A Question of Trust: How Service Providers Can Attract More Customers by Delivering True Security in the Cloud

Transcription

1 Russ Dietz Vice President & Chief Technology Officer A Question of Trust: How Service Providers Can Attract More Customers by Delivering True Security in the Cloud By Russ Dietz Vice President & Chief Technology Officer

2 Executive Summary Offering an outsourced, elastic, pay-as-you-go computing infrastructure, cloud computing services can deliver clear cut benefits to a host of companies. Today, however, security concerns are a big barrier to many clients adoption of cloud services. To boost market share and gain competitive distinction, cloud service providers need to add the security infrastructure that safeguards clients sensitive data and fosters trust. This white paper outlines the path cloud providers can take to start building trust into cloud deployments, and details the approaches and capabilities organizations need to make this transition a reality. Introduction As high as the rate of adoption for cloud-based services like SaaS has been, the surface has only been scratched in terms of the full business potential cloud service providers can realize. But to realize this potential, cloud providers must overcome a significant obstacle security. Today, issues of risk, data privacy, and compliance are the chief inhibitors to most organizations adoption of cloud services. In fact, a Gartner report cited data location risk, data loss risk, and data security (privacy) risk as three of the top five barriers to cloud-computing adoption. 1 While security can be seen as an obstacle to the broad adoption of cloud computing, it can, in fact, be an enabler. By finding a way to effectively safeguard data in the cloud, cloud providers can begin to fully maximize the market potential of cloud offerings. To get there, both enterprises and cloud providers will be going through a transition, one that can be viewed in terms of trust. As enterprises kick off their initial deployments, they ll do so with a minimum of trust in their cloud provider s infrastructures. Over time, that trust will be cemented by solutions and processes that lead to limited and, ultimately, compliant trust, making cloud security a true win/win for enterprises and providers alike. In the following pages, we ll walk through this transition in more detail, and then show what this means for cloud providers in the months and years ahead. Then, the document will outline some of the specific areas cloud providers can target in their efforts to optimize the security and utility of their cloud initiatives. Finally, we ll outline some of the most important capabilities organizations will need to support these efforts. (Note: In the following pages, unless otherwise specified, when discussing the cloud, we will be referring to the public cloud. While private clouds present their own specific security challenges, given their internal deployments, the nature of security will more closely resemble those of current data center deployments. It is the public cloud, and the changing nature of the client and cloud service provider relationship, that are the focus of this document.) 1 Gartner, "Top Five Cloud-Computing Adoption Inhibitors", 13 May 2009, Bruce Robertson How Service Providers Can Attract More Customers by Delivering True Security in the Cloud page 2 of 11

3 Step 1: Minimal Trust In spite of efforts by cloud providers to date, for most enterprises today, security in the cloud is viewed in a fairly straightforward way don t assume there is any. Organizations that have gone forward with cloud deployments have thus taken full ownership and responsibility for security. This can play out in several ways: A business can segment its data into two classifications sensitive and non-sensitive. Non-sensitive data can be transferred into the cloud as is; for example, for disaster recovery or archival purposes. Sensitive data on the other hand will either be kept out of the cloud entirely or it will be protected, generally through encryption, before it is exposed to the cloud. Further, that information will stay secured through those mechanisms the entire time it resides in the cloud. An organization may opt to use SaaS offerings but only for applications that do not involve personally identifiable information (PII), or other types of data subject to regulation or privacy laws. A business can migrate the processing of non-sensitive applications to the cloud. For example, this can take the form of cloud bursting, an approach in which an organization will migrate an application to the cloud when the processing capacity of its corporate cloud or data center is exceeded. This can be a cost-effective way for organizations to handle seasonal or peak demands for processing. For example, a media company can adopt this approach for video streaming when its internal infrastructure hits capacity. Each of these scenarios can present organizations with near term benefits they enable an organization to quickly leverage many of the benefits and strengths of cloud computing, without compromising security or compliance. These scenarios represent the bulk of cloud deployments done to date. Step 2: Limited Trust In order for cloud providers to expand their addressable market, both in terms of clients and applications, they will need to support clients efforts to migrate their own security mechanisms to the cloud. This next step in the transition to a trusted cloud will inherently require more of an upfront investment than prior cloud approaches, and also require a deeper, more collaborative relationship between clients and providers. How Service Providers Can Attract More Customers by Delivering True Security in the Cloud page 3 of 11

