Cloud computing is providing substantial cost savings and scale benefits to most organization’s IM/IT resources, however, the area of benefits associated with cloud computing and its ability to enable collaboration, is often overlooked and underplayed. Cloud provides a significant competitive advantage for inter‐organizational collaboration. Specifically, this is collaboration with partners, customers, and suppliers, outside the organization’s security perimeter. This requirement is especially challenging in that traditional approaches to security are largely perimeter-based. However, perimeter breaches are happening with overwhelmingly greater frequency and the business impacts are significant, to say the least. In addition, with the advent of Public Cloud about to cross the chasm into the early majority market the percentage of data that is staying within your perimeter is becoming less and less. In fact, it is becoming clear that your data could be anywhere and as an accountable owner of that data and the consequences of its loss ‐ you have far less control than you did in the past. Therefore, the questions is: How can I, as an accountable owner of that data extend my organizations security policy ‐ outside my perimeter?
New Solution Paradigm There are some new approaches to security that clearly have merit in this new world. The new approaches follow two main vectors:
- the use of a Data-Centric approach, and
- the application of a User-Centric model.
Data Centric Approach This is much different than focusing on the perimeter. We are not suggesting that the perimeter is not important, rather, best practice defense in depth would recommend, based on the current threat vectors in the world that we add data centric encryption to our portfolio of defense layers. The latest generation of encryption techniques are much more intelligent than legacy encryption techniques. This new breed can analyze your applications and apply Selective Intelligent Masking (SIM). SIM can differentiate between application logic and user data and the apply encryption only to the user data. It does this in such a way as to align with your organization's security policy. In this way you can extend your security policy to the data that goes beyond your perimeter.
User Centric Approach Historically, encryption was done at the edge ‐ just before the data left the perimeter to go over the network. This was because the historical threats were network based. However, this is not the case today. Many of today's threats are from the inside of the perimeter. This is for three main reasons: 1) insiders with malicious intend, 2) insiders that are poorly trained or unaware of the threat consequences, or just make mistakes, and 3) the fact that the perimeter is getting breached more frequently and that most of the security tools and offerings on the market are reactive versus proactive or preventative. The CloudMask solution combines user and data centric approaches to security. This, in addition to your existing perimeter, is the best protection from threats, data loss, and privacy in today's world. This combination of defense in depth, encrypts data intelligently from the moment it is created by the user. It is therefore, protected from threats, and breaches inside your perimeter as well as outside as you use the public cloud. SIM ensures data stays encrypted ‐ even when it's in processing ‐ so data is never in the clear inside or outside your organization.
To find out more about CloudMask and how SIM protects your data and extends your security policy across all stakeholders inside and outside your perimeter go to www.cloudmask.com CloudMask enables secure collaboration by giving you the tools to extend your organization’s security policy beyond the perimeter to your clients, partners, and suppliers.
With CloudMask, only your authorized parties can decrypt and see your data. Not hackers with your valid password, Not Cloud Providers, Not Government Agencies, and Not even CloudMask can see your protected data. Twenty-six government cybersecurity agencies around the world back these claims.
Watch our video and demo at www.vimeo.com/cloudmask
