Mike Gault

We are witnessing the large-scale industrialization of the data center, owned and operated by the ICT operators who specialize in that task, with security technologies in the hands of the end user to remove any need to trust their human operators. The traditional "protect the perimeter" model of enterprise data security, one where layers of security are added around enterprise data, access to which is limited to trusted insiders, clearly has challenges in a cloud computing model when outsiders (the folks running the cloud) have access to all your data and can monitor everything that you do in their environment. The solution is not, as some would tell you in the security profession, better certification of cloud providers and external vetting of the human operators. Certification has a role but the ultimate answer will be the invention of technologies that completely... (more)

In Cloud We Trust?

‘In God we trust,’ yet the currency of the Cloud is at odds with trust. Is it possible to trust applications that reside in a Cloud that seems so porous? Cloud Computing Journal's Jeremy Geelan sat down with GuardTime CEO Mike Gault, whose keyless signature technology is used to secure cloud hosting provider Joyent, whose customers include LinkedIn, Gilt, and Twitter. Cloud Computing Journal: What is GuardTime all about? As one of the few folks in the Cloud space with an initmate knowledge of Estonia, having lived there for more than three years, I know that its origins lie there.... (more)

Data Is the New Perimeter for Cloud Security

The cyber security market in 2012 is estimated at $60 billion, yet adding more and more layers of perimeter security may lead to a false sense of security and be completely useless against a determined system administrator working on the inside. The end result is that your data might be secure or it might not – you simply have no way to prove it. Shawn Henry, FBI veteran of 24 years and now president of CrowdStrike Services had this to say about integrity at the Black Hat conference this year: “These days, you can’t just protect the information from being viewed. You also need t... (more)

Drastic Measures Not Needed with DRaaS

Perhaps the only thing worse than a disaster happening is seeing it coming and knowing nothing can be done to stop it. Businesses along the northeastern seaboard had several days of warning before Hurricane Sandy struck, certainly not enough time to implement a disaster recovery plan from scratch. Even more painful is the understanding that some disaster recovery plans would not be enough; physical backup systems in separate geographical areas may have still suffered the same losses as the home site due to the size of the storm. Most disasters come with no warning at all. Explosio... (more)