs)Build Your Own
SDKs provided; you must write the code to integrate policy enforcement into applications.
Full Collaboration and Data Analytics Suites
Ready-to-deploy PEPs for Microsoft Outlook, Exchange, SharePoint, SMTP Gateway, Windows Desktops, Secure Share Enclave; S3 Object Storage, Apache Trino, and Apache NiFi. Proprietary SDKs for advanced features like data tagging.
Centralized Configuration Service N/AConsolidated Service Management
Allowing for streamlined administration of deployed PEP solutions
Search CapabilitiesN/AEncrypted Search
Proprietary technology enabling search over encrypted data without decrypting the payload.
Authorization ExtensibilityN/AIntegration With Authorization Systems
Allows extension of the base authorization system
Identity Provider SupportLimited
Reference implementation tightly coupled with Keycloak.
Universal Identity Support
Agnostic integration with any OIDC/OAuth2 provider, including Ping Federate, Okta, Azure AD, and Keycloak.
Key Management
HSM SupportSoftware Only
Basic Key Access Service (KAS) implementation without hardware bindings.
Enterprise HSM & Cloud KMS
Native support for Thales Luna, Entrust nShield, AWS KMS, and Google Cloud KMS.
CryptographyStandard
Base AES encryption for data Encryption with support for RSA or ECC-based key encryption .
Advanced & Future-Proof
FIPS-validated options and support for FIPS-203/204 Post-Quantum Cryptography.
Enterprise Security
Audit LogsNoYes
SSO with SAML 2.0 supportNoYes
Compliance (HIPAA, SOC-2 Type 2, FedRAMP Moderate, PCI-DSS)NoYes
Deployment
Self-Hosted / DIY
You define the architecture, scaling, and reliability engineering.
SaaS / Hybrid / Private
Managed SaaS or customer-hosted private cloud options with SLA guarantees.
Support
Open source community-based support (no SLA)Help and support from the creators and maintainers of OpenTDF.

Build vs. Buy: Key Differentiators to Consider

OpenTDF gets you started, but Virtru Data Security Platform makes you compliant. With native support for NATO/CCEB  (ACP 240) and US Intelligence Community (IC-TDF) specs, the Data Security Platform is mission-ready immediately.
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Ready to Get Started with the Virtru Data Security Platform?

To learn more about Virtru’s solutions for data-centric security and partner collaboration, contact our team to start the conversation.