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Cloud backup and storage provider SpiderOak announced the release of SpiderOak Blue, a private enterprise-class cloud storage system with a zero-knowledge privacy guarantee, online backup, and secure syncing and sharing capabilities.
In addition, SpiderOak Blue enables centralized management and provisioning of company data. Companies retain complete ownership and administration of all their data, under a SpiderOak guarantee that its employees can never view their company’s data for any reasoneven under subpoena.
Features include Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) /Active Directory user account integration, RSA SecurID integration, private cloud capabilities, allowing users to install their own cloud behind the corporate firewall, a Web-based management console for user provisioning, reporting, group permissions and space management, the ability to bulk create and manage user accounts and download and edit via a comma-separated values (CSV) filing system, and corporate-level managed controls that can be pushed down to all individual clients.
The platform also offers statistical and trouble-shooting reports on user activity, the ability to selectively enable or disable Web and mobile access to individual accounts or groups, Microsoft installers for 32-bit and 64-bit Windows and the ability to follow policy-set permissions in the Windows Registry or as a text file in Linux (through /etc) or Mac (through /Library).
“There is no question that the cloud storage market is experiencing rapid growth as enterprises realize the inherent value of storing data in the cloud,” said Richard Stiennon, chief research analyst at IT-Harvest. “The real ‘X factor’ for companies hosting data in the cloud is their fundamental approach to how they not only view security, but privacy. The industry has experienced several high-profile internal data breaches which can ultimately be traced back to the fact that data was easily accessible to employees and IT staff. As the cloud storage market continues to mature, privacy will continue to play a critical role in terms of a multi-tiered security infrastructure. You can’t lose what you can’t see; this is the essence of the ‘Zero Knowledge’ approach.”
Companies can choose from a suite of three SpiderOak Blue products, each with capabilities suited for a variety of sizes and types of organizations. Designed for small and midsized businesses (SMBs), SpiderOak Blue allows for centralized management and access to data. The organization owns and can view all data, including information inside a built-in data auditing interface. Companies can reset passwords (via browser-driven ‘zero-knowledge’ encryption) and view in-depth reporting inside the Web-based management console.
Based on SpiderOak’s current OpenLicense (OL) program, SpiderOak Blue OL offers all the features of SpiderOak Blue while placing data ownership into the hands of end users. Enterprise administrators handle general information, including user statistics and the amount of data stored per account. However, SpiderOak Blue OL does not provide any method of changing or resetting user passwords; end users remain responsible for their passwords. SpiderOak believes common use cases could include educational institutions.
Additionally, SpiderOak Blue+ is designed for the enterprise. The Blue Virtual Appliance places all management control into an open-source virtual machine (VM) that runs on company infrastructure, enabling full control of all data flowing in and out of an organization through SpiderOak. Features include key escrow technology, which decouples passwords from encryption for Blue + accounts, with private master keys that give company administrators full control over all company data. Other features include user account integration with Microsoft Active Directory, OpenLDAP and RedHat Directory Server, while directory group membership provides SpiderOak account entitlement and integrated password management.
“Today’s companies struggle with the consumerization of their IT infrastructures,” said Ethan Oberman, CEO of SpiderOak. “When employees use consumer-oriented tools for enterprise purposes, they run the risk of exposing company data to applications and cloud infrastructure that guarantees neither privacy nor confidentiality. SpiderOak Blue lets companies retain full ownership over their data in a ‘zero-knowledge’ privacy environment.”