4 As enterprises take their existing encryption solutions and run them in the cloud, they ll retain full control over security ownership. From the service providers standpoint, these deployments will be structured similarly to traditional hosting provider models. Specific deployment approaches can include the following: Deploying physical security systems in a virtual private cloud Running a virtual service within a hybrid, multi-tenant cloud environment Federating cloud user directories with internally-managed identity and access management systems Here, data protection can be conducted in the cloud, yet still within the enterprise s control. As a result, by supporting these types of deployments, organizations will become more fully invested in cloud offerings and seek to take greater advantage of the cloud s benefits, which will be a landmark phase in the maturity of the cloud computing market.. Step 3: Compliant Trust In this ultimate phase of the cloud s evolution, cloud providers gain the controls they need to deliver trust as a service, so enterprises can specify security policies and have confidence in the cloud provider s infrastructure and capabilities for executing these policies. Here, the enterprise, as the information owner, still holds control over security, but more in a virtual, rather than operational, way. In this scenario, the enterprise sets security policies and owns the core key materials, credentials, identities, and other elements that are used by the cloud providers to protect information, which gives them the final say in how security is handled. The cloud provider will have the sophisticated security infrastructure in place to meet client s security objectives, including robust encryption, secure key management, granular access controls, and more. Enterprises can leverage the cloud and get the level of security needed to stay compliant with all pertinent regulatory mandates and security policies. As a result, almost any business service or application can subsequently be a potential candidate for migration to cloud services. Four Key Areas for Implementing Cloud Security As they make the move to supporting compliant trust, what capabilities will service providers require, and how will they differ from traditional approaches? The sections below outline some specific areas for applying security measures to cloud environments and the capabilities required to employ these measures. With these initiatives, service providers can begin to gain the control, visibility, and efficiency they need to both ensure security and leverage the business benefits of cloud services. How Service Providers Can Attract More Customers by Delivering True Security in the Cloud page 4 of 11

5 Protected Infrastructure Most cloud providers will have infrastructures comprised of a number of sites, all interconnected through a wide area network (WAN). Given the dynamic, processing-intensive environments they build, cloud providers typically require high performance, low latency, dedicated transmission circuits between these distributed sites. Cloud providers often turn to telecom carriers and other service providers for these circuits. While many assume an increase in security from a dedicated private circuit that isn t shared by the entire world, the truth is that private only means dedicated switching or virtual circuit connections, which does not in any way guarantee data integrity or security. To build a trusted infrastructure, service providers need to employ encryption to secure the transport of data across their WANs, while at the same time, ensuring high speed and low latency communications between these distributed sites. This requires encryption solutions that combine wire-speed performance with robust security capabilities, including tamper-resistant hardware and support for robust, industry-standard encryption algorithms. In addition, a secure, centralized solution is required to manage these disparate encryption platforms so users can efficiently define and distribute integrated policies. Figure 1 To build a trusted infrastructure, service providers need to employ encryption to secure the transport of data across their WANs, while at the same time, ensuring high speed and low latency communications between these distributed sites. How Service Providers Can Attract More Customers by Delivering True Security in the Cloud page 5 of 11

6 Secure Access Controls Ensuring that only authorized users gain access to cloud-based resources is an absolute requirement for cloud providers. Providers need to ensure proper access controls for users at client sites, and, just as importantly, for administrators within the service provider s organization. On the client side, providers need to support multi-factor authentication in much the same way as a secure organization requires multiple credentials (i.e., a key fob and a password) to enter highly restricted physical areas. By coupling multi-factor authentication at the user level with centralized security policy management, cloud providers can much more simply set up new users, and terminate access when an employee leaves or a threat arises. Cloud providers multi-factor authentication mechanisms, such as tokens, need to be coordinated with the clients public key infrastructure (PKI); if not, the cloud service imposes too much additional overhead in terms of security administration to be useful for the client. Further, operational changes need to be transparent to end users if these services are to be optimal for client organizations. On the cloud provider side, robust, token-based, multi-factor authentication is also required. This is a critical requirement if cloud providers are to meet SAS 70 requirements. By locking down the management console, cloud providers can ensure that services and sensitive client data won t be compromised. In addition, it provides critical safeguards against internal attacks. Figure 2 Robust, token-based, multi-factor authentication is a critical requirement if cloud providers are to meet SAS 70 requirements. By locking down the management console, cloud providers can ensure that services and sensitive client data won t be compromised. How Service Providers Can Attract More Customers by Delivering True Security in the Cloud page 6 of 11

7 Data and ID Protection Protecting client data and identities are also vital requirements. Further, these data protection mechanisms need to adhere to a host of regulations with which clients must comply. Inherent in this is an ability to isolate the processes and data of multiple tenants in virtualized cloud environments. To achieve these objectives, service providers need a host of capabilities: Hardware Security Modules (HSMs). Service providers need HSMs to protect their TLS/SSL identities. To meet many clients security requirements, these HSMs should be FIPS Level 3 certified. Granular encryption. Cloud providers need to be able to selectively encrypt sensitive data according to clients security requirements. This means being able to encrypt data at the column level in databases and to partition database security by different clients. This also requires file encryption so organizations can encrypt specific sensitive client files, including spreadsheets and documents. Central, secure policy management. To efficiently govern these security mechanisms, cloud providers need to be able to centrally manage security policy, across disparate systems and regions. Further, given the vital nature of these administrative systems, the utmost security needs to be employed to ensure they are never compromised. Figure 3 To efficiently govern these security mechanisms, cloud providers need to be able to centrally manage security policy across disparate systems and regions. How Service Providers Can Attract More Customers by Delivering True Security in the Cloud page 7 of 11

