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Data at rest has long been protected by technology called public key infrastructure (PKI), in which data is encrypted when it's created by a public key and only decrypted, in theory, by an authorized person holding the private key. But extending this type of data protection to the cloud can be complicated.

The migration to the cloud has introduced a new set of complex security issues for IT teams to manage due to the lack of direct control over the security of the data. Moreover, cloud providers believe that data security is a shared responsibility, where the service provider assures physical security and the subscribers must secure their servers and data. Presumably this would include a strategy for encryption and key management which requires that the keys be stored outside the cloud rather than in it.

Startup security company Porticor just released a solution that addresses the concern about data at rest in the cloud. Porticor offers a split key encryption solution where the cloud customer is the only one who knows the master key. What's more, Porticor handles all the complexity of encrypting data so the customer barely needs to think about it. The security and convenience is all in the unique implementation of key management.

BACKGROUND: Startup Porticor launches with encryption technology for cloud computing

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The fundamental problem of encrypting data in the cloud is where to store the keys. The customer can't store the keys on a disk in the cloud because they could be vulnerable to hackers. The customer could allow a vendor to store its keys, but that means putting trust in a third party. The customer could bring the keys back into his own data center, but that seems to defeat the purpose of outsourcing data center services to the cloud. Porticor now offers an alternative for key management that is both simple and secure.

Porticor's approach is based on the concept of the safe deposit box that has two keys -- one for the customer and the other for the banker, or in this case, the Porticor Virtual Key Management Service. Just like the safe deposit box, the customer can't decrypt the data without the key held by Porticor, and Porticor can't decrypt the data without the master key held by the customer. In practice, the customer actually has one key per project, which is usually an application. Porticor has thousands of keys, one for each file or disk belonging to that project. Still, the keys must pair up in order to provide access to the encrypted data.

Beyond the keys being split between the customer and Porticor, the unique part of the solution is the keys themselves are encrypted by the customer's master key, which only the customer holds and knows. As a result, Porticor holds project keys but the vendor can't read them because they are encrypted. By encrypting the "banker" keys with the customer master key, Porticor gives the customer complete mitigation of end data protection. The customer must write down the master key and literally store it in a steel box. Once that is done, no one in the world other than the steel box ever sees the key. (Another option is to put the master key in an escrow service.)

Architecturally, the Porticor solution sits between the cloud based server and storage, ensuring that every bit of data between the servers and the storage is encrypted and every bit of data moving from storage to the servers is decrypted for customer initiated processes. The piece in the middle is the heart of the Portico solution, the Virtual Private Data (VPD) application. VPD is a virtual appliance that encrypts any disk or storage array with encryption algorithms such as AES-256. VPD retrieves the "banker" keys as well as requesting from the customer its key.

Porticor says this is military-grade security since only one party -- the customer -- holds the master key to unlock the data. (Hint: Don't lose the master key or you're up the creek without a paddle.) The master key only needs to be brought out of the steel vault when the entire server cluster is rebooted, which should be a rare occurrence. When new application servers are created, they inherit the encryption automatically through the VPD.

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New Key Technology Simplifies Data Encryption in the Cloud

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SAN MATEO, Calif. March 7, 2012 Dome9 Security, the leading provider of cloud security firewall management for public and private clouds, as well as for dedicated and virtual private servers (VPS), today announced Dome9 Lite Cloud a powerful new free cloud security service that provides centralized firewall management for an unlimited number of servers and clouds in virtual private, cloud, collocated, and hosted environments. Starting today, the service is available at no cost via http://www.dome9.com/LiteCloud.

Today there are more than 30 million cloud servers in use, and most are vulnerable to attack because their built-in security stacks such as the host firewall are too difficult to manage. For the first time, developers and administrators can simplify security management for an unlimited number of servers, including secure access to any server in any cloud, by using Dome9 absolutely free.

Dome9s Lite Cloud offers GUI-based firewall management for an unlimited number of Windows and Linux servers and clouds. The free Lite Cloud service makes it simple to scale security to any sized infrastructure and ensure cloud server firewalls are not misconfigured or left unmanaged and exposed to brute force attacks and exploit vulnerabilities. It includes features such as activity logging and auditing, support for multiple administrators, and Dome9 Security Groups; and is fully expandable to Dome9s Business Cloud service, which offers many expanded capabilities. Using Dome9s centralized GUI-based approach, IT teams can avoid the hassle of individually managing IP tables or the Windows firewall, and secure access to any cloud server.

Dome9 is launching the new Lite Cloud free service to ensure that every cloud server has the necessary baseline level of security, said Dave Meizlik, Dome9 VP of Marketing and Business Development. Security is the number one concern among cloud adopters, and now Dome9 has taken price out of the equation to ensure every cloud server is secured, with absolutely no limit to the number of servers you can protect.

Since Dome9 is an on-demand security management service, signup and setup take less than five minutes and do not require a credit card. New customers of Dome9s free Lite Cloud service receive the enhanced features of Dome9s Business Cloud service for 30 days, including Dome9s patent-pending Secure Access Lease technology providing 1-click, time-based access to any server and cloud. Lite Cloud customers can seamlessly upgrade to Dome9s Business Cloud with just a few clicks and for just 4 cents per hour per server.

Dome9 Security is the only cloud security service to automate cloud firewall management for public and private clouds, as well as for dedicated and Virtual Private Servers (VPS), across all platforms. Dome9 closes a critical gap in todays cloud computing server security ports such as SSH, RDP, and MYSQL left open so administrators can connect to and manage their cloud servers. This common practice leaves servers vulnerable to hackers who need only guess the correct username and password or exploit any protocol vulnerability to gain unauthorized control of a server. Dome9 secures all administrative ports for all servers and clouds enabling secure access, on-demand. Its key innovation is the ability to provide secure access leasing dynamically generated, time-based secure access to cloud servers which enables customers to close all server administrative ports by default.

About Dome9 Security

Dome9, the leader in cloud security management, automates and centralizes cloud firewall management across all servers and clouds. Available for both enterprises and hosting providers, and as a free offering, Dome9 supports clouds, VPS, dedicated servers, and Amazons EC2 Security Groups, across all major operating systems and service providers. Dome9 is headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel, with U.S. offices in San Mateo, Calif., and is venture backed by Opus Capital Ventures. For more information, visit: http://www.dome9.com/.

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Dome9 Security Launches Free Cloud Security For Unlimited Number Of Servers

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Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gu4FYSFeWqg

07-03-2012 13:55 http://www.GCFLearnFree.org You may have heard people using terms like the cloud, cloud computing, or cloud storage. But what exactly is the cloud? Basically, the cloud is the internet - more specifically, it's all of the things that you can access remotely over the internet. When something is in the cloud, that means it is stored on servers on the internet, instead of on your computer. It lets you access your calendar, email, files and more, from any computer that has an internet connection. There are many reasons to use the cloud, but the main reasons are convenience and reliability. In the past, if you wanted to bring a file with you, you would have to save it to a USB flash drive, external hard drive, or CD-R disc. Saving a file to the cloud ensures that you'll be able access it with any computer that has an internet connection, so you don't have any physical media to keep track of. The cloud also makes it much easier to share a file with coworkers or friends, making it possible to collaborate over the internet. With the cloud, you're much less likely to lose your data, since it is stored on servers. However, just like anything online, there is always a risk that someone may try to gain access to your personal data, so it's important to choose a strong password and pay attention to any privacy settings for the service you're using. To learn more about the cloud, watch the following video.

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Computer Basics: What is the Cloud? - Video

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