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The Cloud Can Deliver, if You Get Your Security Right By Dave Anderson, Director of Strategy, Voltage Security, Inc., Cupertino, CA
and scary and fraught with unneces- sary risk, while others would argue it is silver-lined and the path to greater business performance and cost sav- ings. The truth is that the Cloud unde- niably has the potential to open up a whole new dimension of opportunities to businesses, but only if data security is properly addressed. First let’s dispel any misconcep-
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tions about the Cloud; it’s nothing mystical, nothing whimsical, nothing to be afraid of. Or is it? The reason many fear the Cloud is its reputation as a dangerous, or “risky”, place. And that is true. Anything beyond the physical perimeter of the organiza- tion is also, theoretically, beyond the physical protection of the organiza- tion. And let’s face it, there are dan- gers and risks out there, but that doesn’t mean you have to stay behind a locked door. Instead, by arming yourself with the right security, you can stay clear of danger and fully tap into the Cloud’s potential. The Cloud and security are in-
trinsically intertwined, and only when both work in symbiosis can a business truly grow. There are 5 main areas where security can team up with the Cloud to offer companies
veryone has an opinion about the “Cloud” and its effect on business; some believe it is dark
the greatest potential to thrive, and it isn’t hard to get it right.
Data Protection. Data is key and possibly the most important asset for any organization — a single breach or leak of sensitive data can cripple the entire business, so a data protection strategy must protect the data itself. The ability to move sensitive informa- tion into and throughout the Cloud is essential for businesses to function and collaborate efficiently. This must happen quickly and freely, but this ability must be supported by a com- prehensive data protection strategy. The trick is to protect data at the mo- ment of creation, before it moves out of the enterprise or even enters the Cloud. Only by doing that can you en- sure that any data source is compre- hensively protected, and the risk to po- tential exposure is minimized.
Regulatory Compliance and Da- ta Residency Requirements. Sen- sitive data moved into and across Cloud infrastructures can easily in- troduce additional complexity and cost to regulatory compliance — po- tentially costing thousands in fines and damaging reputations. Compre- hensively protecting sensitive data can greatly reduce cost, complexity and overall risk in meeting and maintaining regulatory compliance.
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Scalability and Flexibility. The Cloud has opened up previously un- seen opportunities for organizations to grow and expand quickly, smoothly and with ease. With information im- mediately and easily available any- where, any time, regardless the com- pany’s own infrastructure. The Cloud offers the flexibility and scalability that in the past was an insurmount- able obstacle for businesses restricted by their on-site resources. The key to successfully harnessing this opportu- nity is a flexible data security architec- ture that is extensible and adaptable across multiple applications and sys- tems, while not adversely impacting the user experience. Failure to put in place a comprehensive, data-centric protection program can cause Cloud initiatives to be delayed or fraught with hidden security issues.
Cost Efficiencies. This element is two-fold: reap the powerful cost sav- ings, by only paying for what you use, so that there are capital, operating, and expenditure benefits. The second element is that most cloud computing platforms provide the means to cap- ture, monitor, and control usage infor- mation for accurate billing. A single, comprehensive data protection plat- form can eliminate the threat of risky fines from compliance breaches or da- ta loss while also reducing the need to invest in multiple security tools.
Access to Data Anytime, Any- where. When harnessed correctly, cloud-computing capabilities offer numerous opportunities to drive business innovation. Rather than having to provide remote access to the company’s infrastructure, it is available 24/7 for the workforce to ac- cess. No longer will key players ar- rive for a meeting only to find the materials on the USB stick are a pre- vious version. Instead the original file is accessible any time, any place. Sales teams can check stock levels in real time. An employee stuck at home waiting for a delivery, or in an airport waiting for an “ash cloud” to disperse, can still work as effectively as in the office. By employing a secu- rity strategy that protects and trav- els with all data, anywhere, any time businesses can confidently tap into this invaluable resource. With so many key business bene-
fits of the Cloud directly affected by and depending on security, one could easily be misled into thinking that a plethora of security measures has to be adhered to in order to address poten- tial issues. The real truth is, it all comes back to the data. A single frame- work that comprehensively protects all enterprise data from point of creation and throughout its lifecycle can elimi- nate practically all potential security hazards that could threaten the Cloud. There are five areas for a securi-
ty framework that will allow fully har- nessing the Cloud’s business benefits.
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Leverage Data-Centric Encryp- tion. By encrypting data, regardless of type or source, at capture and pro- tecting it throughout the entire lifecy- cle, wherever it resides and wherever
it moves, data can be protected, used and moved across the enterprise and into the cloud without the need to en- crypt and decrypt the data as it enters or leaves different IT environments.
Maintain Referential Integrity. Format-preserving encryption (FPE) retains the initial structure and for- mat of the data set, encrypting the data while ensuring the structure fits into existing schemas without re- quiring changes in IT infrastructure or underlying systems in order to store and manage the data. FPE also preserves “referential integrity” of the data, which allows the data to be analyzed in a protected state, with- out having to de-crypt it first.
Ensure High Performance Pro- cessing. High performance encryp- tion results from eliminating manual and constant encryption and decryp- tion processes as data moves through the enterprise, which removes data- base performance bottlenecks and enables linear scalability. A data pro- tection strategy that includes encryp- tion and tokenization which can be performed locally at the application, database, or webserver level, allows an organization to dynamically pro- tect terabytes of data on demand, without having to introduce complex procedures, additional technology or interrupt current business process.
Policy Controls. By giving users or applications permission to decrypt or de-tokenize directly, linking directly to enterprise data access rules and policies, the extension of enterprise controls into the Cloud can be enabled and user management is simplified.
”Stateless” Tokenization. Tokeniza- tion is a way of substituting sensitive data with non-sensitive values, and is one of the prescribed data protection methods recommended under indus- try regulations, including PCI DSS. Stateless tokenization eliminates the token database and any need to store sensitive data as well as the keys that map the tokens to the initial sensitive data. This allows organizations to effi- ciently address national and interna- tional data residency and privacy re- quirements, as sensitive data can be maintained in a valid jurisdiction with only a representation of the data being moved. In-scope data can be securely moved and stored across Cloud envi- ronments, and only decrypted and used within jurisdictions where it is specifically permitted. When harnessed correctly,
cloud-computing capabilities offer numerous opportunities to drive business innovation. Recent technol- ogy and social connectivity trends have created a perfect storm of op- portunity for companies to embrace the power of cloud to optimize, inno- vate and disrupt their existing busi-
ness models. Could you join them? Contact: Voltage Security, Inc.,
20400 Stevens Creek Boulevard, Suite 500, Cupertino CA 95014 % 408-886-3200 fax: 408-886-3201 E-mail:
media@voltage.com Web:
www.voltage.com r
June, 2013
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