8 Virtual Encryption as a Service To fully leverage their potential business opportunities, cloud providers need a way to take the unparalleled security offered by sophisticated, hardware-based encryption solutions, and virtualize those offerings. This enables the delivery of symmetric encryption, file encryption, secure key management, and a host of other capabilities and services within cloud environments. When cloud providers deliver virtual encryption as a service, they can implement database, application, and file encryption all managed through a single, virtual platform that combines cryptographic key management, policy management, and encryption processing. Because the platform is virtualized, it can be integrated cost-effectively and seamlessly within the cloud provider s infrastructure. Further, by combining the security benefits of these technologies with the cloud delivery model, security implementations can be far less expensive (and much more attractive) than traditional in-house deployments, putting state-of-the-art security capabilities within reach of even small and medium businesses for the first time and dramatically expanding the service provider s addressable market. To deliver virtual encryption-as-a-service deployments, cloud providers will leverage a host of robust security mechanisms, including centralized key management, granular encryption, and access control within their infrastructures. To support virtual encryption as a service, many cloud customers will deploy multi-factor authentication tokens and token management systems in their environments, which can ensure the appropriate access controls are applied to security services and protected data. Figure 4 By providing virtual encryption as a service, smaller organizations can gain access to robust security mechanisms that may have been cost prohibitive in the past. How Service Providers Can Attract More Customers by Delivering True Security in the Cloud page 8 of 11

9 SafeNet: Delivering the Trusted Cloud Platform Introduction Overview of SafeNet Cloud Solutions With SafeNet s security offerings, organizations can fully leverage the business benefits of cloud environments while ensuring trust, compliance, and privacy. SafeNet offers intelligent, datacentric solutions that persistently protect data throughout the information lifecycle and evolve to support changing cloud delivery models from today s SaaS and private clouds to the evolving demands of hybrid and public clouds. Cryptography as a Service SafeNet offers a broad set of solutions that enable both enterprises and cloud providers to leverage cryptography as a service. SafeNet solutions offer the unparalleled combination of features including central key and policy management, robust encryption support, flexible integration, and more that make cryptography as a service practical, efficient, and secure. SafeNet offers these security solutions: Token management systems and multi-factor tokens that ensure stringent, granular end user access controls Hardware security modules, including the Luna SA product line, that enable centralized, FIPS- and Common Criteria-certified storage of cryptographic keys DataSecure, which offers file, application, and database encryption all managed through a hardened appliance that centralizes encryption processing, keys, logging, auditing, and policy administration Together, these solutions deliver the critical capabilities required for a robust, cost-effective, and secure cryptography-as-a-service implementation. Figure 5 SafeNet s HSMs and DataSecure offerings offer FIPS- and Common Criteria-certified, hardware-based protection of cryptographic keys and controls that help ensure regulatory compliance in cloud deployments. How Service Providers Can Attract More Customers by Delivering True Security in the Cloud page 9 of 11

10 Trusted Cloud Computing While the benefits being offered by cloud providers today are undeniable, many potential customers continue to perceive that the dynamic nature of cloud computing can pose significant risks. Today, someone can take an application instance running for one organization, then move it to another location, and run it for another organization and that application could thus enable unauthorized users and processes to access sensitive data. With SafeNet, you can control applications and services within the cloud environment, and providers can ensure their clients that applications only run on intended platforms for intended customers. SafeNet enables organizations to control the instances of the high-value virtual machines, ensuring they are only invoked in the right circumstances. SafeNet delivers the solutions that enable organizations to do rights management for virtual machines: Software rights management solutions and tokens for authenticating virtual machines The ProtectFile file encryption solution, which enables pre-boot authentication of virtual machines DataSecure, which delivers central policy management of all file, application, and database encryption processing Figure 6 SafeNet offers the products and capabilities enterprises need to control instances of virtual machines running in the cloud, including where they are located and when they can be invoked, so they can safeguard trust in their cloud deployments. How Service Providers Can Attract More Customers by Delivering True Security in the Cloud page 10 of 11

11 Conclusion In terms of potential, the sky truly is the limit when it comes to the market opportunity cloud computing can offer. However, the full magnitude of this opportunity can only be realized when security is efficiently, persistently, and effectively employed to safeguard sensitive data. With its sophisticated, data-centric security solutions, SafeNet enables cloud providers to offer the agility customers need to leverage cloud environments most effectively, without making any compromises in security, privacy, or compliance. To Learn More about Cloud Security To provide business and security leaders with more information on secure cloud computing, SafeNet offers a website featuring a series of white board videos and white papers. These resources outline how cloud security is expected to evolve, and describe what organizations need to do to prepare for and take advantage of these changes. For more information, visit About SafeNet, Inc. SafeNet is a global leader in information security, founded more than 25 years ago. The Company protects identities, transactions, communications, data and software licensing through a full spectrum of encryption technologies, including hardware, software, and chips. More than 25,000 corporate and government customers in 100 countries including UBS, Nokia, Fujitsu, Hitachi, Bank of America, Adobe, Cisco, Microsoft, Samsung, Texas Instruments, the U.S. Departments of Defense and Homeland Security, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, trust their security needs to SafeNet. In 2007, SafeNet was acquired by Vector Capital, a $2 billion private equity firm specializing in the technology sector. For more information, visit How Service Providers Can Attract More Customers by Delivering True Security in the Cloud page 11 of 11