Covata Introduces Encryption Key-as-a-Service for IoT Security

FREMONT, CA:  Covata Ltd, a provider of data­centric security solutions, announces its ‘Key-as-a-Service’ (KaaS) offering to address the challenges of key encryption and access policy management. The offering will initially be deployed with Cisco.

KaaS offering safeguards companies against upcoming legal and regulatory issues. It achieves this by using patent pending techniques such as Covata KaaS’s key fragmentation and GeoLoc.

Given the fact that the amount of data is due to increase exponentially, with the advent of the Internet of Things, the task of securing the keys and achieving data sovereignty is absolutely vital; in order to avoid hackers from using these as tools to compromise corporate and personal networks. Covata provides a framework to protect content by its policy driven access and full access remediation.

Covata KaaS’s Geo Location process shifts the focus from trying to control where data is, to controlling the location of the encryption keys. KaaS eliminates the unresolved issue ofprotecting billions of pieces of unstructured data flowing around the Internet. If access is requested within the data sovereignty jurisdiction, then the policy permits the release of the key. Also the data also never passes through the key server, as it is encrypted on the device and only the authorized intended recipient can decrypt it. The company may also use the geo-policy to block any keys being issued to data that is not physically within a specific country’s borders.

Covata KaaS also offers key fragmentation. The master key is fragmented and then delivered to four different data custodians; within Covata KaaS, the duly authorized agent of the government from where the generating key service resides, tenancy owner or its nominated escrow agent, and the auditing firm of the Covata KaaS. This ensures that only the authorized parties can access a whole key by obtaining a duly presented court or similar order from the legal jurisdiction of the home key service.

“The Covata KaaS standard security protocol is the only way to maintain the integrity of the open Internet,” says Trent Telford, CEO of Covata. “The Internet was designed to share information, it wasn’t designed to be secure, which is why continually bolstering perimeter defences is like trying to beat a wild horse into submission. We’re offering a modern approach to security that enables everyone who enjoys the creativity, openness of the Internet to continue to do business securely with the same ease and flexibility they expect. Data sovereignty is achieved through key sovereignty — a genuine security revolution and one we think will solve this major 21st century hurdle.”